BURMA:Government Officials Must Not Be Involved When Human Rights Body Forms

June 28th, 2011

Jaloon Htaw – In response to the USDP government’s order to reform the national human rights body or Human Rights Commission, Director of Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (HREIB) Aung Myo Min said, “If such an organization is formed, the government ministers or officials should not be involved, and it must be independent.”

Kachin state, where human right violations is serious ( Photo: KWAT )

Rangoon-based newspaper Myanmar Times described in an article on June 14 that if a national Human Rights Commission in Burma (or Myanmar) is formed, government ministers will lead the body, according to government order 34/2011. Human rights activists based along the Thai and Chinese borders have rejected the plan of forming such a human rights body, and argued that any human rights body must be independent.

Aung Myo Min said, “The Human Rights Commission has a great responsibility to say if the government is violating human rights, and all human rights laws must be regulated clearly. Now, if the government officials are violating the laws, the officials themselves have to monitor and point out violations. It is impossible, and totally against international standards. This Human Rights body must be formed with independent human rights experts.”