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General Assembly Distr.: General 5 September 2008 United Nations A/63/341 General Assembly Distr.: General 5 September 2008 Original: English Sixty-third session Agenda item 64 (c) Promotion and protection of human rights: human rights situations and reports of special rapporteurs and representatives Situation of human rights in Myanmar* Note by the Secretary-General The Secretary-General has the honour to transmit to the members of the General Assembly the report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana, in accordance with paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution 62/222. * This report was submitted after the deadline so as to include the most recent developments. 08-49469 (E) 011008 *0849469* A/63/341 Report of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Summary In its resolution 1992/58, the Commission on Human Rights established the mandate on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, which was then extended by the Human Rights Council in its decision 1/102 and resolution 5/1. In March 2008, by its resolution 7/32, the Council extended the mandate for one year. On 26 March 2008, Tomás Ojea Quintana (Argentina) was appointed as the new Special Rapporteur, and he officially assumed the function on 1 May 2008. Following a request for a visit from 3 to 13 August 2008, on 9 July the Special Rapporteur received a positive response from the Government of Myanmar to undertake a mission to that country from 3 to 7 August 2008. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Government of Myanmar for its hospitality and the cooperation he received during his first mission to the country. This visit was mainly aimed at establishing working relations with the authorities, to meet with civil society and also with those who do not enjoy their fundamental rights. The programme of the visit is annexed to the report. The present report is submitted pursuant to General Assembly resolution 62/222. The first part focuses on the activities and programme of work of the Special Rapporteur. The second part of the report concentrates on substantive issues and elaborates on those related to the protection of human rights in the context of the new Constitution; and the question of participation in the democratic process and organization of the 2010 elections; the right to assembly and right to freedom of opinion and expression and their formulation in the new Constitution; and the question of international humanitarian law and protection of civilians, as well as the situation of specific groups such as ethnic groups, women and children. The Special Rapporteur further elaborates on the mechanisms in place to ensure maximum protection in the context of natural disaster cyclone Nargis, and the living conditions, sustenance and its human rights implications. Finally, the Special Rapporteur discusses developments that have taken place in international cooperation and that relate to human rights issues pertinent to his mandate and the environment for a strengthened cooperation on the promotion and protection of human rights in the country. In his recommendations, the Special Rapporteur includes four core human rights elements for paving the road to democracy in Myanmar. 2 08-49469 A/63/341 Contents Page I. Introduction ................................................................... 4 II. Activities and programme of work of the Special Rapporteur........................... 4 III. Human rights issues ............................................................ 6 A. Human rights in the new Constitution and the full enjoyment of fundamental freedoms....................................................... 6 B. Participation in the democratic process: the road to the 2010 elections and the situation of prisoners of conscience............................................ 8 C. Freedom of opinion and expression, the crackdown on the September 2007 demonstrations and its implications for free elections in 2010 ...................... 11 D. International humanitarian law, the protection of civilians and ethnic minorities ....... 12 E. Human rights protection and humanitarian assistance in natural disasters............. 13 F. Living conditions, sustenance and its human rights implications .................... 15 IV. Developing cooperation in the context of human rights................................ 15 V. Conclusion .................................................................... 16 VI. Recommendations .............................................................. 17 A. First core human rights element: review of national legislation in accordance with the new Constitution and international obligations ........................... 17 B. Second core human rights element: progressive release of prisoners of conscience ..... 19 C. Third core human rights element: armed forces .................................. 20 D. Fourth core human rights element: the judiciary ................................. 21 Annex Programme of the visit: 3-7 August 2008 ........................................... 22 08-49469 3 A/63/341 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar was established in 1992 by the Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/58. In March 2008, by its resolution 7/32, the Human Rights Council extended the mandate for one year. On 26 March 2008, Tomás Ojea Quintana (Argentina) was appointed as the new Special Rapporteur and he officially assumed the function on 1 May 2008. The present report is submitted in accordance with General Assembly resolution 62/222. 2. Upon assuming the mandate, the Special Rapporteur established contact with the Government of Myanmar through its Permanent Mission at Geneva. In a letter of 6 May 2008, he presented his sympathy to the Government and people of Myanmar regarding the disaster caused by cyclone Nargis. 3. On 3 July 2008, the Special Rapporteur wrote again to the Permanent Representative to announce his intention to conduct a visit to Myanmar from 3 to 13 August 2008. He enclosed the official terms of reference for fact-finding missions by special rapporteurs/representatives of the Commission on Human Rights (E/CN.4/1998/45, appendix V dated 20 November 1997) as applicable to his visit. In addition to the capital city Naypyitaw, the Special Rapporteur expressed his intention to visit Mandalay, Kayin State, Rakhine State and Yangon. In his communication, the Special Rapporteur requested that the Government facilitate the organization of meetings with Government officials; representatives from the political parties and ethnic groups; representatives of the civil society organizations both national and international working in the country; religious groups; and the United Nations country team and the diplomatic community in the country. He also mentioned his intention to visit prisons and to meet in private with a number of prisoners of conscience. 4. On 9 July 2008 the Special Rapporteur received a letter from the Permanent Mission of Myanmar at Geneva inviting him to visit the country from 3 to 7 August 2008. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Government of Myanmar for its hospitality and the cooperation he received during his first mission to the country. This visit was mainly aimed at establishing working relations with the authorities, to meet with civil society and also with those who do not enjoy their fundamental rights. The programme of the visit is annexed to the report. 5. Building on the information from his first report to the Council and the findings of his first visit to Myanmar, the present report focuses on the main human rights issues, taking into consideration the main areas of concern expressed by the General Assembly in its resolution 62/222. 6. Finally, the Special Rapporteur would like to extend his sincere thanks to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, in particular at Geneva, Bangkok and New York, for assisting him in discharging his mandate. II. Activities and programme of work of the Special Rapporteur 7. The Special Rapporteur presented his first report (A/HRC/8/12) to the Human Rights Council in June 2008. While in Geneva, he met with representatives of the 4 08-49469 A/63/341 Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations and held consultations with representatives of Member States, officials of United Nations agencies, representatives of civil society organizations and members of the academic community. 8. The Special Rapporteur flagged to the Council that, in discharging his mandate, he would like to cooperate with and assist the Government of Myanmar in its efforts to promote and protect the human rights of the people of Myanmar. The Special Rapporteur said that he would highlight shortcomings with a view to assisting the authorities to remedy them. 9. The Special Rapporteur sees as the primary objective of his mandate as ensuring effective ways to engage with the authorities to assist the latter in achieving improvements in the protection and promotion of the human rights of the people of Myanmar. This can be done through technical advice and guidance for the establishment of policies, legislation, institutions and structures concerning the protection of human rights in the country. 10. One of the main requirements for achieving this objective is the carrying out of regular visits to Myanmar and frank dialogue with the authorities and civil society. 11. The Special Rapporteur considers his first visit to Myanmar to have been fruitful, since the objective
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