Same Impunity, Same Patterns SEXUAL ABUSES BY THE BURMA ARMY WILL NOT STOP until there is a genuine civilian government WOMEN’S LEAGUE OF BURMA January 2014 Women’s League of Burma (WLB) The Women’s League of Burma (WLB) is an umbrella organiza on comprising 13 women’s organiza ons of diff erent ethnic backgrounds from Burma. WLB was founded on 9th December, 1999. Its mission is to work for women’s empowerment and advancement of the status of women, and to work for the increased par cipa on of women in all spheres of society in the democracy movement, and in peace and na onal reconcilia on processes through capacity building, advocacy, research and documenta on. Aims • To work for the empowerment and advancement of the status of women • To work for the rights of women and gender equality • To work for the elimina on of all forms of discrimina on and violence against women • To work for the increased par cipa on of women in every level of decision making in all spheres of society. • To par cipate eff ec vely in the movement for peace, democracy and na onal reconcilia on. Acknowledgments This report could not have been wri en without the girls, women and other community members who dared to share their stories despite con nual risk to their own security. We fi rmly believe that their courage in speaking out is a fi rst step to bringing about genuine poli cal change in Burma and restoring the peace and safety they so fervently desire. The Women’s League of Burma would par cularly like to thank AJAR (Asia Jus ce and Rights) for their work towards the realiza on of this report. We would also like to thank our volunteer, Claire Brand, for her contribu ons, BRC (Burma Relief Center) for their ongoing support and Ying Tzarm for the report design. We would like to thank our member organiza ons who have provided the informa on rela ng to the cases highlighted in this report: Kachin Women’s Associa on Thailand (KWAT), Karen Women Organiza on (KWO), and Shan Women’s Ac on Network (SWAN). We also thank Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG) for providing documenta on informa on and photographs. TTableable ooff CContentsontents Execu ve Summary 1 Introduc on 3 Background 5 Part I: Systema c sexual abuse of ethnic women by the Burma Army 7 A] More than 100 cases documented under Thein Sein Government; more hidden 7 1) More than 100 cases documented 8 2) Only “the p of the iceberg” 10 3) Nature of crimes commi ed against women 11 B] Rape used as an instrument of war and oppression 14 1) Signs of a systema c policy 14 2) An ins tu onalized prac ce 16 3) Signs of a widespread prac ce 20 4) Link to off ensives and control over natural resources 22 C] Legal analysis: serious crimes 23 1) Na onal law 23 2) Interna onal law 24 Part II: The need for an end to impunity 28 A] Rule of Law has to be established, not talked about 28 1) Change the Cons tu on 29 2) Reform the judiciary 32 3) Adopt laws for the protec on of women of Burma 38 B] Meaningful and deep poli cal changes have to happen 39 1) The government needs to take responsibility for human rights abuses 40 2) Make the peace process a meaningful way to end abuses against Burma’s people 40 Conclusion: Bring the military under civilian control 43 Recommenda ons 44 Bibliography 45 Notes 49 EExecutivexecutive SSummaryummary Almost a decade ago, the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) denounced systema c pa erns of sexual crimes commi ed by the Burma Army against ethnic women and demanded an end to the prevailing system of impunity. Today WLB is renewing these calls. Three years a er a nominally civilian government came to power; state-sponsored sexual violence con nues to threaten the lives of women in Burma. Women of Burma endure a broad range of viola ons; this report focuses on sexual violence, as the most gendered crime. WLB and its member organiza ons have gathered documenta on showing that over 100 women have been raped by the Burma Army since the elec ons of 2010. Due to restric ons on human rights documenta on, WLB believes these are only a frac on of the actual abuses taking place. Most cases are linked to the military off ensives in Kachin and Northern Shan States since 2011. The Kachin Women’s Associa on Thailand (KWAT) documented that 59 women have been vic ms of acts of sexual violence commi ed by Burmese soldiers.1 The Shan Women’s Ac on Network (SWAN) reports 30 cases of sexual violence involving 35 women and girls in the past three years.2 The incidence of rape correlates with the ming of confl ict. These crimes are more than random, isolated acts by rogue soldiers. Their widespread and systema c nature indicates a structural pa ern: rape is s ll used as an instrument of war and oppression. 47 cases were brutal gang rapes, several vic ms were as young as 8 years old and 28 of the women were either killed or died of their injuries. Over 38 diff erent ba alions are implicated in these cases, while several ba alions are involved across mul ple cases and meframes, and the incidents took place in at least 35 diff erent townships. These rapes cannot be explained away as a human impulse gone astray. The use of sexual violence in confl ict is a strategy and an act of warfare that has poli cal and economic dimensions that go beyond individual cases. In Burma, counter- insurgency tac cs designate civilians in ethnic areas as poten al threats. Sexual violence is used as a tool by the Burmese military to demoralize and destroy ethnic communi es. Army offi cers are not only passively complicit in these sexual crimes but o en perpetrators themselves. Combined with blatant impunity, soldiers are given a “license to rape”, as SWAN highlighted in 2002. Several interna onal trea es to which Burma is party, and other sources of interna onal law applicable to Burma prohibit sexual violence; rape is also criminalized under Burma’s penal code. But neither interna onal nor domes c laws are enforced eff ec vely. The systema c and widespread Same Impunity, Same Pa erns 1 use of sexual violence by the Burma Army makes the abuses documented in this report poten al war crimes and crimes against humanity under interna onal law, requiring thorough independent inves ga on. It is high me for Burma’s government to take responsibility and live up to the expecta ons the recent changes have created, to restore the dignity that women of Burma deserve. This can only be achieved through truth and jus ce for the violence women endure. It necessitates not only an immediate end to the violence, but also a deep reform of Burma’s legal framework. Changing the 2008 Cons tu on, which gives the military the right to independently administer all its aff airs, is the fi rst step towards ensuring jus ce for the women of Burma. Judicial independence has to be guaranteed by the cons tu on, to allow for reform of the judicial system that will ensure its impar ality. The court-mar al system, established by the Cons tu on to adjudicate all crimes commi ed by the military, has an unrestricted mandate and overly broad powers: it needs to be reformed to place the military under civilian judicial control. In both military and civilian jurisdic ons, vic ms’ access to jus ce has to be ensured through appropriate complaint mechanisms. At the moment, the Na onal Human Rights Commission does not have the mandate, capacity and willingness to address serious human rights viola ons in an independent and transparent manner. If the government is serious about its commitments to address violence against women, it should acknowledge ongoing abuses against ethnic women, sign the recent interna onal declara on for preven on of sexual violence in confl ict, and adopt laws specifi cally aimed at protec ng women from violence. Recent proposals set out concrete requirements for eff ec ve legal protec on for women. In addi on, the government needs to deeply change its poli cal approach to the peace process, in order to make it a meaningful way to end abuses. Achieving sustainable peace and pu ng an end to abuses against women will not happen without women’s representa on in the poli cal dialogue for peace. The fact that almost all the par cipants involved in the offi cial peace process are male excludes cri cal perspec ves on peace and confl ict, and preserves structural gender inequality.3 Moreover, it is crucial that the upcoming poli cal dialogue addresses past human rights viola ons as well as the role of the army. This includes accep ng that, in a free country, the military is subject to civilian authori es represen ng the genuine will of the people. Unless and un l the military is placed under civilian control through cons tu onal amendments, we will not see an end to militarized sexual violence. 2 IIntroductionntroduction “These stories bear witness to the fact that, despite the regime’s claims to the contrary, nothing has changed in Burma. Regardless of their loca on, be it in the civil war zones, the ceasefi re areas or “non-confl ict” areas, it is clear that no woman or girl is safe from rape and sexual torture under the current regime.