Situation of human rights in Myanmar
General Assembly
9 November 2012
Original: English
Sixty-seventh session
Third Committee
Agenda item 69 (c)
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights
situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco,
Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and United States of America: draft resolution
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
9 November 2012
Original: English
Sixty-seventh session
Third Committee
Agenda item 69 (c)
Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights
situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives
Andorra, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus,
Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Grenada,
Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco,
Montenegro, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of
Moldova, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, the former Yugoslav
Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
and United States of America: draft resolution
Situation of human rights in Myanmar
The General Assembly,
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights,1 the International Covenants on Human Rights2 and other relevant
human rights instruments, and recalling its previous resolutions on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar, the most recent of which is resolution 66/230 of
24 December 2011, those of the Commission on Human Rights, and those of the
Human Rights Council, the most recent of which is resolution 19/21 of 23 March
2012,3
Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights
in Myanmar4 and the facilitation by the Government of Myanmar of his visit to the
country from 29 April to 1 May 2012 and the visits of his Special Adviser on
Myanmar on 13 and 14 June 2012,
Welcoming also the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
Guided by the Charter of the United Nations and the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights,1 the International Covenants on Human Rights2 and other relevant
human rights instruments, and recalling its previous resolutions on the situation of
human rights in Myanmar, the most recent of which is resolution 66/230 of
24 December 2011, those of the Commission on Human Rights, and those of the
Human Rights Council, the most recent of which is resolution 19/21 of 23 March
2012,3
Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on the situation of human rights
in Myanmar4 and the facilitation by the Government of Myanmar of his visit to the
country from 29 April to 1 May 2012 and the visits of his Special Adviser on
Myanmar on 13 and 14 June 2012,
Welcoming also the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
Welcoming also the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar5 and the access granted to him during his visit in Myanmar from
30 July to 4 August 2012,
rights in Myanmar5 and the access granted to him during his visit in Myanmar from
30 July to 4 August 2012,
1. Welcomes the positive developments in Myanmar and the stated
commitment of the Government of Myanmar to continue the path of political
reform, democratization and national reconciliation and the promotion and
protection of human rights, recognizing the scale of the reform effort undertaken to
date;
2. Also welcomes the continued engagement of the Government of
Myanmar with political actors within Parliament, civil society and opposition
parties, and urges the Government to continue electoral reform and to pursue an
inclusive and sustained dialogue with the democratic opposition and political, ethnic
and civil society groups and actors, leading to national reconciliation and lasting
peace in Myanmar;
3. Further welcomes the efforts by the Government of Myanmar to ensure
that the parliamentary by-elections held in Myanmar on 1 April 2012 were well
organized and transparent, and is encouraged by the subsequent participation of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, along with many
other political parties, in the Parliament of Myanmar;
4. Welcomes the increasing space for political activity, assembly, speech and
the press, including the abolition, on 20 August 2012, of direct press media
censorship, and encourages the Government to fulfil its commitment to carry out
comprehensive media reform, including to allow for free and independent media and
to ensure the safety, security and freedom of human rights defenders to pursue their
activities;
5. Also welcomes the continued release of prisoners of conscience during
the past year, urges the Government to continue the process of releasing them
without delay and without conditions and to ensure the full restoration of their rights
and freedoms in line with the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar, and, further, recommends that the
Government conduct a comprehensive, thorough and inclusive investigation to
identify remaining prisoners of conscience;
6. Expresses concern about remaining human rights violations, including
arbitrary detention, forced displacement, land confiscations, rape and other forms of
sexual violence, and torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as
violations of international humanitarian law, and urges the Government of Myanmar
to step up its efforts to put an end to such violations;
7. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar to take necessary measures to
ensure accountability and end impunity, including by undertaking a full, transparent
and independent investigation into all reports of violations of international human
rights and humanitarian law;
8. Recommends that the Government of Myanmar consider ratifying further
international instruments in the fields of human rights, labour law, refugee law and
humanitarian law;
9. Welcomes the continuing review of legislation to assess its compatibility
with international human rights law, the adoption of new laws, including on
peaceful protests and labour rights, and the consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including civil society and international organizations, on some of the draft laws,
and encourages the Government to continue its review, including of new laws,
establishing an order of priority to ensure that they are compatible with international
standards, while ensuring broad consultation, and to support the implementation of
reforms, including at the local level;
10. Acknowledges with interest the activities undertaken by the National
Human Rights Commission, including its review of complaints and its conduct of
investigative missions, and encourages it to further develop its protection work and
engagement with civil society, while recalling the need to ensure the Commission’s
independent, free, credible and effective functioning in accordance with the Paris
Principles;6
11. Notes with interest the steps taken to address the need for an
independent, impartial and effective judiciary, including steps by the Supreme Court
to engage with and seek technical assistance from the international community, and
encourages the continuation of efforts in this regard, in line with the Government’s
own stated intention to strengthen the rule of law in Myanmar;
12. Welcomes the substantial progress made over the past year by the
Government of Myanmar in signing initial peace agreements with ten of eleven
major ethnic armed groups, as well as the commitment by the Government to ensure
an inclusive peace process, and highlights the need for continued coordination and
support from donors and partners for technical assistance, capacity-building and
empowering civil society, and strongly encourages the establishment of formal
political dialogue as part of an inclusive process towards ensuring long-term peace
and national reconciliation;
13. Expresses deep concern about the continuing armed conflict in Kachin
State and the associated human rights and international humanitarian law violations,
and calls upon the Government and all parties to the armed conflict to take measures
to protect the civilian population and for safe, timely, full and unhindered
humanitarian access;
14. Urges the Government to accelerate its efforts to address discrimination,
human rights violations, violence, displacement and economic deprivation affecting
various ethnic minorities and, expressing particular concern about the situation of
the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State, urges the Government to take action to
bring about an improvement in their situation and to protect all their human rights,
including their right to a nationality;
15. Expresses its serious concern at the latest outbreaks of violence between
communities in Rakhine State, calls upon all parties to bring an immediate end to
the violence, urging the Government, the police and the local gendarmerie to take
all necessary actions to protect civilians without delay, notes in this regard the
efforts by the Government of Myanmar to end the violence earlier this year and its
stated intention to address the issue in line with international standards and urges
that expeditious steps be taken in that direction, and calls upon the Government of
Myanmar:
(a) To ensure the safety of populations, release all arbitrarily detained
persons, including United Nations staff, and address reports of human rights
violations by some authorities;
(b) To grant safe, timely, full and unhindered humanitarian access across
Rakhine State to all persons in need and facilitate the return of individuals to their
original communities, and welcomes in this regard the various cooperation
agreements between Myanmar authorities and the international community for the
distribution of humanitarian aid in Rakhine province;
(c) To support the restitution of property that was seriously damaged or
destroyed and, welcoming the recent establishment of an investigative commission
for the recent situation in Rakhine State, ensure a full, transparent and independent
investigation of those reports, with the participation of all the affected communities,
including the Rohingya, and bring to justice those responsible;
(d) To adopt short- and long-term measures, taking into account a policy of
peaceful integrated coexistence between all communities in Rakhine State;
16. Welcomes the action plan on child soldiers signed by the Government of
Myanmar on 27 June 2012 with the United Nations to prevent the recruitment and
use of children by the armed forces of Myanmar and providing a time-bound plan
for the release and reintegration of children within its ranks, and calls upon the
Government to take immediate steps towards ending the recruitment and use of
child soldiers by all parties in full collaboration with the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and to grant unhindered
access to all areas where children are recruited;
17. Also welcomes the agreement between the Government of Myanmar and
the International Labour Organization on a joint strategy and the stated intent of the
Government of Myanmar to eliminate all forms of forced labour by 2015;
18. Further welcomes the progress made in the development of some
activities by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and urges the
Government of Myanmar to allow it to carry out other activities in accordance with
its mandate, in particular by granting access to detained persons and to areas of
internal armed conflict;
19. Welcomes the dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urges the
Government to intensify its cooperation with the Office with a view to continuing
and consolidating human rights reform in Myanmar;
20. Encourages the international community to continue to support the
Government of Myanmar in the fulfilment of its international human rights
obligations and commitments, the implementation of its democratic transitional
process and its economic and social development;
21. Requests the Secretary-General:
(a) To continue to provide his good offices and to pursue his discussions on
the situation of human rights, the transition to democracy and the national
reconciliation process with the Government and the people of Myanmar, involving
all relevant stakeholders, including democracy and human rights groups, and to
offer technical assistance to the Government in this regard;
(b) To give all assistance necessary to enable the Special Adviser and the
Special Rapporteur to discharge their mandates fully, effectively and in a
coordinated manner;
commitment of the Government of Myanmar to continue the path of political
reform, democratization and national reconciliation and the promotion and
protection of human rights, recognizing the scale of the reform effort undertaken to
date;
2. Also welcomes the continued engagement of the Government of
Myanmar with political actors within Parliament, civil society and opposition
parties, and urges the Government to continue electoral reform and to pursue an
inclusive and sustained dialogue with the democratic opposition and political, ethnic
and civil society groups and actors, leading to national reconciliation and lasting
peace in Myanmar;
3. Further welcomes the efforts by the Government of Myanmar to ensure
that the parliamentary by-elections held in Myanmar on 1 April 2012 were well
organized and transparent, and is encouraged by the subsequent participation of
Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy, along with many
other political parties, in the Parliament of Myanmar;
4. Welcomes the increasing space for political activity, assembly, speech and
the press, including the abolition, on 20 August 2012, of direct press media
censorship, and encourages the Government to fulfil its commitment to carry out
comprehensive media reform, including to allow for free and independent media and
to ensure the safety, security and freedom of human rights defenders to pursue their
activities;
5. Also welcomes the continued release of prisoners of conscience during
the past year, urges the Government to continue the process of releasing them
without delay and without conditions and to ensure the full restoration of their rights
and freedoms in line with the recommendations of the Special Rapporteur on the
situation of human rights in Myanmar, and, further, recommends that the
Government conduct a comprehensive, thorough and inclusive investigation to
identify remaining prisoners of conscience;
6. Expresses concern about remaining human rights violations, including
arbitrary detention, forced displacement, land confiscations, rape and other forms of
sexual violence, and torture and cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, as well as
violations of international humanitarian law, and urges the Government of Myanmar
to step up its efforts to put an end to such violations;
7. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar to take necessary measures to
ensure accountability and end impunity, including by undertaking a full, transparent
and independent investigation into all reports of violations of international human
rights and humanitarian law;
8. Recommends that the Government of Myanmar consider ratifying further
international instruments in the fields of human rights, labour law, refugee law and
humanitarian law;
9. Welcomes the continuing review of legislation to assess its compatibility
with international human rights law, the adoption of new laws, including on
peaceful protests and labour rights, and the consultation with relevant stakeholders,
including civil society and international organizations, on some of the draft laws,
and encourages the Government to continue its review, including of new laws,
establishing an order of priority to ensure that they are compatible with international
standards, while ensuring broad consultation, and to support the implementation of
reforms, including at the local level;
10. Acknowledges with interest the activities undertaken by the National
Human Rights Commission, including its review of complaints and its conduct of
investigative missions, and encourages it to further develop its protection work and
engagement with civil society, while recalling the need to ensure the Commission’s
independent, free, credible and effective functioning in accordance with the Paris
Principles;6
11. Notes with interest the steps taken to address the need for an
independent, impartial and effective judiciary, including steps by the Supreme Court
to engage with and seek technical assistance from the international community, and
encourages the continuation of efforts in this regard, in line with the Government’s
own stated intention to strengthen the rule of law in Myanmar;
12. Welcomes the substantial progress made over the past year by the
Government of Myanmar in signing initial peace agreements with ten of eleven
major ethnic armed groups, as well as the commitment by the Government to ensure
an inclusive peace process, and highlights the need for continued coordination and
support from donors and partners for technical assistance, capacity-building and
empowering civil society, and strongly encourages the establishment of formal
political dialogue as part of an inclusive process towards ensuring long-term peace
and national reconciliation;
13. Expresses deep concern about the continuing armed conflict in Kachin
State and the associated human rights and international humanitarian law violations,
and calls upon the Government and all parties to the armed conflict to take measures
to protect the civilian population and for safe, timely, full and unhindered
humanitarian access;
14. Urges the Government to accelerate its efforts to address discrimination,
human rights violations, violence, displacement and economic deprivation affecting
various ethnic minorities and, expressing particular concern about the situation of
the Rohingya minority in Rakhine State, urges the Government to take action to
bring about an improvement in their situation and to protect all their human rights,
including their right to a nationality;
15. Expresses its serious concern at the latest outbreaks of violence between
communities in Rakhine State, calls upon all parties to bring an immediate end to
the violence, urging the Government, the police and the local gendarmerie to take
all necessary actions to protect civilians without delay, notes in this regard the
efforts by the Government of Myanmar to end the violence earlier this year and its
stated intention to address the issue in line with international standards and urges
that expeditious steps be taken in that direction, and calls upon the Government of
Myanmar:
(a) To ensure the safety of populations, release all arbitrarily detained
persons, including United Nations staff, and address reports of human rights
violations by some authorities;
(b) To grant safe, timely, full and unhindered humanitarian access across
Rakhine State to all persons in need and facilitate the return of individuals to their
original communities, and welcomes in this regard the various cooperation
agreements between Myanmar authorities and the international community for the
distribution of humanitarian aid in Rakhine province;
(c) To support the restitution of property that was seriously damaged or
destroyed and, welcoming the recent establishment of an investigative commission
for the recent situation in Rakhine State, ensure a full, transparent and independent
investigation of those reports, with the participation of all the affected communities,
including the Rohingya, and bring to justice those responsible;
(d) To adopt short- and long-term measures, taking into account a policy of
peaceful integrated coexistence between all communities in Rakhine State;
16. Welcomes the action plan on child soldiers signed by the Government of
Myanmar on 27 June 2012 with the United Nations to prevent the recruitment and
use of children by the armed forces of Myanmar and providing a time-bound plan
for the release and reintegration of children within its ranks, and calls upon the
Government to take immediate steps towards ending the recruitment and use of
child soldiers by all parties in full collaboration with the Special Representative of
the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, and to grant unhindered
access to all areas where children are recruited;
17. Also welcomes the agreement between the Government of Myanmar and
the International Labour Organization on a joint strategy and the stated intent of the
Government of Myanmar to eliminate all forms of forced labour by 2015;
18. Further welcomes the progress made in the development of some
activities by the International Committee of the Red Cross, and urges the
Government of Myanmar to allow it to carry out other activities in accordance with
its mandate, in particular by granting access to detained persons and to areas of
internal armed conflict;
19. Welcomes the dialogue between the Government of Myanmar and the
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and urges the
Government to intensify its cooperation with the Office with a view to continuing
and consolidating human rights reform in Myanmar;
20. Encourages the international community to continue to support the
Government of Myanmar in the fulfilment of its international human rights
obligations and commitments, the implementation of its democratic transitional
process and its economic and social development;
21. Requests the Secretary-General:
(a) To continue to provide his good offices and to pursue his discussions on
the situation of human rights, the transition to democracy and the national
reconciliation process with the Government and the people of Myanmar, involving
all relevant stakeholders, including democracy and human rights groups, and to
offer technical assistance to the Government in this regard;
(b) To give all assistance necessary to enable the Special Adviser and the
Special Rapporteur to discharge their mandates fully, effectively and in a
coordinated manner;
(c) To report to the General Assembly at its sixty-eighth session, as well as
to the Human Rights Council, on the progress made in the implementation of the
present resolution;
22. Decides to continue the consideration of the question at its sixty-eighth
session, on the basis of the reports of the Secretary-General and the Special
Rapporteur.
to the Human Rights Council, on the progress made in the implementation of the
present resolution;
22. Decides to continue the consideration of the question at its sixty-eighth
session, on the basis of the reports of the Secretary-General and the Special
Rapporteur.
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