AJC – OPINIO JURIS ONLINE SYMPOSIUM

 

From 27 September - 1 October 2021, Asia Justice Coalition and Opinio Juris curated a virtual symposium titled: ‘The Current Crisis in Myanmar: Legal Implications’. The symposium witnessed 7 posts by 9 contributors. They included AJC’s secretariat staff Jennifer Keene-McCann as well as representatives of AJC members such as Kingsley Abbott (ICJ), Tun Khin (BROUK), Antonia Mulvey (LAW), Grant Shubin (GJC), Shayna Bauchner (HRW), and others. All contributions can be accessed here.

FORTIFY RIGHTS SUBMITS AN AMICUS PETITION TO INVESTIGATE ATROCITY CRIMES AGAINST ROHINGYA

 

On 1 October, Fortify Rights announced that it has made an amicus curiae submission to the National Chamber of Federal Criminal and Correctional Appeals in Buenos Aires urging the Court to investigate, under universal jurisdiction, genocide and crimes against humanity, including sexual violence, mass atrocity crimes committed with impunity against Rohingya in Myanmar.

 

AJC COALITION MEMBERS SEEKS ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THE MURDER OF ROHINGYA LEADER

 

AJC Coalition members LAW, Fortify Rights, BROUK, BHRN, HRW, Amnesty International called upon the Bangladeshi authorities to undertake a just and effective investigation into the killing of Rohingya leader Mohibullah by unknown assailants on 27 September and to hold those responsible to account.

CPJ –ICJ WEBINAR SERIES: SESSION 3 and 4 – ‘INTRODUCTION TO THE ICC and IIMM’

 

The Refugee Studies Unit at Centre of Peace and Justice (CPJ-BRAC) and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) held their third (Introduction to the International Criminal Court) and fourth (Introduction to the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar) session of its webinar series on 11 and 25 October respectively. The session supported by the Asia Justice Coalition was addressed by Mr. Kingsley Abbott.

 

FORTIFY RIGHTS ISSUES STATEMENT TO REVISE AND RELEASE ROHINGYA MOU

 

On 15 October, Fortify Rights released a statement calling on the Government of Bangladesh and the UNHCR to revise and release the recently concluded agreement regarding the provision of U.N. services to Rohingya refugees on Bhasan Char island.

HRW EXPRESSES ITS CONCERN ABOUT THE MYANMAR PRISONER RELEASES

 

On 21 October, Human Rights Watch released a statement expressing its disappointment and concern on the Myanmar junta’s recent prisoner releases and calls for the release of all political prisoners. As per the statement, such executive decisions are ‘limited in scope and do not reflect a broader change in the military’s respect for human rights’.

UNSG APPOINTS NEW SPECIAL ENVOY FOR MYANMAR

 

On 25 October, the U.N. Secretary-General António Guterres appointed Ms. Noeleen Heyzer of Singapore as his new Special Envoy on Myanmar. Ms. Heyzer succeeds Christine Schraner Burgener of Switzerland.

 

MYANMAR DECLARED AS THE DEADLIEST COUNTRY FOR DEMONSTRATIONS

 

According to the data collected by the Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project (ACLED), Myanmar is the deadliest country for the demonstrators in the world. In 2021, 60% of all killings across the world, who died as a result of peaceful demonstrations are from Myanmar.

 

 UNHCR DEPLORES VIOLENT ATTACK IN ROHINGYA REFUGEE CAMP

 

On 22 October, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) released a statement deploring the latest violent attack in the Rohingya refugee camps in Bangladesh. The incident resulted in the death of at least seven refugees and an unspecified number of injured, including children. The UNHCR urged the Bangladesh authorities to take immediate measures to improve the security in the refugee camps.

 

MYANMAR MILITARY IS COMMITTING SYSTEMATIC TORTURE

 

On 22 October, the Associated Press released its detailed report on the use of systematic and methodical torture by Myanmar’s military since the February coup.

 

 

UN SPECIAL RAPPORTEUR ON MYANMAR CAUTIONS THE RELEASE OF POLITICAL PRISONERS

 

On 18 October, UN Special Rapporteur Tom Andrews published his statement on the release of detainees by the Myanmar military on 18 October. According to him, "while today's announcement by the Myanmar junta of the release of over 5000 political prisoners is welcome. It is important to remember that junta forces detained these individuals illegally for exercising their fundamental human rights.”

 

ASEAN EXCLUDES MYANMAR MILITARY FROM ITS ANNUAL SUMMIT

 

On 15 October, in an unprecedented move, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) has decided to exclude the Junta representative from its Annual Summit and invite a non-political representative from Myanmar. The decision came about in the light of the lack of progress made on the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus that the junta had agreed to with ASEAN in April to restore peace in Myanmar.

EU PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY IN MYANMAR

 

The European Parliament passed a resolution on 7 October condemning the human rights violations that amount to crimes against humanity committed by Tatmadaw against the people in Myanmar. The resolution calls on the Council to continue to impose targeted sanctions against those responsible for the coup of February 2021. The full resolution is available here.

 

BURMA ACT INTRODUCED IN THE US CONGRESS

 

On 5 October, a new legislation titled “Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2021” or BURMA Act has been introduced in the US Congress. The legislation condemns the actions taken by the Burmese military during its February 1 coup d’état and its aftermath. It calls for targeted sanctions, offers support for civil society and humanitarian assistance, and calls on the State Department to issue a genocide determination for the persecution of the Rohingya.