Burma Campaign UK
This article was written by Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK, and originally published in Mizzima on 9th August 2023. A month from now India will be hosting the prestigious G20 summit. The leaders of the world’s biggest and most influential economies, making up 85% of the global economy and 75% of international trade, …
The following is an edited version of a speech by Zoya Phan, Programme Director at Burma Campaign UK, at the launch of Refugee Week at the University of East Anglia on 3rd March 2023. Refugees deserve compassion Thank you so much for inviting me back to speak here again. It is a great honour for …
By Wai Hnin Pwint ThonSenior Advocacy Officer, Burma Campaign UK The number of political prisoners in Burma is growing every day since the military staged a coup on 1 February. The latest figure is over 4,250 in detention, and more than 5,000 arrested in total, but this does not include some people who have been …
By Wai Hnin Pwint ThonCampaigns Officer at Burma Campaign UK Earlier this month, the US Congressional Research Service (CRS) published a very insightful paper on the situation of political prisoners in Burma, and Aung San Suu Kyi’s record in handling the problem. It is a welcome report as the issue of political prisoners has fallen …
On 11th September the British government pulled off quite a diplomatic coup at the UN Security Council. Following a closed door meeting on Burma, eight of the fifteen UN Security Council members issued a joint statement. The statement included the usual uncontroversial calls for peace and humanitarian access, but also included calls for Burma to …
By Stephen Kinnock MP, Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific As the recently appointed Shadow Minister for Asia and the Pacific I have come to understand just how isolated and absent from the global stage consecutive Conservative governments have left the UK. Many on the government benches celebrated Brexit as a chance to reshape …
In our blog on 10 December, we wrote about why Aung San Suu Kyi may have decided to personally lead the defence against charges of genocide at the International Court of Justice in The Hague. Now that the first round of hearings is over, what has been the impact of that decision? In the run-up …
By Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK Aung San Suu Kyi has once again managed to shock people around the world over her approach to the Rohingya crisis, this time by personally leading a team defending Burma at the International Court of Justice against charges of genocide. The charges have been brought by Gambia, …
Burma Campaign UK does not take party political positions or back any political parties. Our role is to persuade the government of the day to take the strongest possible action to support human rights and democracy in Burma, regardless of which party is in power. Our record shows we have been equally critical of Labour, …
It is hard to overstate just how badly the international community has failed, and continues to fail, to stand up for the rights of the Rohingya. As the penholder on Burma at the United Nations Security Council and traditional lead country on Burma at the European Union, the British government bears a particular responsibility. It …
By Mark Farmaner, Director, Burma Campaign UK The annual Myanmar trade and investment conference took place in London on Monday 18th March. It is a strange event. British government officials, Burmese government officials, companies from Burma and British companies in Burma all get together and try to avoid talking about one of the main factors …
By Mark Farmaner The EU is considering sanctioning garment workers but has rejected sanctions against Min Aung Hlaing When the United Nations Fact Finding Mission published its report into human rights violations in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States, it was quite clear who bore primary responsibility for violations of international law, including genocide – the …
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt visited Burma last week, and his approach was very different from his predecessor, Boris Johnson. Before his visit Jeremy Hunt met with members of the Rohingya community the UK, something Boris Johnson never bothered to do, despite questions in Parliament from MPs wanting him to do so. On arrival one of …
When Min Aung Hlaing, head of the Burmese military, launched his pre-planned military offensive against Rohingya civilians last August, the majority of those he targeted were children. A new UNICEF report, Futures in the Balance, https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/UNICEF_Child_Alert_Rohingya_Aug_2018.pdf details the devastating impact on children who fled to Bangladesh. It calls for long term planning to support refugees, …
By Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK When Min Aung Hlaing, head of the Burmese military, launched his military offensive against Rohingya civilians in August 2017, there was international outrage. One year on, the European Union (EU) has yet to implement a single practical sanction or other action to hold Min Aung Hlaing to account …
By Mark Farmaner, Director, Burma Campaign UK Following the military offensive against the Rohingya in October 2016, in which around 80,000 Rohingya fled to Bangladesh and there were credible reports of executions and mass use of rape, the British Foreign Office, which had previously rejected calls to support a UN Commission of Inquiry on violations …
By Paul Sztumpf Refugee researcher, Burma Campaign UK `The right of return’ is a fundamental right of all refugees, to voluntarily return to their country of origin or of citizenship and is enshrined in international law. However, as the thousands of Palestinians on the Gaza border are demonstrating, exercising that right is not that simple. Burma’s …
By Mark Farmaner, Director, Burma Campaign UK Serious questions and doubts hang over the new MOU signed between the United Nations and the government of Burma on a supposed framework for creating conditions for safe return for Rohingya refugees. For a start, to date, it’s a secret deal. It’s about the Rohingya but the Rohingya …