2012-10-27 Update BBC News – Burma acknowledges mass burnings in Rakhine unrest http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-20110150

2012-10-27 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

„He cited Aceh as an example, highlighting that the implementation of human rights – as is internationally understood – must adapt to the sharia implemented in

the province.

The joint ministerial decree is among the three regulations the Indonesian government has offered to set up in response to its refusal to adopt 30 „critical“ recommendations by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) after a quadrennial human rights review in May.

In addition to the decree, the government has also announced that it will establish a law on human rights friendly districts and finalize the long-awaited truth and reconciliation bill to deal with past human rights abuses.“

Human rights must bow to religious values: Home Minister | The Jakarta Post

Citing Syria and Mali, deputy UN chief highlights impact of Security Council unity

2012-10-24 Update — Rohingya Cleansing Continues in Arakan Under State Programme ~ Rohingya Blogger http://bit.ly/TUvAcf

Religious harmony is a must, but how? | The Jakarta Post

„Table of religious intolerance:

• During the era of President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono (as of 2007) 108 churches have been closed/damaged; in the era of president Megawati Soekarnoputri, 92; in the era of president Abdurrahman Wahid, 232; in the era of president Soeharto, 456.

• Based on data from the Manado Post daily, there were 2,442 cases of church closures and demolitions in the period between 2004 and 2010

• In 2011, Setara Institute recorded 244 cases of religious intolerance in 17 regions. The largest number of cases was recorded in West Java (57 cases), followed by South Sulawesi (45), East Java (31), North Sumatra (24) and Banten (12).“

http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/FreedomReligion/Pages/FreedomReligionIndex.aspx

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_religion

http://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2012/10/20/religious-harmony-a-must-how.html

2012-10-23 Update: Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

„We need humanitarian assistance. If we reject the humanitarian assistance, the international community will not accept us,“ Thein Sein told reporters in his first domestic press conference since taking office 18 months ago.

„We have to feed the people. It costs $10,000 a day,“ he said of the Rakhine camps.

„Our government cannot afford it. We are not in a situation to feed the people in the camps with the help of ordinary citizens so we have to accept humanitarian assistance from the international community. If we do not accept the humanitarian assistance they will say we are not human.“

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/46140/myanmar-leader-says-open-to-aid-for-muslims

2012-10-12 Update — BANGLADESH: Rohingya refugees face more restrictions

DHAKA, 12 October 2012 (IRIN) – Activists warn of further restrictions on Rohingya refugees in southeastern Bangladesh following recent communal violence.

“Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh will likely face more restrictions on their movement or arrests and push-backs,” Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, an advocacy organization for the Rohingya, told IRIN on 12 October.

“We are seeing examples of that already on the ground.”

“Refugees International is concerned about the talk of further restrictions being imposed on Rohingya refugees in the Cox’s Bazar District of Bangladesh,” said Melanie Teff, a senior advocate with Refugees International.

The Rohingya – an ethnic, linguistic and religious minority who fled persecution en masse from Myanmar’s neighbouring Rakhine State decades ago – have long had a tenuous relationship with the Bangladeshi authorities who view them as illegal migrants.

Under Burmese law, they are de jure stateless and face constant persecution, say activists, while in Bangladesh they are barred from employment.

According to the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), there are more than 200,000 Rohingya in Bangladesh today, including more than 30,000 documented refugees living in two government-run camps [Kutupalong and Nayapara] within 2km of the Burmese border.

UNHCR has not been permitted to register newly arriving Rohingya since mid-1992. The vast majority of Rohingya are living in villages and towns in the area and receive little to no assistance as UNHCR is only allowed to assist those who are documented.

Blame game

On 1 October, Bangladesh Home Minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir accused the Rohingya of involvement in a series of attacks on minority Buddhist temples and homes in the southeast.

The violence was reportedly triggered by a photo posted on Facebook that insulted Islam at the end of September, resulting in some of the worst sectarian violence in Bangladesh in years.

Thousands of Muslims went on the rampage in predominately Buddhist areas, setting ablaze temples and monasteries, resulting in dozens of homes burned.

„The attacks on temples and houses in Buddhist localities in Ramu and neighbouring areas in Cox’s Bazar (district) were perpetrated by radical Islamists,“ the minister told reporters.

„Rohingyas and political opponents of the government were also involved in the attack,” he added, describing the incident as a „premeditated and deliberate attempt“ to disrupt communal harmony.

Recent violence in Rakhine State has displaced thousands

Following the violence, law enforcement agencies were instructed to restrict the movement of Rohingya refugees and curb their interactions with the local community – a move confirmed by refugees on the ground.

“New check posts were established and we are facing abnormal restriction after the Ramu incident,” a 20-year-old Rohingya youth, who asked not to be identified, told IRIN by phone.

Impact in Myanmar

The impact of these events in Myanmar is also a concern. “What’s happening in Bangladesh will only exacerbate communal tension inside Rakhine State,” Lewa said.

In June 2012 violence flared in Rakhine State forcing tens of thousands of Rohingya to flee both within Myanmar and across the border.

According to Myanmar government estimates, more than 70,000 people are now living in temporary camps and shelters following inter-communal conflict.

Of particular concern is forced segregation and protracted displacement in the state capital, Sittwe, where Rohingya who lost their homes in the violence have been moved into camps, says Refugees International.

Despite repeated advocacy efforts by UNHCR, civil society and the diplomatic community, Bangladesh decided to close its borders to persons fleeing the country.

Those who managed to make it to Bangladesh were rounded up and sent back. However, there are no reliable figures on the number of arrivals and the number refouled.

Bangladesh is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol. http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96526/BANGLADESH-Rohingya-refugees-face-more-restrictions

2012-10-11 Update — U Ba Sein Rohingya Blogger

The European Rohingya Council formed ~ Rohingya Blogger http://bit.ly/WS8oiu

2012-10-10 Update — Burma News from Mizzima

Plight of stateless Rohingyas hinges on citizenship: US official. The lack of citizenship must be addressed for any long-term solution to the distress in the Rohingya community http://bit.ly/PmZIRJ

2012-10-06 Update — Democratic Voice of Burma

Analysis: Did the gov’t incite the racial violence targeting the Rohingya? http://bit.ly/R2GFI6

2012-10-06 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

Myanmar: UN refugee agency warns number of displaced people in Rakhine state still rising http://bit.ly/SS6t9C

2012-09-30 Update — “ Casualties of 5 thousand people, numerous people injured and thousands displaced and homeless after the Security Council may not take any action, then what can they ?“ ‘‘২৫ হাজার মানুষের প্রাণহানি, অসংখ্য মানুষ আহত এবং হাজার হাজার মানুষ বাস্তুহারা ও গৃহহীন হওয়ার পরও যদি নিরাপত্তা পরিষদ কোন পদক্ষেপ নিতে না পারে, তাহলে তারা আর কী করতে পারে?“

সিরিয়ার সংকট সমাধানে ব্যর্থ হওয়ায় জাতিসংঘ নিরাপত্তা পরিষদের সংস্কারের দাবি তুলেছে নিউজিল্যান্ড৷ এদিকে, রোহিঙ্গা জাতিগোষ্ঠীর সদস্যদের সংকট সমাধানে সতর্কতার সাথে পদক্ষেপ গ্রহণের আহ্বান জানালেন জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব বান কি-মুন৷

জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের বৈঠকে নিউজিল্যান্ডের পক্ষ থেকে দাবি উঠেছে, নিরাপত্তা পরিষদের স্থায়ী পাঁচ সদস্যের ভেটো ক্ষমতা সীমিত করার৷ বিশেষ করে যখন গণহত্যার মতো নির্মম ঘটনা বন্ধের প্রশ্ন আসে তখন অন্তত স্থায়ী পাঁচ সদস্যের ভেটো ক্ষমতা রহিত করা উচিত বলে মনে করেন নিউজিল্যান্ডের পররাষ্ট্র মন্ত্রী মারে ম্যাকালি৷ তিনি বলেন, সিরিয়ার বিষয়ে ঐকমত্যে পৌঁছতে ব্যর্থ হওয়ায় নিরাপত্তা পরিষদ তার বিশ্বস্ততা হারাচ্ছে৷

‘‘২৫ হাজার মানুষের প্রাণহানি, অসংখ্য মানুষ আহত এবং হাজার হাজার মানুষ বাস্তুহারা ও গৃহহীন হওয়ার পরও যদি নিরাপত্তা পরিষদ কোন পদক্ষেপ নিতে না পারে, তাহলে তারা আর কী করতে পারে?“ – এমনভাবেই জাতিসংঘ সাধারণ পরিষদের বৈঠকে প্রশ্ন তুলেছেন ম্যাকালি৷ নিরাপত্তা পরিষদের এমন ব্যর্থতায় নিউজিল্যান্ডের মানুষ হতাশ উল্লেখ করে তিনি নিরাপত্তা পরিষদের সংস্কার সাধনের দাবি তুলেন৷ তবে নিরাপত্তা পরিষদে ভেটো ক্ষমতা একেবারে তুলে দেওয়ার কথা না বলে বরং এটিকে সীমিত করার পক্ষে মত দেন মারে ম্যাকালি৷

এদিকে, জাতিসংঘ মহাসচিব বান কি-মুন বিশ্বের বৃহত্তম ইসলামি সংস্থা ওআইসি’র নেতৃবৃন্দের উদ্দেশ্যে বলেছেন, মিয়ানমারের মুসলিম জনগোষ্ঠী রোহিঙ্গাদের বিষয়টি অত্যন্ত সতর্কতার সাথে বিবেচনা করতে হবে৷ নতুবা সেদেশে চলমান রাজনৈতিক সংস্কার প্রক্রিয়াকে ব্যহত করতে পারে বলে আশঙ্কা প্রকাশ করেন তিনি৷ রোহিঙ্গা জনগোষ্ঠীর সমস্যা নিয়ে ইসলামি সম্মেলন সংস্থা ওআইসি’র মহাসচিব একমেলেদ্দিন ইহসানোগলু এবং মিয়ানমারের প্রেসিডেন্ট থেন সেনের সাথে পৃথক বৈঠক করেন বান কি-মুন৷ http://www.dw.de/dw/article/0,,16274693,00.html

2012-09-30 Update — U.N. chief urges careful handling of Myanmar Rohingyas issue

(Reuters) – U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon urged the world’s largest Islamic body on Saturday to „treat carefully“ the issue of the stateless Muslim Rohingyas in Myanmar because it could affect the reform process underway in the country, also known as Burma.

Over the past year, Myanmar has introduced the most sweeping reforms in the former British colony since a 1962 military coup. A semi-civilian government, stacked with former generals, has allowed elections, eased rules on protests and freed dissidents.

Read more here ~ http://bit.ly/RqZc3f

2012-09-26 Update — Auschwitz Institute for Peace and Reconciliation

The situation of the Rohingya people in Burma remains dire. Even as President Thein Sein has launched political and economic reforms to move the country away from its authoritarian past, and even as Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s champion of human rights, has been freed from house arrest and is now in the middle of an historic, emotional, and heavily publicized visit to the United States, there is still a threat of genocide for the Rohingya. With this in mind, Christine Lim traveled to the campus of Columbia University on Sept. 14 for a discussion titled “Burma in Transition: Minorities, Human Rights, and Democratic Process.” http://bit.ly/UtjzuV

2012-09-20 Update Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

4th in the R2P ‚classics‘ series. As a reviewer in the Times Higher Ed put it, ‚its clear and accessible style, as well as its meticulous discussion of the R2P’s historical and political context, is well integrated into an analysis of the practical side of genocide prevention…‘. Meticulous research is right – brings the ICISS and the WS outcome debates to life. Tim http://bit.ly/OnkNv1

2012-09-18 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

“We are sending them logistical aid, treating them as though they were victims of natural disasters, when what they need most is legal status, adequate livelihoods and a stable future,” Mahendradatta, one of a team of Muslim lawyers, said in Jakarta on Saturday. http://bit.ly/UYrjHA

2012-09-16 Update — Myanmar investigates anti-Rohingya violence

Government commission makes first visit to Rakhine state to investigate violence between Buddhists and Muslims.

The government-appointed commission tasked with investigating violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar, has just completed its first visit to the area. The 27 members saw, first-hand, segregated communities following fighting that resulted in the deaths of at least 80 people and the burning of homes, businesses, Muslim mosques and Buddhist temples.

Around 60,000 Rohingya Muslims remain in camps after violence in June which followed the rape and murder of a Buddhist girl allegedly by three Muslim men. There are also thousands of Buddhists who are still displaced after their homes too were burned to the ground.

In the Muslim majority town of Maungdaw, Rakhine Buddhists are in camps, while in the capital Sittwe, where Buddhists have a slim majority, the homeless are mainly staying in monasteries where their numbers are decreasing as people slowly regain enough courage to return to their communities.

The Rohingya, however, have had their freedoms restricted. Officially, they’ve been told they can leave the camps, but with the caveat from security forces that their safety cannot be guaranteed.

‚Foreign invaders‘ http://farmlandgrab.org/

“We are not allowed to go back to our houses,” said Jakersharife, a Rohingya man whose sister and grandmother were killed in the fighting.

“We want our homes back. We want our land, our business and peace,” he said.

2012-09-13 Update — Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB)

Rohingyas ‘have the right’ to apply for Burmese citizenship: minister. Rohingyas born in Burma are eligible to apply for citizenship if at least two generations of their families have lived in the country, Immigration Minister Khin Ye told the Radio Free Asia Burmese Service on Wednesday.

He said that those who met these requirements “have the right” to apply for citizenship in Burma, where many of them have lived in Rakhine State along the Bangladesh border for generations.

“Foreigners, like the Bengalis, have the right to apply for citizenship if they want to,” Khin Ye said, citing an amendment to the country’s constitution in 1982 during the rule of the former military regime. http://bit.ly/QV8aSx

2012-09-13 Update — Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB)

Rohingya Can ‘Apply for Citizenship’An immigration official says the minority can settle in Burma if individuals meet certain requirements. http://bit.ly/QV8aSx

2012-09-12 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

„In Myanmar, tens of thousands of Rohingya refugees remain stranded in squalid camps after violence left their homes destroyed. Myanmar’s government estimated at least 70,000 people had been displaced by fighting in Rakhine state in July. The unrest began after a Buddhist Rakhine woman was raped and killed in May, allegedly by three Muslim Rohingya men. The UN says more than 100,000 Rohingya refugees are living in camps near the state capital Sittwe after their villages were destroyed.“ http://bcove.me/nd3twiit

2012-09-12 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

„Tens of thousands of displaced people continue to live in refugee camps in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after clashes between Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists killed dozens of combatants in June.

Both sides accuse the other group of having committed atrocities during the conflict.“ http://aje.me/O4JGoC

2012-09-11 Update Muslim delegation visits Rakhine State in Burma http://bit.ly/U5Obm0

An delegation of the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) led by the group’s representative to the United Nations, Ambassador Ufuk Gokcen, arrived in Rakhine State in Burma on Sunday.

“They met the union border affairs minister and Rakhine chief minister and also visited some refugee camps and made donations,” an official said, adding that the group concluded their visit on Monday.

At a summit last month in the Saudi Arabian holy city of Mecca, the 57-member OIC decided to take its concerns over the treatment of the Rohingyas in Burma to the UN.

2012-09-11 Update Matthew F. Smith ‏@matthewfsmith @crisisgroup

Good piece by @jimdella on the plight of Burma’s stateless Rohingya & the need for peace & reconciliation. @crisisgroup http://bit.ly/UGc31M

2012-09-07 Update — Rohinga Blogger U Ba Sei

Our View: Burmese Muslims face severe persecution | Azizah al-Hibri and Robert P. George

For Muslim Americans and other concerned citizens in Indianapolis and elsewhere in the nation, news of still more violence against the largely Muslim Rohingya of Burma highlights the plight of one of the world’s most persecuted communities and the need for a global response. The latest bloodshed, coupled with two prior months of riots and murders, has left more than 700 dead and 80,000 homeless. This violence has been compounded by the behavior of the Burmese security forces who, according to major human rights organizations, have participated in killings and rapes as well as mass arrests against the Rohingya. Read more here ~ http://bit.ly/QqWYjX

2012-09-06 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

The Rohingya crisis: ASEAN vs Red Cross | The Jakarta Post

„ASEAN as a home for all its members, ironically, has not yet offered any solution to extinguish the Rohingya fire. ASEAN therefore has to restore its credibility as a common home for all ASEAN peoples including the Rohingyas by optimizing the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR), which has a special mandate to promote and protect human rights across the region…

In the spirit of non-interference, AICHR could facilitate the Myanmar government through various capacity-building supports for their law-enforcement officials such as community policing especially in the state of Rakhine.

This approach is in line with the mandate of the Outcome Document of the 2005 United Nations World Summit (A/RES/60/1, para. 138-140) and the Secretary-General’s 2009 Report (A/63/677) on the Implementation of the Responsibility to Protect which stipulates that the state carries the primary responsibility for protecting populations from genocide, war crimes, crimes against humanity and ethnic cleansing, and their incitement.“

2012-09-04 Update — Rakhine commission schedules 9-day investigation trip

“Our main objective is to do a pre-survey to help carry out our tasks,” said commission Secretary Dr. Kyaw Yin Hlaing. The team will meet with victims from both communities, residents, government officials and other officials during the trip, he told the Myanmar Times newspaper.

Following the trip, the commission will recruit and train people to collect data that will aid its investigation. http://www.mizzima.com/news/inside-burma/7927-rakhine-commission-schedules-9-day-investigation-trip.html

2012-08-30 Update HRW report details persecution of Burma’s Rohingya Muslims

Reports from the US-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) and Amnesty International, and from Al Jazeera, have shed further light on the oppressive conditions facing the Rohingya Muslim population in Burma’s Rakhine state (also known as Arakan), as well as the communal violence that broke out in June.  http://www.wsws.org/articles/2012/aug2012/burm-a30.shtml

2012-08-30 Update — China Denies UN Access to Returning Refugees | The Irrawaddy Magazine http://www.irrawaddy.org/archives

The Chinese authorities have banned officials of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR) from accessing Kachin refugees who are being forced back home into war-torn northern Burma.

More than 2,000 refugees who took shelter in China’s southwestern Yunnan Province have been deported to Burma since last week. Aid workers, Human Rights Watch and the United States have all urged Beijing to cease the forced repatriation as hostilities between Burmese government troops and Kachin rebels are escalating.

2012-08-29 Update — The Rohingya massacre and OIC

http://www.saudigazette.com.sa/index.cfm?method=home.regcon&contentid=20120829134347 The conference, convened by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, condemned the policy of violence meted out by the government of Myanmar to the Rohingya, describing it incompatible with the principles of human rights and international laws.

2012-03-30 Myanmar poll key test of democratic reform – UN expert

United Nations Human Rights

“I have consistently stressed that the next round of elections should be truly free, fair, inclusive and transparent, but the credibility of Sunday’s vote will not be determined solely on the day, but in the lead-up to and following election day,” said UN expert on human rights in Myanmar Ojea Quintana. More: http://bit.ly/HoYm3k

2012-08-02 Serious human rights challenges remain in Myanmar, says UN expert More: http://shar.es/76fKw

2012-08-26 Update — Democratic Voice of Burma DVB ‏@DemocVoiceBurma

Watchdog slates Bangladesh over Rohingya policy | Democratic Voice of Burma http://www.dvb.no/news/watchdog-slates-bangladesh-over-rohingya-policy/23437 … #Burma #Myanmar

2012-08-25 Update — Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

HRW says China is „flouting its international legal obligations by forcibly returning Kachin refugees to an active conflict zone rife with Burmese army abuses.“ http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/24/china-refugees-forcibly-returned-burma

2012-08-24 Update — Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

HRW says Bangladesh’s policy towards Rohingya refugees is „cruel and inhumane“ and calls upon the government to do more to assist and protect the Rohingya fleeing from killings and other sectarian violence in Burma/Myanmar’s Rakhine State. http://www.hrw.org/news/2012/08/22/bangladesh-assist-protect-rohingya-refugees

2012-08-24 Update — U.S. Ambassador in Myanmar Speaks Out on Rohingya . The “Rohingya are oppressed by everybody,” Mr. Mitchell said. “These people are stateless. They have nowhere to turn. And it is not going to be lost on the international community.”

http://blogs.wsj.com/searealtime/2012/08/24/u-s-ambassador-in-myanmar-speaks-out-on-rohingya

2012-08-23 Update — HRW finds Bangladesh’s Rohingya policy ‘cruel’; urges govt to open borders

Dhaka, 23 August: New York-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) has slammed the government for its restrictions on humanitarian aid to Rohingya Muslim refugees fleeing persecution and violence in neighbouring Myanmar. http://www.bengalnewz.com/bangladesh/dhaka/082328080.html

2012-08-20 Update — International Criminal Law Bureau

Burma to Investigate Rakhine Violence http://www.internationallawbureau.com/blog/?p=5717

2012-08-20 Update — Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

Burma/Myanmar has formed a commission to investigate the violence in Rakhine State. The commission is charged with „determining the circumstances behind the unrest and recommending short and long-term strategies to overcome the community tensions and mistrust.“ http://bit.ly/SHayxA

2012-08-18 Update — Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

Exercising responsibility or dodging international investigation? Myanmar sets up internal investigation of Buddhist-Muslim clashes to make proposals for peace http://wapo.st/NvMTUf

2012-08-18 Update — Myanmar to examine Muslim-Buddhist violence – Asia-Pacific – Al Jazeera English. Government forms 27-member commission to find causes of June clashes and suggest ways for for „peaceful coexistence“. http://aje.me/QLMeZL

2012-08-17 Update — Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P) OCHA reports that the overall security situation is improving across the Rakhine State, though inter-communal tensions remain very high, with reports of sporadic conflicts in some townships.87 people dead, over 5,300 houses destroyed in Rakhine State: gov’t http://bit.ly/N4tARU

Islamic group to take Rohingya issue to the UN http://bit.ly/RU2rQI

The Organisation of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) has condemned „the continued recourse to violence by the Myanmar authorities against the members of this minority and their refusal to recognize their right to citizenship,“ and said it would bring the matter before the UNGA.

2012-08-17 Update — SBY asks Kalla to be RI’s special envoy for Rohingya issue | The Jakarta Post – President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has asked former vice president Jusuf Kalla, who is also the Indonesian Red Cross (PMI) chairman, to be Indonesia’s special envoy in the ongoing conflict involving ethnic Rohingya people in Myanmar. http://bit.ly/NrUenI

2012-08-15 Update — BBC News – Muslim homes razed in Burma’s Rakhine state – report http://bbc.in/NyzHdq  Thousands of Rohingya Muslims are living in refugee camps outside of Sittwe.

2012-08-15 Update — International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP)

UN envoy welcomes mission to Myanmar’s state of Rakhine, the site of recent ethnic violence that has displaced thousands of people.

“This has demonstrated the willingness of the Myanmar Government to cooperate with the international community to alleviate the suffering of its people,” Mr. Nambiar said, adding that he and Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon had been in continuous contact with authorities on the matter. http://bit.ly/PcJ30U

2012-08-15 Update — Rohingya: Allegations and Refutations (Part 1) | M.S.Anwar ~ SOAS Bulletin of Burma Research, Vol. 1, No., 1, Spring 2003, ISSN 1479-8484

#UNESCO Early Article Reprint 1 http://www.soas.ac.uk/sbbr/editions/file64276.pdf #allegation #refutation The name Rohinga didn´t exist in history.

2012-08-14 Update — Thousands of Rohingya helpless after violence (Exclusive Video)

Al Jazeera gains exclusive access to Rakhine state where 70,000 people have been displaced by ethno-sectarian violence.

Tens of thousands of displaced people continue to live in refugee camps in Myanmar’s Rakhine state after clashes between Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists killed dozens of combatants in June.

Read & watch here ~ http://bit.ly/Nn3qd3

2012-08-13 Update — Protect 1.5 million people displaced in Syria -UN expert (1 photo) http://on.fb.me/QW1RC0

“It is imperative that all parties to the conflict respect international humanitarian and human rights law http://www.un.org/en/law/index.shtml, particularly the right to life and the right to physical integrity, and ensure the protection of IDPs [internally displaced persons] as civilians,” urged UN human rights expert Chaloka Beyani. More: http://bit.ly/O6FmYP

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A WFP staffer interviews a Syrian family as part of a needs assessment mission, which found that some 1.5 million people in Syria need food assistance over the next 3 to 6 months. Credit: WFP

2012-08-13 Update —  @HRmyanmar *** Where is so-called Rohinga ( or ) Bangali in the Ethnic Groups of CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY ( C I A ) THE WORLD FACTBOOK ???? *** http://bit.ly/NtkyMj

2012-08-13 Update — Saudi King orders $50 million aid for Myanmar Muslims http://bit.ly/TxsZHj

Aung San Suu Kyi facing backlash for silence on abuses via @Telegraph http://soc.li/Msd4yRL

2012-08-13 Update — First aid in Myanmar except for Turkey to accept the UN http://bit.ly/S2nPQO

2012-08-11 Update — United Nations Human Rights

The human rights situations of Muslims in the southern provinces, particularly displaced persons from Myanmar and Bangladesh, and of other ethnic minorities, stateless people and migrant workers, as well as the issue of human trafficking were among the questions raised when the UN committee against racial discrimination examined the report (http://bit.ly/QFks58) of Thailand. Discussion summary: http://bit.ly/QlpKi6

2012-08-10 Update — International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP)

Myanmar has welcomed a visit by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC), the world’s largest Muslim grouping, which has urged a probe into violence between Buddhist Rakhine and Rohingya that has left scores dead in recent months. Myanmar invites OIC probe of sectarian violence http://bit.ly/NiZBU8

2012-08-10 Update– UN appeals to Bangladesh to allow aid groups to resume work http://bit.ly/Qh63b8

“The government has sound evidence that the three UN employees were involved in the Rakhine riots,” said Thein Htay, the border affairs minister, in the first official explanation of the arrests.

The UN continues to call for detailed information about the employees and why they are being held.

2012-08-10 Update — Iranian lawmakers call halt to ‘massacre,’ ‘genocide’ http://bit.ly/P90LDa

2012-08-10 Update — EU asks Bangladesh to rescind aid ban on NGOs http://bit.ly/RF7tBR

2012-08-10 Update — Rohingya send ‘open letter’ to international community http://bit.ly/PGt079

2012-08-10 Update — New curfew imposed after renewed attacks in Rakhine State http://bit.ly/NIWUXT

2012-08-10 Update — Burma to consider allowing Islamic group to visit Rakhine State http://bit.ly/P6SXlC

2012-08-10 Update — Turkey foreign minister travels to Rakhine State http://bit.ly/MFphWX

2012-08-09 Update — British MP Sadiq Khan highlights suffering of Rohingya http://shar.es/vk75l “We have seen positive actions from the Burmese government in recent years – such as the release of Aung San Suu Kyi from house arrest – but they need to realise that the first job of government is to secure the safety of all citizens.

It is important that the British government uses all its influence to end this savage treatment of the Rohingya community by the Burmese authorities.

2012-08-09 Update — Suu Kyi must not ignore the Rohingya – New Straits Times http://bit.ly/QObFAc

2012-08-09 Update — Rohingya send ‘open letter’ to international community http://bit.ly/PGt079

2012-08-08 Update — Rohingya Muslims: Zardari writes letter to Myanmar president http://bit.ly/MKuOwG President says Pakistani government, people were saddened to learn about the losses of Muslims.

He said that only peaceful coexistence of various communities would ensure that the democratic transition was not reversed.

2012-08-08 Update — ASEAN mulls assistance for Myanmar Rohingya http://on-msn.com/NiG8RG#scpti50„ASEAN cannot be perceived to be standing by without taking any action on such a big scale of humanitarian difficulty,“ he added. Bangladesh last week banned three international agencies from providing assistance to Rohingya refugees who had fled from neighbouring Myanmar. Decades of discrimination have left the Rohingya stateless, and they are viewed by the UN as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.

Myanmar’s government considers the estimated 800,000 Rohingya in the country to be foreigners while many citizens see them as illegal immigrants from Bangladesh and view them with hostility.

2012-08-07 — United Nations Human Rights — Expressed concern over alleged human rights violations in Rakhine and Kachin as well as the continued detention of prisoners of conscience, UN rights expert Tomás Ojea Quintana stressed that Myanmar needs to grapple with serious human rights challenges before democracy can succeed. More: http://bit.ly/MeQBjf

2012-08-06 — Update International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP)

UN expert Tomás Ojea Quintana says challenges remain in Myanmar, and calls for an independent investigation into allegations of serious human rights abuses committed by State actors in Rakhine. http://bit.ly/OWrNxv

2012-08-06 Update — UN envoy calls for Myanmar ‚truth commission‘ http://bit.ly/OV5p7Y more detail: http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/2012/08/04/myanmar-has-serious-human-rights-challenges/5q4BvgxhqvbtheBzySCs2K/story.html

2012-08-06 Update– Demonstrators back Rohingya resettlement proposal | Democratic Voice of Burma http://bit.ly/OFRce0 The plan was promptly rejected by the UNHCR.

“The resettlement programs organised by UNHCR are for refugees who are fleeing a country to another, in very specific circumstances. Obviously, it’s not related to this situation,” said Guterres according to an AP report.

The plan was promptly rejected by the UNHCR.

“The resettlement programs organised by UNHCR are for refugees who are fleeing a country to another, in very specific circumstances. Obviously, it’s not related to this situation,” said Guterres according to an AP report.

Last week’s order to three international aid agencies, MSF, Action Against Hunger and Muslim Aid, to stop proving aid to Rohingya refugees, in the full knowledge of the suffering and possible deaths that such an order will cause, will not solve any of the problems Bangladesh faces with Rohingya refugees.

2012-08-06 Update — Bangladesh’s lose – lose strategy on the Rohingya | Democratic Voice of Burma http://bit.ly/OGmcub.

The root cause of Rohingya refugees arriving in Bangladesh is the persecution they face, and also the long-term refusal of the government to allow international agencies full and free access to assist the Rohingya. Preventing refugees in Bangladesh from receiving aid doesn’t address this problem. Devoting significant military police and security resources to trying to turn back refugees doesn’t solve this problem. What is needed is a political solution.

Bangladesh could win significant international plaudits and favours by allowing Rohingya refugees’ entry to Bangladesh, and negotiating a fully-fledged international aid operation, funded internationally, to assist those refugees.

2012-08-05 Update — RT @KenRoth #Burma’s Arakan violence so far leaves 90 dead & 100,000 displaced, says @HRW. Govt troops join killing of #Rohingya. http://trib.al/ETmhsg In its 1982 Citizen Act, Burma denied the Rohingya community citizenship, although many have lived in Rakhine State for centuries.

Quintana will present his finding to the UN Security Council.

2012-08-01 Update — RT @KenRoth: Slideshow of violence in #Burma’s Arakan State, mostly against Muslim #Ronhingya, from @HRW. http://www.hrw.org/features/burma-violence-arakan-state

Myanmar troops ‚opened fire on Rohingya Muslims‘, Police and paramilitary forces „opened fire on Rohingya with live ammunition“, it added. „When the people tried to put out the fires, the paramilitary shot at us. And the group beat people with big sticks.“ (AFP) http://bit.ly/NJ3EL4

United Nations Human Rights

The crisis highlighted the long-standing and systemic discrimination against the Rohingya Muslim community, who are not recognised by the State and remain stateless, said the UN human rights chief. Find out more: http://bit.ly/QjGLd7
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Daw Kyine Than Phyu, 96-years-old, is in a temporary camp to take refuge from recent violence in the area in Rakhine State, Myanmar, 17 June 2012. The latest instability in Rakhine state was triggered on 28 May, when an ethnic Rakhine woman was raped and murdered. This was followed by the killing of 10 Muslims by an unidentified mob on 3 June. According to official figures, over 70,000 people have been displaced in the ensuing violence. At least 78 have died, although unofficial estimates are higher. Credit: EPA/LYNN BO BO

A large number of Muslims are killed in Burma by Budisht , army and police of Burma as Muslims are in minority in Burma but silence of World Powers on this issue is a more worse crime.

Source: http://merhrom.wordpress.com

Caption: An ethnic Rakhine man carries bamboo at the burnt Myoe Thu Gyee quarter in Sittwe, Rakhine State, western Myanmar, 16 June 2012. Credit: EPA/LYNN BO BO

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Muslims are compelled to remain inside the country as internal refugees. They face abuse in the forms of rape, torture, extortion, and murder.

Sexual violence and terrorizing thousands of Muslims women and their families. The situation of the Muslim minorities is more complicated because they are not recognized as citizens and any scope of any reconciliation will not give them any protection.

The longer the UN Security Council remains silent, the more people will die.

You and I can make that happen. Burma’s Noble Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi has asked the international community for help. Tell the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki Moon to pass a resolution to stop the genocide in Burma. The clock is ticking. God have mercy on us all if we stand by and do nothing.

United Nations must to find a way to solve the suffering of the more than a million Muslims in Burma. There is an urgent need for medical supplies and food aid.

http://nachbarinnot.orf.at

http://www.facebook.com/Damascus Center for Human Right Studies (DCHRS)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Responsibility_to_protect
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Security_council#Responsibility_to_protect

http://www.hrw.org/burma
http://physiciansforhumanrights.org/places/burma

http://www.facebook.com/burmacampaign
http://www.facebook.com/democratic voice of burma
http://www.facebook.com/pages/RFA-Burmese
http://www.facebook.com/burmavjmedia
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Burma-News-from-Mizzima

On this special day, read & share the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples to celebrate: http://bit.ly/PGAy9G http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Declaration_on_the_Rights_of_Indigenous_Peoples

International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples (23 photos)

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Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (GCR2P)

Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect (R2P)

International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP)

http://allafrica.com

http://www.agra-alliance.org

http://kofiannanfoundation.org

http://plattformbelomonte.blogspot.com

International Day of Action for Rivers

We are already gearing up for March 14th 2012, which will mark the 15th annual International Day of Action for Rivers.

Last year saw the largest celebration of our world’s rivers by thousands of us who fight to keep them healthy and free flowing. Events took place in 36 countries – the broadest geographical participation in the last 14 years.

The theme of creativity shone through last year’s events. Around the world, from mountaintops to ocean shores, on many rivers and city streets in between, March 14th was filled with music, artwork, dancing and prayer. With such incredible momentum from last year, we wanted to start thinking about goals, ideas and possible themes for the 2012 International Day of Action for Rivers.

We would love to hear from you. Please post your ideas, possible themes, events that you are already planning, or anything you have to say! If you have any questions, please post them on Facebook or email dayofaction@internationalrivers.org.

http://www.facebook.com/DayofActionforRivers

P.S. To get you inspired take a look back at the last few years of the International Day of Action for Rivers, in pictures.

Greenwashing dams is high on the agenda
–  Activists Take on Greenwashing at the 6th World Water Forum

One corporate „solution“ on the agenda at this year’s meeting is the Hydropower Sustainability Assessment Protocol (HSAP), a voluntary, non-binding scorecard that allows dam builders to greenwash the social and environmental performance of each other’s projects. HSAP is more about protecting the right to build large dams than protecting the rights of the millions of people who depend on rivers for their daily needs. HSAP does nothing to require developers to follow high social and environmental standards.

• Read Zach’s most recent blog from Marseille: „Civil Society Rejects Greenwashing of Dams at World Water Forum„

Stay tuned for more direct updates from Marseille and news about the many different events surrounding the 6th World Water Forum. https://twitter.com/worldwaterforum

Water is a human right

Press Statement UN Resolution 64/292 The Right to Water and Sanitation

UN united to make the right to water and sanitation legally binding

“I wholeheartedly welcome this resolution from the Human Rights Council, which signals a global agreement that access to water and sanitation are no longer matters of charity,” Ms. de Albuquerque said. “The right to water and sanitation is a human right, equal to all other human rights, which implies that it is justiciable and enforceable. Hence from today onwards we have an even greater responsibility to concentrate all our efforts in the implementation and full realisation of this essential right.”

The Right to Water is the Right to Life

When the United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights was drafted over 50 years ago, water was not included in the list of protected rights. The rationale was simple. Water, like air, was considered so fundamental to life that naming a right to it would have been redundant.

Times have changed.

Despite the everyday dependence we have on water, access to fresh water is far from equal or guaranteed. Of the world’s population of 6 billion, at least 1.5 billion people do not have access to clean drinking water and another 4 billion lack adequate sanitation services. In parts of the developing world, a child dies every 15 seconds due to easily preventable water-related diseases.

Global water corporations, international financial institutions, trade agreements, governments and even parts of the United Nations have been promoting privatization and commodification of water as a way to deal with this crisis.

But the evidence shows that privatization leads to rising water rates, unclean water – and of course, soaring corporate profits. Water should be safe, affordable, and accessible to everyone – not just those who can afford to pay.

Time for Action

Without action, inequality and human suffering will only worsen. The UN predicts that by 2025, the number of people deprived of water will climb to over 3 billion. Such disparity is an affront to the world’s shared humanity and threatens our future security. Water scarcity is a common source of conflict in this new century and promises to become more so. And for many developing nations, the lack of proper infrastructure to deliver clean water only perpetuates and worsens poverty.

The only way to solve this crisis is to ensure that water remains under public control. Governments must enshrine the human right to water and protect the eco-systems that people and nature rely upon.

Friends of the Right to Water

In recognition that water is the essence of life, a group known as “The Friends of the Right to Water” (FRW) has begun an international campaign seeking to affirm the universal right to water. Building upon General Comment No. 15 (GC 15) adopted in November 2002 by the UNCommittee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the FRW is inviting organizations to join in the effort to secure the right to water.

General Comment 15 notes that the right to water has already been established in a wide range of international documents and underscores the fundamental importance that water plays in the realization of all other human rights.

As it stands, all 144 signatories to the UN Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural rights are bound by the pronouncements of GC 15. The problem is that countries can ignore their responsibilities because there is no effective means of holding them to account. The campaign proposed by the Friends of the Right to Water is working to create a binding means to hold these states accountable.

Water belongs to the earth and all species andis an inalienable human right that must not be appropriated for profit.

— Maude Barlow,

National Chairperson of The Council of Canadians and co-founder of The Blue Planet project.

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/water

http://www.blueplanetproject.net/RightToWater/human_right.html

http://farmlandgrab.org Governments and corporations are buying up farmland in other countries to grow their own food – or simply to make money.

http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org/reports/casino-of-hunger-how-wall-street-speculators-fueled-the-global-food-crisis

Increasing demand and climate change threaten global water supplies: At the moment, 70 per cent of freshwater is already being used for agricultural purposes. – UN report http://shar.espaEZB

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Festspielrede 2011 Part 1/2.  Rede in zwei Teilen ist auf Youtube.com zu sehen und zu hören.

Nachdem Jean Ziegler http://www.righttofood.org/ als Festredner der Salzburger Festspiele ausgeladen wurde, begründete er am Donnerstag seine Entscheidung, am Eröffnungstag der Festspiele doch keine Gegenrede in Salzburg halten zu wollen, in einem offenen Brief. http://t.co/xsRjOnr via @salzburg_com

„Ziegler hätte in seiner Rede den Welthunger thematisiert. Er wollte in Salzburg gerade diese Leute treffen, die verantwortlich für das Elend dieser Welt sind“, sagte eine Aktivistin.

… Ich komme gerade von einer mehrwöchigen UNO-Mission in Nordafrika zurück, die mich tief bewegt hat. Im Maghreb und im Majrekh stehen ganze Völker auf. Mit oft leeren Händen kämpfen sie todesmutig gegen Tyrannei, Korruption und über Generationen erlittene Erniedrigung. In Ras el-Jdir und Zaouïa (Westlibyen), in den Berber-Gebirgen von Djebel Gharbi, sterben Männer und Frauen für unsere und ihre ureigensten Träume: für Demokratie und Freiheit.

Die zerrissenen, blutüberströmten Körper junger Menschen, die auf Tragbahren bei Dhiba über die südtunesische Grenze in die Hilfslazarette von Gabès kommen, wollen mir nicht aus dem Sinn. Von Syrien bis Bahrein und Jemen hoffen die aufständischen, todesmutigen Menschen bisher umsonst auf die konkrete Hilfe der internationalen Gemeinschaft, denn die UNO ist gespalten…

Jean-Paul Sartre schreibt: „Wer die Menschen lieben will, muss sehr stark hassen, was sie unterdrückt“. Vergangenes Jahr haben die 500 weltgrössten Privatkonzerne 52,8 % des Welt-Brutto-Sozialproduktes kontrolliert.

Derweil steigen in der südlichen Hemisphäre, wo 4,8 der 6,7 Milliarden Menschen der Erde leben, die Leichenberge. Alle fünf Sekunden verhungert ein Kind unter zehn Jahren – auf einem Planeten, der problemlos 12 Milliarden Menschen ernähren könnte.

Ich bewundere Ihren geduldigen, mutigen Kampf gegen die kannibalische Weltordnung. Die Aufklärung ist ein langer, mühsamer Prozess. Unsere Gegner erscheinen zur Zeit übermächtig. Aber Che Guevara sagt: „Auch die stärksten Mauern fallen durch Risse“…

Jean Zieglers „Gegenrede“ bei den Festspielen verteilt: http://www.nachrichten.at/nachrichten/ticker Aktivisten haben vor der Eröffnung der Salzburger Festspiele die nicht gehaltene Rede von Jean Ziegler an Festspiel- und Zaungäste vor den Festspielhäusern verteilt. Auf Youtube ist die Rede zu sehen und zu hören.

Aktivisten der „Plattform Zivilgesellschaft“ und der Salzburger „Grünen“ haben vor der Eröffnung der 91. Salzburger Festspiele am Mittwoch Vormittag die nicht gehaltene Rede von Jean Ziegler vor den Festspielhäusern in der Hofstallgasse verteilt. Es handelte sich dabei um eine 16-seitige Broschüre des „Ecowin“-Verlages mit dem Titel „Aufstand des Gewissens“.

“In a world overflowing with riches,

it is an outrageous scandal that more than 1 billion people suffer from hunger and malnutrition and that every year over 6 million children die of starvation and related causes. We must take urgent action now.”

Jean Ziegler, January 2010

Global funding for agricultural research, public and private, is estimated to total around $40 billion. There is a stark contrast with the $1500 billion the world now spends on weapons.

• The coming famine: risks and solutions for global food security (Science Alert):
• http://sciencealert.com/coming famine

• Petition: Dakar Appeal Social Forum against Farmlandgrab
• http://www.grain.org/farmlandgrab

• UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Food Click.
  
• http://farmlandgrab.org/somalia

• Somalia: the Real Causes of Famine www.globalresearch.ca Far beneath the surface of the tragic drama of Somalia, four major U.S. oil companies are quietly sitting on a prospective fortune in exclusive concessions to explore and exploit tens of millions of acres of the Somali countryside. http://www.oilwatchafrica.org/

• News & Media http://www.business-humanrights.org/ UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL ENDORSES NEW GUIDING PRINCIPLES ON BUSINESS AND HUMAN RIGHTS http://www.unog.ch/unog/OpenDocument

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