Burma - Country of Concern: latest update, 30 September 2014

In the period between July and September, there were some signs of progress on human rights by the Burmese government, most notably the release of 200 child soldiers. While the situation in Rakhine State has been relatively stable, we continue to be seriously concerned by continued discrimination and attacks against the Rohingya, and outbreaks of anti-Muslim violence in other parts of the country. The UK government raised these concerns both in bilateral meetings with the Burmese government and multilateral fora, including the UN Human Rights Council in July, and the UN General Assembly in September.

In July, Yanghee Lee made her first visit to Burma as the new UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Myanmar. While she thanked the Burmese government for their cooperation and flexibility during her visit, her preliminary observations raised a number of serious concerns. In particular, she noted a shrinking of democratic space, political prisoners who remain in jail, the importance of ensuring existing and future legislation is in line with international standards, and the continued conflict in Rakhine and Kachin States.

2. Child soldiers and Preventing Sexual Violence Initiative

Following the Burmese government's agreement in March to extend the UN Action Plan on child soldiers, the Tatmadaw (Burma's army) released 91 child soldiers in August and 109 child soldiers in September. Minister for Asia, Hugo Swire, welcomed their release and urged the Burmese government to continue working with the UN and others to end the use of underage soldiers.

In September, a court in Shan State heard a case involving the alleged rape of a Kachin minor by a Burmese soldier. The case was unusually transferred to a civilian court following a military tribunal, which is an important step towards accountability. However, much more must be done to hold perpetrators of sexual violence to account. We continue to encourage the Burmese government to take concrete action, including by strengthening legislation and improving access to justice for survivors. We also fund projects to provide women with basic legal skills so they can advise survivors of sexual violence, and workshops to help community leaders and local government staff prevent sexual violence in their communities.

3. Legislation and freedom of the media

Burma ratified the Biological Weapons Convention in September, taking another step towards meeting international norms and standards. However, in July, four journalists and the CEO of a local newspaper were sentenced to ten years of hard labour for publishing reports that a military facility was producing chemical weapons. The journalists have appealed their sentences. A number of other journalists and activists were also arrested after staging a protest in solidarity. The British Ambassador has raised our concerns over these cases with the Burmese authorities.

Burma continued to review and amend outdated legislation which does not adhere to international standards, and we encourage and support this process. The results have been mixed, with promising improvements in some areas, but the retention of concerning and ambiguous clauses in others. For example, harsh penalties and prison sentences for non-registration of local and international NGOs were removed from the Association Registration Law. However, a provision remains for the Registration Committee to evaluate all applications from local and international NGOs based on "national security grounds". We are concerned this could allow authorities to deny registration without clear justification. The Peaceful Assembly Bill was also amended to reduce penalties and remove obligations for demonstrators, but there are concerns it contains ambiguities which could be exploited by the security forces. The UK has raised the need to ensure that fundamental human rights remain protected with the government of Burma. We continue to fund work through Article 19, a London-based international NGO, to develop the capacity of legislators, civil society, media and ministries to amend and draft new legislation relating to freedom of expression.

4. Communal Violence

At the beginning of July, violence broke out in Mandalay following rumours that a local Muslim man had attacked his female Buddhist employee. Two people died and more than 12 were injured. Police units, many of whom received training through the EU over the last 12 months to improve practices and behaviours, responded well to the incident, and local community leaders also helped to defuse the situation and prevent it from escalating further. Mr Swire urged calm and restraint, and called on the Burmese government to ensure security. Following similar rumours in September, further anti-Muslim violence broke out in Myit Chay, Magwe Region. The British Embassy is providing funding to a local civil society organisation to build relationships and understanding between youth and religious groups as part of an "Interfaith Youth" tour in six cities across Burma.

In September, a Buddhist man was sentenced to life imprisonment for his involvement with the riots in Thandwe, Rakhine State. Nine others were each sentenced to five years. The outbreak of violence between Buddhist and Kaman Muslims in September 2013 led to the deaths of seven individuals and the destruction of over 100 residences and three religious buildings. Almost 500 people were left homeless.

5. Rakhine

During the last three months, the Burmese government took some steps to tackle the situation in Rakhine: a new Chief Minister was appointed, a draft "Action Plan" on the development of Rakhine State was shared with parts of the international community, and further action was promised. However, we have been clear that much more must be done. Mr Swire raised our concerns about the situation in Rakhine with Khin Maung Soe, Minister for Electric Power, in July.

Following the expulsion of Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) from Rakhine State in February, the Burmese government finally agreed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the organisation in August. This covers MSF's operations across Burma and allows them to resume activities in Rakhine. Mr Swire welcomed this agreement as a crucial step towards restoring desperately needed healthcare for all communities. We are pushing for the MoU to become operational as soon as possible, and encouraging the government to do more to ensure healthcare needs are being met.

In September, 209 Muslims had their citizenship and naturalised citizenship status verified following a pilot verification exercise in a camp for internally displaced persons in Myebon (although this included many who already had citizenship documents). We remain supportive of the need to establish the status of inhabitants of Rakhine State, and continue to urge the Burmese authorities to follow a transparent, inclusive and consistent process. Regardless of citizenship status, the fundamental human rights of all individuals must be fully respected.