18 August 2010 |
US endorses UN Commission of Inquiry on Burma |
On 18 August, US National Security Council Deputy Spokesperson Benjamin Chang said that the US supported the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry (CoI) on war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. Chang said that the US had started consultations with a “broad array of stakeholders, key players, and other countries on the issue.”
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30 July 2010 |
Thirty-two US senators call for UN Commission of Inquiry |
On 30 July, 32 US senators urged Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to back the creation of a UN Commission on Inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. The group said a UN Commission of Inquiry was needed to look into a number of reports that showed “a consistent pattern” of serious human rights abuses by the SPDC.
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6 July 2010 |
Former UN Special Rapporteur Yozo Yokota calls for Commission of Inquiry |
On 6 July, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma Yozo Yokota published an op-ed in the Jakarta Post calling for a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. “With ‘elections’ looming and an increase in crimes against humanity already prevalent in Than Shwe’s attempt to end all ethnic minority resistance to his rule, now is the time for concerted international action before more lives are lost,” he said. Yokota said that the UN Security Council should also impose a universal arms embargo on the SPDC.
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19 June 2010 |
Women Nobel laureates call for Commission of Inquiry |
On 19 June, on the occasion of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s 65th birthday, the Nobel Women’s Initiative issued a statement that called on the UN Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the SPDC. The statement also urged Burma's neighbors to stop providing financial and military assistance to the regime.
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8 June 2010 |
Slovakia supports Commission of Inquiry in Burma |
On 8 June, at the 14th Session of UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, Slovakia announced it supported the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into the SPDC’s gross and systematic human rights violations.
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26 May 2010 |
Thirty-seven Karen organizations call for UN investigation into junta’s crimes |
On 26 May, participants of the seventh Karen National Unity seminar made a unified call for a UN-led investigation into crimes committed by the SPDC Army against Karen people. Represented by 37 Karen organizations, the assembly also urged the UN and international community to provide greater humanitarian assistance to those Karen displaced by SPDC Army attacks.
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8 April 2010 |
Czech Republic backs establishment of Commission of Inquiry |
On 8 April, the Czech Foreign Ministry said the possibility of establishing a Commission of Inquiry on international crimes in Burma should be seriously examined. The Foreign Ministry said that the SPDC’s political repression and military attacks against ethnic civilians were in a scale and gravity that may amount to international crimes under the Rome Statute.
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24 March 2010 |
UK supports ICC investigation on crimes in Burma |
On 24 March, after a UN Security Council meeting on the situation in Burma, the UK Ambassador to the UN Mark Lyall Grant announced the UK would support the Security Council referring Burma to the International Criminal Court.
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23 March 2010 |
Rights groups support Ojea Quintana’s call for Commission of Inquiry |
On 23 March, the rights groups International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Alternative Asean Network on Burma (ALTSEAN), Burma Lawyers' Council (BLC), and International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) strongly urged the UN Human Rights Council to endorse the UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana’s recommendation on the establishment of a UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry on crimes in Burma. In a letter addressed to the Council’s member states, the organizations said that they had long requested a Commission of Inquiry in Burma due to consistent reports of serious violations that may amount to “international crimes” committed by the military regime.
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15 March 2010 |
Exiled Karen communities support Ojea Quintana’s call for Commission of Inquiry |
On 15 March, the European Karen Network called on members of the Human Rights Council to follow the recommendations of the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana who called for an UN-mandated Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma. The European Karen Network urged the UN to fulfill its responsibility to investigate and act upon the decades of human rights abuses committed by the SPDC against Karen civilians.
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15 March 2010 |
Australia supports considering a UN Commission of Inquiry |
On 15 March, during the Human Rights Council debate on Burma, Australia said it supported looking into “possible options” to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry on international crimes in Burma.
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14 March 2010 |
KNU supports UN Commission of Inquiry |
On 14 March, the Karen National Union (KNU) issued a statement to express its support for the UN Special Rapporteur Tomás Ojea Quintana’s recommendation to establish a UN Commission of Inquiry on international crimes in Burma. The KNU also called for UN member countries to implement Ojea Quintana’s recommendation. “The KNU and ethnic political organizations […] have long called for such a UN commission,” the KNU said in the statement.
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10 March 2010 |
UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma recommends Commission of Inquiry |
On 10 March, the UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana recommended in his report to the Human Rights Council that the UN establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the military regime in Burma. Ojea Quintana said that a pattern of “gross and systematic” human rights violations in Burma persisted over a period of many years and still continued. He said that given this lack of accountability within the SPDC, he suggested the UN initiate a specific fact-finding mandate to investigate the possibility of international crimes including “crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the Statute of the International Criminal Court.”
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3 March 2010 |
Women Nobel Laureates and rights experts advocate ICC referral |
On 3 March, after hearing testimony from 12 Burmese women at the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma in New York, a panel of Nobel peace prize laureates and human rights experts strongly urged that the UN Security Council refer Burma to the International Criminal Court. Organized by the Nobel Women's Initiative and the Women's League of Burma, the tribunal spotlighted the SPDC’s crimes such as forced labor, rape, and political imprisonment committed with impunity against women.
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11 February 2010 |
Christian Solidarity Worldwide calls for Commission of Inquiry |
On 11 February, Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) urged governments to respond to the SPDC Army’s burning of over 70 homes, a clinic, and two schools in Karen State in early February by calling for the establishment of a UN Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma and a universal arms embargo on the junta. CSW East Asia director Benedict Rogers said, “These latest attacks serve as clear evidence of [the SPDC’s] brutal plan of ethnic cleansing against the minorities.”
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9 February 2010 |
UNISON calls for UN Commission of Inquiry |
On 9 February, UNISON, the second largest trade union in the UK, wrote a letter to British MPs asking for an Early Day Motion that calls for a UN Commission of Inquiry into the SPDC’s crimes against humanity. “UNISON is appealing to MPs to show their support for the people of Burma, and for Aung San Suu Kyi, by signing the Early Day Motion,” said the union’s General Secretary Dave Prentis.
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8 February 2010 |
UK Conservative Party calls for UN Commission of Inquiry |
On 8 February, in a policy paper addressed to British government officials, the UK Conservative Party’s Human Rights Commission called for a UN Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma, a universal arms embargo, and tighter, targeted sanctions against SPDC officials.
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10 December 2009 |
Parliamentarians worldwide join call for Commission of Inquiry |
On 10 December, 442 MPs from 29 countries joined calls for a Commission of Inquiry. The MPs signed onto a letter addressed to UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and UNSC President Michel Kafando calling for the UNSC to establish a Commission of Inquiry and the UN to impose a global arms embargo on the SPDC. “Such actions are long overdue,” the letter read. The letter demanded the UN Security Council act on the UN’s well-documented evidence of widespread and systematic crimes carried out by the SPDC. “The longer the [Security] Council waits, the more people in Burma will die,” the MPs said.
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26 November 2009 |
British MPs say UN Commission of Inquiry is imperative |
On 26 November, British MP Alistair Carmichael and several high profile Members of Parliament tabled a Parliamentary petition calling for the United Nations to establish a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity and war crimes committed by the SPDC. The petition received the support of over 40 MPs. “It is imperative that the United Nations establishes a Commission of Inquiry into these heinous crimes,” said MP Alistair Carmichael.
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23 September 2009 |
USCB calls for action on rape and crimes against humanity in Burma |
On 23 September, the US Campaign for Burma urged the international community to press for action to end the SPDC's use of rape as a weapon of war, as well as other crimes against humanity, in meetings scheduled during the annual session of the UN General Assembly during the last week of September in New York. "Several bodies at the UN have documented the Burmese regime's use of rape and other crimes against humanity, but to date no action has been taken by the international community," said Aung Din, Executive Director of the U.S. Campaign for Burma. "The upcoming meetings at the United Nations are the perfect opportunity to take action."
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11 August 2009 |
Fourteen Nobel Laureates call for a Commission of Inquiry |
On 11 August, in reaction to the guilty verdict in the trial of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, 14 Nobel Laureates petitioned the UN Security Council to pass a resolution requesting that the UN Secretary-General establish a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. “It is critical that the regime be held accountable for its crimes and that the full extent of its brutality be investigated. We believe it is time to end impunity for the military’s crimes,” they said.
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7 August 2009 |
Women’s groups call for the UNSC to establish a Commission of Inquiry |
On 7 August, the Women’s League of Burma (WLB) along with 64 leading international women’s organizations sent a letter to the UN Secretary-General and members of the UN Security Council calling for the prosecution of Senior General Than Shwe at the ICC, and an immediate end to the longstanding impunity that has been afforded the SPDC.
“We call for the UN Security Council to start with a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the horrific campaign of terror by the military regime and to refer Senior General Than Shwe and his cronies to the International Criminal Court for all crimes including for the imprisonment of Nobel Laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi in violation of international law,” the petition read.
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28 June 2009 |
Former US First Lady says the UNSC needs to refer Burma to the ICC |
On 28 June, in an op-ed in the Washington Post, former US First Lady Laura Bush supported calls for an establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma, and urged UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to pressure the regime to cease its human rights abuses. “The Security Council has already referred the crisis in Darfur to the International Criminal Court. It should do the same for Burma,” she said.
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15 June 2009 |
US House of Representatives members urge UN Commission of Inquiry |
On 15 June, in a letter to President Barack Obama, 55 members of the US House of Representatives asked him to encourage the UN Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the system of impunity in Burma. “The regime must be held accountable, on behalf of the millions of people of Burma who have no other course for redress,” said the letter.
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27 May 2009 |
UNSC must establish a Commission of Inquiry, says former UN rights envoy |
On 27 May, in a New York Times op-ed, former UN Special Rapporteur on human rights in Burma Paulo Sergio Pinheiro called for the UN Security Council to request the UN Secretary-General to establish a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. “Creating a commission of inquiry will accomplish three important goals: First, it will make the junta accountable for its crimes with a potential indictment by the International Criminal Court. Second, it will address the widespread culture of impunity in Burma. Third, it has the potential to deter future crimes against humanity in Myanmar,” he said.
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25 May 2009 |
Thai MP says Than Shwe should be prosecuted by the ICC |
On 25 May, Thai MP and ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Myanmar Caucus (AIMPC) President Kraisak Choonhavan said that the political and humanitarian crisis in Burma has reached a point whereby it is affecting neighboring countries and therefore justifies intervention by the ICC. “If they [ICC] are in their right mind and they go through the facts, there is no denying that [SPDC Chairman] Than Shwe and his cronies should be prosecuted at the ICC,” he said.
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20 May 2009 |
East Timor President to the SPDC: Free Daw Aung Suu Kyi or I will press for ICC action |
On 20 May, East Timor President and Nobel Laureate Jose Ramos-Horta said he would call on the ICC to investigate the SPDC generals if they did not free Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.
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17 May 2009 |
Burma Lawyers’ Council urges to international community to press for ICC action |
On 17 May, the Burma Lawyers’ Council issued a statement calling on the international community to help restore the rule of law in Burma by calling for ICC action on the SPDC. “Sen. Gen. Than Shwe and other military officials have been committing heinous crimes repeatedly, to strengthen their political power, with impunity given that judiciary did not take any action, denying the principles of the rule of law. If there is no rule of law, a genuine national reconciliation will never become a reality in Burma. The Burma Lawyers’ Council requests the international community to work together to restore the rule of law in Burma, by seeking the power of the International Criminal Court,” the statement said.
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23 April 2009 |
60 British MPs call for a Commission of Inquiry |
On 23 April, in an Early Day Motion, 60 British MPs expressed their concern for the deteriorating human rights situation in Burma and called for the establishment of a Commission of Inquiry on war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. “[We urge] Her Majesty's Government, along with other governments, to propose the establishment of a commission of inquiry to investigate allegations of crimes against humanity and war crimes in Burma; [and urge] the UN to invoke the principle of Responsibility to Protect in relation to the crisis in Burma,” the motion stated.
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1 August 2008 |
IBMO calls on the European Parliament to refer the SPDC to the ICC |
On 1 August, the International Burmese Monks Organization (IBMO) called on the European Parliament to hold the SPDC accountable for its crimes and to support a resolution to refer the SPDC to the ICC for war crimes and crimes against humanity. “The peoples of Burma continue to be victims of grave crimes perpetrated by the military under orders of Senior General Than Shwe. […] we seek your support for a Security Council referral of Burma to the International Criminal Court,” the statement said.
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1 February 2008 |
NCUB asks the UNSC to establish a Commission of Inquiry |
On 1 February, in a press statement, the National Council of the Union of Burma (NCUB) gave its endorsement for the campaign on criminal accountability and backed the campaign’s call for a Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. “The Campaign seeks to hold the perpetrators of heinous crimes in Burma, such as crimes against humanity, accountable for their actions by requesting the UN Security Council to establish a Commission of Inquiry to investigate the crimes,” the statement read.
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