Civil and political rights
Freedom of association
Report: prison reforms must respect human rights
Prison reforms currently being considered in Myanmar fall short of meeting international human rights standards, Amnesty International said on November 10. New draft prison legislation represents a significant improvement on laws currently in effect that are more than a century old, but it still fails to ...
UN backs local OHCHR office in dispute
The United Nations is standing behind Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights country representative Wan-Hea Lee after a letter signed by Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon accused her of failing to respect Cambodia’s sovereignty. Sokhon had taken umbrage at Lee’s public request for an ...
Minister slams UN rep over alleged ‘prejudice’
Foreign Minister Prak Sokhon slammed UN Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights country representative Wan-Hea Lee for alleged “prejudice” in a two-page missive released on November 4. The letter was sent to UN Development Project resident representative Claire Van der Vaeren, blasting Wan-Hea ...
No back-up plan for Karenni refugees in Thai border camp as funds dry up
As the first wave of Myanmar refugees is repatriated from Thai border camps this week, returning to a home some have not seen for decades, others in the camps fear they will soon have no choice but to follow suit. Since the National League for Democracy ...
Deputies uneasy about draft Law on Associations
National Assembly deputies spent the whole day on October 25 trying to iron out their differences over the draft Law on Associations. All agreed that the right to establish associations was one of the fundamental rights of citizens provided by the Constitution. However, some deputies said ...
WJP study: Rule of law improves slightly, still 98th out of 113
Myanmar is failing slightly less egregiously to maintain rule of law this year, according to the World Justice Project’s annual Rule of Law Index, which was released on October 20. The slight bump, from an overall score of 0.42 to 0.43 out of 1, is largely ...
Authorities to crack down on spread of ‘false information'
Security and domestic affairs authorities have been told to strictly enforce relevant laws to suppress ongoing spreading of false information and rumours via social media following the passing of His Majesty the King. Deputy army spokesperson Col Sirichan Ngathong said that Army Chief General Chalermchai ...
Aid delegation meets displaced Arakan State communities
A delegation from the United Nations, led by the under-secretary general of the UN’s Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, visited displaced communities outside of the Arakan State capital of Sittwe on October 14. Reporters from The Irrawaddy accompanied Stephen O’Brien, who also serves as ...
170 Vietnamese asylum seekers given two weeks to leave
Almost two years since the latest wave of Montagnard asylum seekers began crossing into Ratanakkiri province claiming to be fleeing persecution in Vietnam, an immigration official said on October 12 that the 170 remaining in Phnom Penh had two weeks to return home or face forcible ...
US still urging Cambodia to broaden and clarify union law
The U.S. is continuing to urge the government to change and clarify key parts of a controversial trade union law that took effect in April, including an amendment to cover civil servants, the U.S.’s international labor affairs representative said on October 5. Sarah Fox, who was ...
