Myanmar announced on Wednesday that it has freed 452 prisoners ahead of a visit by US President Barack Obama . Myanmar's state-run media reported that the government has released the prisoners on humanitarian grounds and...
Search Results for: Rakhine
Human rights organizations criticize ASEAN proposed rights protections
The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) , a coalition of 164 human rights groups, released a statement on Monday criticizing the current draft of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) [official website; JURIST news...
Human Rights Watch (HRW) called Saturday for an end to the sectarian violence in Myanmar between the Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims. HRW detailed an arson attack in the coastal Rohingya neighborhood at the...
Myanmar constitutional court justices resign following impeachment vote
All nine justices of Myanmar's Constitutional Court resigned Thursday after Parliament voted for impeachment. President Thein Sein has reportedly accepted the resignations of all nine justices. The parliament was created as part of Myanmar's constitutional...
Myanmar court imprisons 2 UN staff members over sectarian violence
A court in Myanmar on Friday sentenced two local UN staff members to imprisonment for their alleged involvement in sectarian violence that gripped the western Rakhine state this past spring. One of the staff members worked for ...
Human Rights Watch (HRW) on Friday called on China to stop forcibly returning thousands of Kachin refugees to northern Myanmar . HRW reported that Chinese authorities repatriated more than 1,000 Kachin refugees to Myanmar [HRW...
The government of Myanmar announced Monday that it has abolished the country's strict press censorship practices. While laws governing the content of published material will remain, the government abolished its practice of reviewing material before publication ....
Myanmar president Thein Sein on Friday announced the creation of a 27-member commission tasked with investigating the cause of the sectarian violence between Rohingya Muslims and Rakhine Buddhists. The clashes, which began in May and carried on...
UN humanitarian chief calls on Myanmar to increase access for aid agencies
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on Thursday expressed concern over the shortage of humanitarian assistance for the over half a million internally displaced people in Myanmar [BBC backgrounder; JURIST...
UN rights expert urges investigation into sectarian violence in Myanmar
A UN rights expert on Saturday urged an independent investigation into sectarian violence taking place in the Myanmar state of Rakhine. After spending a week in Myanmar, the UN's Special Rapporteur on the situation...