21 February 2025

To:  
Samar Khaled al Haj Hassan
Chairperson, Governance Committee 2024-26
Asia Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions

Open letter: Removal of the membership of the dis-accredited Myanmar National Human Rights Commission from the Asia Pacific Forum on National Human Rights Institutions

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.

Sincerely,

The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)
The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)

For any further inquiries, please contact:

• The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar); [email protected]
• ANNI Secretariat, FORUM-ASIA; [email protected]

About the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)

The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) was established in December 2006. It is a network of Asian non-governmental organizations and human rights defenders working on issues related to National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). ANNI currently has 33 member organizations from 21 countries or territories. ANNI members work on strengthening the work and functioning of Asian NHRIs to better promote and protect human rights as well as to advocate for the improved compliance of Asian NHRIs with international standards, including the Paris Principles and General Observations of the Sub- Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of NHRIs (GANHRI). The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) has served as the Secretariat of ANNI since its establishment in 2006. More information at http://l.forum-asia.org/ANNI

About the CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)

The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) advocates for the establishment of a new NHRI—tentatively named the Union Human Rights Commission—to replace the illegitimate MNHRC which has aligned itself with the illegal military junta. The Working Group was previously known as the ‘CSO Working Group on MNHRC Reform.’ Currently, it consists of 20 Myanmar civil society organizations. From its founding in 2019 until the attempted coup in February 2021, the Working Group consistently advocated for an effective MNHRC that demonstrates a commitment to the international standards set forth in the Paris Principles.

More information at:  https://www.facebook.com/WGonNHRIBurma

Twitter: @WG_MMNHRI

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