Victims’ Rights in Burma

Hearing Notice

Please join the Tom Lantos Human Rights Commission for a hearing on the rights of victims of grave human rights abuses in Burma.

Since October 2016, hundreds of thousands of Rohingya have been the victims of ethnic cleansing and crimes against humanity, including extrajudicial killings, forced displacement and sexual violence, committed by the Burmese military, known as the Tatmadaw. The grievous humanitarian crisis provoked by these crimes has been a focus of attention for the international community for months. Yet the tactics employed by the Tatmadaw are not new, nor is their application within Burma, a multi-ethnic state, limited to the Rohingya people.

Burma has been wracked by civil war since shortly after achieving independence in 1948. In addition to killing tens of thousands of protestors in 1988, and suppressing the popular uprising known as the Saffron Revolution in 2007, the Tatmadaw has engaged in constant warfare with Burma’s ethnic minorities. A brutal campaign in Karen state during the 1980s forced tens of thousands to flee to Thailand. Over 300,000 people were driven from their homes in central Shan state between 1996-1998, and another 100,000 fled Kachin and northern Shan state in 2011. That same year abuses including forced labor, forced displacement, arbitrary arrest, torture, sexual violence and killings were documented in Karen state.

In spite of the Panglong-21 peace initiative that began in 2016, fighting in Kachin and Shan states has recently intensified, accompanied by new allegations of serious human rights abuses by the Tatmadaw. Recent reporting indicates that the same tactics used against the Rohingya over the last two years are being deployed in several of Burma’s ethnic states. Many observers argue that the Tatmadaw’s entrenched impunity contributes to the unending cycle of violence in the country.

Under international law, victims of grave human rights abuses have the right to redress. But Burma’s 2008 constitution shields the Tatmadaw from accountability for past crimes. Victims’ rights to truth, justice, and reparations have never been fulfilled, nor have necessary steps to ensure non-recurrence been taken.

Witnesses will discuss the human rights situation in several states in Burma and offer recommendations for ways to advance victims’ rights.

This hearing will be open to Members of Congress, congressional staff, the interested public, and the media. The hearing will be livestreamed via the Commission website and will also be available for viewing on House Digital Channel 55. For any questions, please contact Kimberly Stanton at 202-225-3599 or Kimberly.Stanton@mail.house.gov (for Rep. McGovern) or Jamie Staley at 202-226-1516 or Jamie.Staley@mail.house.gov (for Rep. Hultgren).

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