On 21 February, The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) and the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) issued an open letter calling for the immediate removal of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) from the Asia Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions (APF).

The text of the letter is as follows.

Dear Chairperson Samar Kaled al Haj Hassan,

We, the CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) (Working Group) and the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), urge the Asia Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions (APF) to immediately remove the membership of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) from its network.

In October 2024, the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) recommended the removal of accreditation of the junta-controlled MNHRC. Following the MNHRC’s failed attempt to appeal the recommendation, the decision to remove its accreditation with GANHRI was finalized on 31 December 2024, and soon the removal of its membership will too be finalized in the upcoming GANHRI Bureau Annual Meeting.

We are deeply concerned that the MNHRC remains listed as an Associate Member of APF and notes that its membership policy which “use(s) the accreditation decisions of the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (GANHRI) to determine APF membership status.” In response to the MNHRC’s failure to comply with the Paris Principles and in accordance with APF’s policy, we request that the MNHRC be removed from your network without further delay.

We also strongly encourage APF to publicly announce the termination of the MNHRC’s membership and promptly update relevant information on all its channels. We further urge APF to refrain from any future engagements with the MNHRC, including refusing its representatives from attending meetings, conventions, or other activities within your network. We look forward to receiving confirmation of the formal removal of the MNHRC from the APF.

The decision by GANHRI confirms its refusal to condone the MNHRC’s blatant non-compliance with the Paris Principles. We sincerely hope that APF will act with urgency to uphold the same message of accountability.

Any delay in publicly announcing the expulsion of the MNHRC from APF is at risk of lending credibility to the junta-controlled institution. It is vital that the junta-controlled MNHRC no longer be allowed to claim accreditation nor credibility from any regional or global platforms and faces the consequences of its complicity in the junta’s widespread and systematic human rights violations and atrocity crimes under international law.

As we work towards the establishment of a new independent and impartial national human rights institution of Myanmar—one that is fully compliant with the Paris Principles, we look forward to your support, collaboration, and future endorsement of this endeavor. Your decisive action in this matter will signal APF’s strong commitment to human rights and accountability to the Myanmar people as well as across the region.

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