HRC48: Oral statement during ID with High Commissioner on the situation of human rights in Myanmar

Item 4:Interactive Dialogue with the High Commissioner on the situation of Human Rights in Myanmar

Organisation:Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW)

Speaker:Divine Olomo

Thank you, Madame President,

CSW welcomes the High Commissioner’s update and report on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, especially the focus on human rights concerns documented since the 1 February.

We remain troubled by the Myanmar military’s use of lethal force during widespread attacks against protesters following the coup. We are further concerned by continued attacks on civilians, including the use of military airstrikes, which have been widely documented in Chin, Kayah, Karen and Kachin states. As the report states, the military has committed gross human rights violations with impunity over the decades, which amount to crimes against humanity, including against ethnic and religious minorities.

We are also concerned by ongoing restrictions to civic space and freedom of expression, including internet shutdowns and restrictions on the independent media. The rights to freedom of expression, assembly and association and privacy, have been further curtailed through amendments to the 2004 Electronic Transactions Law (ETL). We agree with the assertion that these measures contravene international law and do not meet the required threshold for the legitimate limitation of rights.

We urge this Council to condemn the military’s ongoing tirade against the people of Myanmar and echo the High Commissioner’s recommendation, calling on Myanmar’s military to cease all violence and attacks immediately against the Myanmar population in all parts of the country, to allow humanitarian assistance to all who need it, to release all political detainees, to reverse restrictions on freedom of expression, assembly and association, and to respect the results of the 2020 elections.[1]

Thank you.

[1] UN General Assembly, 48^th session of the Human Rights Council, Written updates of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar*, https://www.ohchr.org/EN/HRBodies/HRC/RegularSessions/Session48/Documents/A_HRC_48_67.docx