admin – Arakan Rivers Network (ARN) https://arakanrivers.org Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:48:53 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.5.3 https://arakanrivers.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/ARN1.png admin – Arakan Rivers Network (ARN) https://arakanrivers.org 32 32 Myanmar: Lift Internet Restrictions in Rakhine and Chin States https://arakanrivers.org/statement/135/ Thu, 13 Feb 2020 09:39:32 +0000 https://arakanrivers.org/?p=135 Mobile internet blackout in four townships in Rakhine State among the world’s longest running
February 13, 2020
We, the 29 undersigned organizations, call on the Government of Myanmar to immediately lift restrictions on mobile internet communications in eight townships in Rakhine State and one township in Chin State. We are particularly concerned by the Government of Myanmar’s recent reinstatement of restrictions on mobile internet access in five townships on February 3, 2020, after lifting restrictions in those townships earlier.
We call on the Government of Myanmar to release publicly the justification for the internet shutdown and all information related to the process by which these restrictions were imposed.
The government first imposed restrictions on mobile internet communications on June 21, 2019 in Buthidaung, Kyauktaw, Maungdaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, Myebon, Ponnagyun, and Rathedaung townships in Rakhine State and Paletwa Township in Chin State. On September 1, the government lifted restrictions in Buthidaung, Maungdaw, Myebon, Paletwa, and Rathedaung townships.
On February 3, 2020, a telecommunications provider reported that the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications ordered the reinstatement of the restrictions in those five townships. The company published a statement on its website saying that the Ministry referenced “security requirement and public interest” in issuing the order.
The almost eight-month blackout in Kyauktaw, Minbya, Mrauk-U, and Ponnagyun
townships is one of the world’s longest government-imposed shutdowns of mobile internet communications.
The internet restrictions disproportionately affect civilians in conflict areas, hampering humanitarian aid operations, livelihoods, and the work of human rights monitors.
The shutdown appears to be a response by the Government of Myanmar to the ongoing conflict between the ethnic Rakhine Arakan Army and the Myanmar military. An escalation in fighting since the start of 2019 has displaced tens of thousands of civilians in conflict-affected townships in Rakhine and Chin states.
It is likely that the shutdown will also make it much more difficult to assess Myanmar’s compliance with the January 2020 ruling by the International Court of Justice, ordering “provisional measures” to protect the Rohingya community in Rakhine State from genocidal acts.
The United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee said in her end of mission statement on January 23, 2020 that the restrictions imposed by the by Myanmar’s authorities “severely exacerbate” the humanitarian impact of the conflict.
Following the initial shutdown of mobile internet services in June 2019, the Special Rapporteur expressed deep concern for civilians who are “cut off and without the necessary means to communicate with people inside and outside the area.”
We join the Special Rapporteur in calling on the Government of Myanmar to immediately lift restrictions on mobile internet services in order to guarantee the right to freedom of expression, including access to information, for those in Rakhine and Chin States. We also call on the government to repeal Section 77 of the Telecommunications Law, which provides overly broad powers to the Ministry of Transport and Communications, including to direct telecommunications operators to suspend telecommunications services.
Any restrictions on service in times of emergency should be narrowly defined, subject to prior judicial approval, and reserved for exceptional circumstances.
Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects the right to freedom of expression, which includes the right to “receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” Restrictions on the right to freedom of expression must be the exception, rather than the rule, and must be provided in law; applied only in specific circumstances, namely to protect the rights and reputation of others or to ensure national security, public order, public health, or public morals; and be necessary and proportionate, that is, the least restrictive means required to achieve any of the above aims. All three requirements need to be met for a restriction to accord with international human rights law and standards.
Recognizing the internet as a “key means” for individuals to exercise this right, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression has stated that States have a positive obligation to adopt “effective and concrete policies and strategies . . . to make the Internet widely available, accessible and affordable to all.”
In a 2016 resolution on the promotion, protection, and enjoyment of human rights on the internet, the U.N. Human Rights Council stated that it “[c]ondemns unequivocally measures to intentionally prevent or disrupt access to or dissemination of information online . . . and calls on all States to refrain from and cease such measures.”
In September 2019, the Human Rights Council called on the government of Myanmar to restore internet access to Rakhine State and to repeal Section 77 of the Telecommunications Law.
The undersigned also call on the Myanmar Government to allow humanitarian workers, independent journalists, and human rights monitors unfettered and sustained access to Rakhine and Chin States.
Signed:

  1. ARAKKA Foundation
  2. ARTICLE 19
  3. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights
  4. All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress
  5. Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma)
  6. Amnesty International
  7. Arakan Information Center
  8. Arakan Rivers Network
  9. Athan
  10. Burma Campaign UK
  11. Burma Human Rights Network
  12. Burma Task Force
  13. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
  14. Chin Human Rights Organization
  15. Christian Solidarity Worldwide
  16. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  17. FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
  18. Fortify Rights
  19. Human Rights Watch
  20. Justice For All
  21. Karen Women’s Organization
  22. Peace and Development Initiative -Kintha
  23. Refugees International
  24. Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights
  25. Rohingya Student Network
  26. Rohingya Youth for Legal Action
  27. Synergy
  28. The Arakan Project
  29. Women Peace Network

Please download the statement in below.

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Basic Training on Human Rights Documentation and Advocacy organized in Rakhine State https://arakanrivers.org/activities/basic-training-on-human-rights-documentation-and-advocacy-organized-in-rakhine-state/ Wed, 20 Feb 2019 03:39:01 +0000 https://arakanrivers.org/?p=89

TAUNG GOKE, Myanmar – Arakan Rivers Network (ARN) held a “Basic Training on Human Rights Documentation & Advocacy” in Rakhine/Arakan state in southern Myanmar from 25-27 January 2019. Twenty-three participants from five townships of Taung Goke, Man Aung, Ramree, Thandwe and Ann attended the training, who were government teachers, university students as well as representatives of local political parties and local CSOs. The training increased awareness of human rights standards among the participants and their capacities to monitor and document human and environmental rights challenges due to development and business projects in the state and to undertake effective advocacy actions to address those challenges.

The three-day training began with discussions on the concept and principles of human rights and how human rights are defined at national and international levels. The participants were informed about the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), including through a video. On the second day, the training focused on the rights of indigenous peoples with an analysis of the right to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) within the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP). FPIC is a specific right that pertains to indigenous peoples to ensure their right to participation and self-determination. It entitles them to effectively determine the outcome of decision-making that affects them. FPIC requires that prior to a business or development project being undertaken, which would impact on lands or resources of indigenous peoples, the affected communities should be involved in the decision making process at all stages, including the design and consideration of alternatives.

“In Arakan State, there are several projects such as seaports, hydropower dams and mining that indigenous communities are opposing in order to safeguard their livelihoods, rights and environment. As the environmental and social costs of these projects far outweigh their benefits, it is crucial to educate and empower local human rights defenders and their communities to monitor and report human rights abuses and carry out effective advocacy against the challenges of those projects,” said Ting Oo, Arakan Rivers Network’s Executive Director, who facilitated the training.

Further, the second day continued with an analysis of Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution and other domestic laws, how they define indigenous rights and their intrinsic contradictions with these rights. After an introduction of  human rights documentation approach, the training participants were informed about 17 common human rights violations categories in Myanmar. They were provided guidance on how they can monitor and document these abuses such as formats to be used, information required relating victims/perpetrators, methods to collect and verify information.

The participants learnt about national human rights mechanisms (Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC), courts, etc.) and UN Human Rights mechanisms, particularly the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) and how to engage with them as well as useful advocacy tips on the third and last day. They then worked in groups to draft complaints to MNHRC or other national authorities. Lastly, the participants were divided in groups by townships in order to prepare further action plans to address human rights challenges in their area.

“After the training, the participants plan to carry out further awareness raising on human rights in their communities, submit complaints to national authorities on their human rights challenges and also aim to conduct advocacy at international levels, ” Ting Oo said. The following day, a visit to a local mining site operated by a Vietnamese company was organized for the participants to witness and document impacts first hand.

Manushya Foundation is extremely proud and honored to work with the Arakan Rivers Network and to contribute to the empowerment of local human rights defenders and their communities in Myanmar. Human rights understanding is necessary and crucial to effectively empower local human rights defenders and their communities to stand up, voice their concerns and bring about changes in the human rights situation on the ground in Myanmar.

https://www.manushyafoundation.org/single-post/2019/02/12/Myanmar-Basic-Training-on-Human-Rights-Documentation-and-Advocacy-organized-in-Rakhine-State?fbclid=IwAR3So8pIyfhrGUWOWW4pNJF-Q6yCmEEZ3EyBSnYK9igtWW6ZRnPJRIhP3SU

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One cannot step into the same river twice sam https://arakanrivers.org/publication/one-cannot-step-into-the-same-river-twice-sam/ Sun, 03 Feb 2019 05:20:21 +0000 https://arakanrivers.org/?p=56  

To download the details report please click the following link:

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Preliminary Report of Kaladan Multi Modal Transit Transport Project https://arakanrivers.org/publication/preliminary-report-of-kaladan-multi-modal-transit-transport-project/ Sun, 03 Feb 2019 05:03:44 +0000 https://arakanrivers.org/?p=49

To download the details report please click the following link:

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