International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide

Date August 23-24, 2019 

Place Paulus Hall 101A, Sogang University, Seoul 

Co-hosted by EuroBurma Office, Human Rights Action CenterFree Rohingya Coalition, FORSEA, Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with the Rohingya

Program

August 23 (Fri) 

Time

Contents

09:00 ~09:30

Registration

09:30 ~ 09:55

Opening Remarks

Free Rohingya Coalition, Korean Civil Society in Solidarity with the Rohingya

10:00~10:50

Keynote Speech I

Yanghee LEE | UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Situation in Myanmar 

11:00~12:30

Session 1. Voices of Rohingya and Burmese Minority Women  

  • Yasmin Ullah | Director, Rohingya Human Rights Network

  • Hseng Noung | Shan Women Action Network

  • Naw May Oo | Adviser to the Karen National Union

12:30~13:50

Lunch

14:00~14:50

Session 2. Tackling Sexual Violence in Myanmar and in the Region 

  • Razia Sultana | Chairperson, Rohingya Women Welfare Society  

  • Meehyang Yoon | Representative, The Korean Council for Justice & Remembrance for the Issues of Military SExual Slavery by Japan

  • Rahima Begum | Researcher, Activist & Co-founder, Restless Beings

15:00 ~ 15:50

Session 3. Asian Solidarity with the Rohingya Survivors

  • Khin Mai Aung | Writer & Civil Rights Lawyer

  • Bian D.Costa | Australian National University

  • Teressa Der-Lan Yeh | Chair, Taiwan Women’s Rescue Foundation 

  • Rev.Park Sanghun, S.J. | Director, Jesuit Research Center for Advocacy and Solidarity 

16:00  16:50

Session 4. Tackling Racism & Mobilized Hatred in Myanmar & Other Countries in the Region 

  • Thet Swe Win | Activist, Social Harmony Organization

  • James Gomez | Former Director, Amnesty International Southeast Asia 

  • Jiyoung SHIN | Assistant Professor, Yonsei University, Project <Refugee X Field> 

17:00 ~ 17:30

Keynote Speech II

  • Sara Hossain| US State Department's honoree, International Woman of Courage (2016);  Advisory Board member of the Open Society Foundations; Barrister at the Supreme Court of Bangladesh and honorary executive director of Bangladesh Legal Aid and Services Trust & the Defence Counsel for Nobel Laureate Dr. Mohammad Yunus.

17:30~18:00

Wrap-up

August 24 (Sat)

09:00 ~ 09:30

Registration 

09:30 ~ 10:20

Keynote Speech III. 

  • Marzuki Darusman | Chair, United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (TBC)

10:30 ~ 11:20

Session 6. Boycott Myanmar I : Cultural and Governmental Relation 

  • Maung Zarni | Coordinator, Free Rohingya Coalition 

  • Tapan Bose | Secretary-General, South Asia Forum for Human Rights

  • Mabrur Ahmed | Co-founder & Director, Restless Being

11:30 ~ 12:20

Session 7. Boycott Myanmar II : Biz Investment & HR in Rakhine State

  • Nay San Lwin | Coordinator, Free Rohingya Coalition

  • Michimi Muranuchi | Professor of International Politics, Gakushuin University

  • Hyunpil Nah | Executive Director, Korean House for International Solidarity; KTNC Watch

12:30 ~ 13:20

Session 8. Accountability Measures 

  • Katherine Southwick | Former Clerk in the Office of the Prosecutor at ICTY

  • Doreen Chen | Coordinator for International Law, Free Rohingya Coalition

  • Djaouida Siaci | Rohingya Support Group-International Expert

13:20 ~ 13:30 

Wrap-up

 

'Advocacy' 카테고리의 다른 글

Other Reports  (0) 2018.07.03
Genocide Reports  (0) 2018.07.03
Letter to UNHCR on Human Rights Violations to the Rohingya minority  (0) 2018.07.03
Posted by adians
,

Other Reports

Advocacy 2018. 7. 3. 11:33

Other Reports


  1. Human Rights Status Report on Illegal Israeli Settlements in Palestine, Focused on Changes Under the Trump Administration (in Korean)


Following Trump’s election as President of the United States, illegal Israeli settlements in East Jerusalem and the West Bank increased 400% in construction compared to the previous year.

Through them, Palestinians suffered the human rights violations of demolition of their houses, forced eviction, confiscation of property, physical violence, threats to livelihood, and road blockades and other movement restrictions.  The illegal settlements are expected to increase in the future.


Human Rights Status Report on Illegal Israeli Settlements in Palestine_Korean.pdf



  1. “Massacre in Meikthilar and Justice Unaddressed” (in English)

 

Anti-Muslim rioting by a Buddhist nationalist mob resulted in a massacre of Muslims on March 20, 2013, in Meikthilar, Myanmar, and continued for three days, killing 43 people, injuring 86 others, and displacing a total 13,000 people. This report is a result of a mutual project from The Seagull and Asian Dignity Initiative. 


&ldquo;Massacre in Meikthilar and Justice Unaddressed&rdquo;_English.pdf



  1. Human Rights Report on the Rohingya, April 2017: “Leave.  This is not your country” (in Korean)


Human Rights Report on the Rohingya, April 2017 &ldquo;Leave. This is not your country&rdquo;_Korean.pdf





Posted by adians
,

Genocide Reports

Advocacy 2018. 7. 3. 11:27

Genocide  Reports


These reports document the August 2017 acts of genocide against the Rohingya minority in Myanmar.  As a result, 900,000 people escaped and now live in refugee camps in Bangladesh.


  1. Tula Toli: “We want justice”

  2. Done Paik: “We had nowhere to hide from the military”  https://issuu.com/donghwa0912/docs/web_dp_report_fin

  3. Koe Tan Kauk: “Father, what can we do?” https://issuu.com/donghwa0912/docs/web_ktk_report_fin

  4. Inn Din: “We begged them not to arrest our husbands” https://issuu.com/donghwa0912/docs/web_id_report_fin






Posted by adians
,

COMMUNICATION TO:

United Nations Human Rights Council


o Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

o Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances

o Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions

o Special Rapporteur on the rights of indigenous peoples

o Special Rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons

o Special Rapporteur on minority issues

o Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief

o Special Rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment

o Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences


Re: Human Rights Violations against Rohingya people that have taken place since October 2016 by the Government of Myanmar including its Military and law enforcement.


On behalf of 48 victim survivors of the human rights violations allegedly by the Government of Myanmar including its own military and law enforcement, Asian Dignity Initiative is hereby submitting communication to the numerous mandate holders of the United Nations Special Procedures as listed above for the constructive dialogue with the Government of Myanmar. It is noted that the names listed in this report are real ones and the victim survivors wish to remain anonymous when you communicate with the Government of Myanmar for their safety concern. Please do not hesitate to contact if you have any inquiry with respect to submission of this communication. We thank you.


Sincerely yours,

Asian Dignity Initiative


Summary


On October 9, 2016, Harakah al-Yaqin, an armed group that pursues the terminatin of Rohingya persecution, attacked three places including a police station and guard posts in Maungdaw township located in the northern part of Rhakine State. In this attack, nine police officers died and guns and bullets fell into the hands of Harakah al-Yaqin. In order to subjugate Harakah al-Yaqin, the Myanmar Army and the Border Guard Police blocked every access to the related areas. The government expanded curfew, shot down schools, and prohibited gatherings of more than five people. The media’s approach was also controlled and humanitarian aid was blocked.


Under the government’s massive counter-insurgency operation, 300-2,000 troops worked in small unit to search the whole villages. The search was conducted unawares once every two or three days or sometimes four times a day. The village’s residents survived by taking refuge in the mountain when soldiers raided the village and coming back after they left. Some escaped to another village, but there was no such thing as a safe place.


According to the Myanmar Government, the operation lasted for four months until the third week of February in 2017. However, it is still early to confirm this as a fact with the recent series of reports that contradict the government’s statement. The Myanmar Government is detaining about five hundred suspects under arrest some of whom have been sentenced or still on trial. The detained people’s rights to legal aid and have visitors are limited. The UN has estimated that more than a thousand people died with the government’s counter-insurgency operation. About fifteen hundred buildings and houses were destroyed by arson and seventy-five thousand people became refugees. A lot of refugees are staying at the temporary refugee camp in Bangladesh, but there are also a lot of internally displaced people in Myanmar.


To summarize the interviews of the surviving victims conducted by ADI: First, the Myanmar Army and the Border Guard Police murdered Rohingya civilians in Maungdaw township, located in northern Rakhine State, with indiscriminate firing, firing at close range, battery, arson, deadly weapons (sword), rape, etc. Children could not avoid the brutal murder, either; Second, majority of the Rohingya men was arbitrarily arrested and then went missing afterward; Third, the Army and the Border Guard Police battered Rohingya civilians with rifle’s gunstock, club, and military boots while women fell victim to rape, gang rape, and sexual violence; Four, houses and buildings were set on fire or destroyed and the villagers were looted of their property including money, gold accessories, food, livestock, and so on.


The Myanmar Government completely denies the suspicion of human rights violation raised by the UN, international human rights groups, and media. The Government argues that the armed forces set fire with an intention to shift the blame to the Army and induce international support. In addition, the Government denied the suspicion of rape by defining it ‘false information’. After last October, the Myanmar Government has established four investigation committees and conducted investigation activities. Nevertheless, the credibility and effectiveness of the investigation are doubted, as the construction and activities of the committees are neither independent nor impartial and lack expertise in human rights. Moreover, no person has been investigated, put on trial, or sentenced so far regarding serious human rights violation cases.


The Myanmar Government should conduct prompt, independent, and impartial investigation, punish the people responsible for serious human rights infringement, and take appropriate measures to compensate the surviving victims. The Myanmar Government should provide humanitarian aid to the people internally displaced after the counter-insurgency operation.


If the Myanmar Government has no will or lacks ability to take such measures, the international community should promptly intervene and take it to the International Criminal Court to see if this case fits as genocide or a crime against humanity and punish the people responsible and provide support to the surviving victims so that their rights are restored.


* To download the full version, click the following: 


UN Communication letter and Report on Rohingya minority.pdf


'Advocacy' 카테고리의 다른 글

International Conference on Protection of Rohingya Survivors and Accountability for Genocide  (0) 2019.08.16
Other Reports  (0) 2018.07.03
Genocide Reports  (0) 2018.07.03
Posted by adians
,