(Mizzima) - Burma’s military junta must be brought to justice for crimes against women constituting rapes, sexual violence and trafficking and other physical tortures and harassment, said judges of an international tribunal.
Judges of the tribunal, where 12 Burmese women victims were heard in New York on March 2, along with rights campaigners on Thursday met United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to push for Burmese military junta to be referred to the international Criminal Court for Crimes they have committed against humanity.
A mock-trial on Crimes Against Women of Burma on Tuesday was presided over as judges by Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams - along with human rights experts Dr. Heisoo Shin (Korea) and Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand).
The testimonies were organized into three categories - violence against women (rape, sexual violence, trafficking), civil and political violations (torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, harassment), and social, economic and cultural violations (forced labour, portering, relocation).
“They raped us all without a second thought, until we finally escaped their drunken grasps. News spread quickly throughout my village… The shame I brought to my family, my village, was so difficult to bear,” one of the 12 victims, said in her testimony to the tribunal.
“I was caned by my teacher in front of the entire school and expelled from school and community for bringing shame on it. Left without a home, a school, friends or a family, I was arrested by the police for “defaming” the soldier who raped me,” she added.
The story was one of the stories of rape, sexual violence, torture, forced labour, imprisonment and forced relocation told to the panel formed by the Nobel Women’s Initiative – a group created by six Nobel Peace laureates – and the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) – a group of 13 Burmese women’s organisations.
The panel, in their press release on the findings and conclusions of the tribunal said, violence against women in Burma is often ethnically motivated, particularly on minority groups such as the Karen, who have been brutally persecuted by the military regime.
The findings said, Burma’s junta supremo Snr Gen. Than Shwe is the war criminal, who has unleashed terror over the people of Burma for decades. But the international community has failed to hold General Than Shwe and his cronies criminally responsible, and this resulting impunity has given the junta even more license to enhance their power and continue to inflict violence on the people of the country.
With crimes against Burmese women continuing, the recommendation urged on the United Nations Security Council to refer Burma to the International Criminal Court and urged members of the UN to fulfill their obligations to exercise universal jurisdiction and to prosecute through their national tribunals perpetrators of the crimes against the civilian population of Burma, including women.
The conclusions also “Urge the United Nations system to take measures to ensure that the Burmese authorities comply with international human rights standards and international humanitarian law.”
Burma is a member state to international conventions and treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), but has consistently failed to honour the pledges.
The military-ruled Southeast Asian nation has long been the focus of international pressure for detaining opposition leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and about 2,000 other political prisoners. The regime, however, has denied having any political prisoners saying none of the over 2,000 prisoners, claimed as political prisoners by Rights Groups, were arrested for their political beliefs but for criminal acts.
The testimonies presented at the tribunal also said that women in remote areas of Burma such as in Karen, Shan and other ethnic minorities dominated regions, are frequently subjected to sexual violence and other forms of rights violations, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring countries including Thailand, China, and India.
According to the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a group providing assistance to Burmese refugees along the Thai-Burmese border, there are currently over 140,000 Burmese refugees in nine camps along the border.
While many flee the country and reside in refugee camps, several others seek better opportunity and remain as migrant workers. According to Thailand, there are over two million Burmese migrants working in various fields.
The panel, in their statement, also urged neighbouring countries and the Southeast Asian Nations to exercise their influence on the Burmese regime to stop the violations.
A complete list of recommendations made by the panel to the Burmese junta, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the United Nations, of which Burma is a member state, can be viewed at www.nobelwomensinitiative.org.
Mungpi is a special correspondent to Mizzima based in Oklahoma City
Source :http://mizzima.com/news/world/3605-junta-must-be-referred-to-icc-nobel-laureates-.html
Judges of the tribunal, where 12 Burmese women victims were heard in New York on March 2, along with rights campaigners on Thursday met United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon to push for Burmese military junta to be referred to the international Criminal Court for Crimes they have committed against humanity.
A mock-trial on Crimes Against Women of Burma on Tuesday was presided over as judges by Nobel Peace Laureates Shirin Ebadi and Jody Williams - along with human rights experts Dr. Heisoo Shin (Korea) and Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn (Thailand).
The testimonies were organized into three categories - violence against women (rape, sexual violence, trafficking), civil and political violations (torture, arbitrary arrest and detention, harassment), and social, economic and cultural violations (forced labour, portering, relocation).
“They raped us all without a second thought, until we finally escaped their drunken grasps. News spread quickly throughout my village… The shame I brought to my family, my village, was so difficult to bear,” one of the 12 victims, said in her testimony to the tribunal.
“I was caned by my teacher in front of the entire school and expelled from school and community for bringing shame on it. Left without a home, a school, friends or a family, I was arrested by the police for “defaming” the soldier who raped me,” she added.
The story was one of the stories of rape, sexual violence, torture, forced labour, imprisonment and forced relocation told to the panel formed by the Nobel Women’s Initiative – a group created by six Nobel Peace laureates – and the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) – a group of 13 Burmese women’s organisations.
The panel, in their press release on the findings and conclusions of the tribunal said, violence against women in Burma is often ethnically motivated, particularly on minority groups such as the Karen, who have been brutally persecuted by the military regime.
The findings said, Burma’s junta supremo Snr Gen. Than Shwe is the war criminal, who has unleashed terror over the people of Burma for decades. But the international community has failed to hold General Than Shwe and his cronies criminally responsible, and this resulting impunity has given the junta even more license to enhance their power and continue to inflict violence on the people of the country.
With crimes against Burmese women continuing, the recommendation urged on the United Nations Security Council to refer Burma to the International Criminal Court and urged members of the UN to fulfill their obligations to exercise universal jurisdiction and to prosecute through their national tribunals perpetrators of the crimes against the civilian population of Burma, including women.
The conclusions also “Urge the United Nations system to take measures to ensure that the Burmese authorities comply with international human rights standards and international humanitarian law.”
Burma is a member state to international conventions and treaties including the Convention on the Elimination of All forms of Discriminations Against Women (CEDAW), but has consistently failed to honour the pledges.
The military-ruled Southeast Asian nation has long been the focus of international pressure for detaining opposition leader and Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and about 2,000 other political prisoners. The regime, however, has denied having any political prisoners saying none of the over 2,000 prisoners, claimed as political prisoners by Rights Groups, were arrested for their political beliefs but for criminal acts.
The testimonies presented at the tribunal also said that women in remote areas of Burma such as in Karen, Shan and other ethnic minorities dominated regions, are frequently subjected to sexual violence and other forms of rights violations, forcing hundreds of thousands to flee to neighbouring countries including Thailand, China, and India.
According to the Thai-Burma Border Consortium (TBBC), a group providing assistance to Burmese refugees along the Thai-Burmese border, there are currently over 140,000 Burmese refugees in nine camps along the border.
While many flee the country and reside in refugee camps, several others seek better opportunity and remain as migrant workers. According to Thailand, there are over two million Burmese migrants working in various fields.
The panel, in their statement, also urged neighbouring countries and the Southeast Asian Nations to exercise their influence on the Burmese regime to stop the violations.
A complete list of recommendations made by the panel to the Burmese junta, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, and the United Nations, of which Burma is a member state, can be viewed at www.nobelwomensinitiative.org.
Mungpi is a special correspondent to Mizzima based in Oklahoma City
Source :http://mizzima.com/news/world/3605-junta-must-be-referred-to-icc-nobel-laureates-.html
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