Burmese Junta Defends Itself in Geneva
Burma defended its human rights record at the Universal Periodic Review held by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR), in Geneva on Thursday.
During a three-hour review, a number of UN member countries including Britain, France and the United States called on the Burmese military regime to end repression against ethnic minorities, free the more than 2,000 political prisoners, and stop forced labor, arbitrary arrests, and the torture of dissidents.
But Burma’s delegation, led by Dr. Tun Shin, the country’s Deputy Attorney General, responded that the Burma enjoys a free press, has committed no human rights violations, and cooperated with the UN Human Rights Special Envoy to Burma, Tomás Ojea Quintana.
“The Universal Periodic Review is an opportunity for the intentional community to place principled press on the government of Myanmar to comply with the universal human rights norms,” said Phil Robertson, Deputy Director of Asia Human Rights Watch, in an interview with Al Jazeera.
“But the Burmese government has been very good at making promises in these kind of forums and then forgetting them as soon as the diplomats get on the plane and head back home,” he said.
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Press releas of Burma Forum on the Universal Periodic Review on UN Human Rights Council’s review on
