8/30/2018
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
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Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State New report reveals how government obstructed aid to displaced Kachin since 2011 https://mailchi.mp/fortifyrights/fortify-rights-report-myanmar-end-restrictions-on-humanitarian-aid-in-war-torn-kachin-state?e=30daba6b51
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
(YANGON, August 30, 2018)—The Government of Myanmar has blocked Past Issues
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humanitarian aid to tens of thousands of Kachin civilians forcibly displaced by civil war for more than seven years and in violation of the laws of war, Fortify Rights said today in a new report. The authorities should immediately provide
local and international aid groups with free and unfettered humanitarian access to all internally displaced persons in need. “Consecutive governments and the military have willfully obstructed local and international aid groups, denying Kachin civilians access to aid,” said Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer of Fortify Rights. “This may amount to a war crime, giving even more reason for the U.N. Security Council to refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.” While widely known that displaced civilians in Kachin State lack adequate access to aid, there have been few details to date about why and how aid fails to reach those in need. “They Block Everything”: Avoidable Deprivations in Humanitarian Aid to Ethnic Civilians Displaced by War in Kachin State, Myanmar details how Myanmar authorities—particularly the Myanmar military–have weaponized the denial of humanitarian aid in Kachin State for years. The government has willfully imposed restrictions on access to food, healthcare, shelter, water, and sanitation to tens of thousands of Kachin displaced by ongoing war between the Myanmar Army and the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), one of the largest non-state ethnic armies in the country.
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
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Displaced Kachin sharing a meal at Tanai Kachin Baptist Church in Tanai Township, Kachin State. The Myanmar military’s restrictions on humanitarian aid organizations have driven food shortages among displaced communities in Kachin State. ŠHkun Lat, June 2017.
The new report finds that the Chinese government privately urged Myanmar authorities and non-state ethnic armies to prevent the U.N. and international humanitarian aid organizations from operating on the Myanmar side of the border near China’s Yunnan Province, where tens of thousands of Kachin civilians are displaced and in need of aid. There are currently more than 106,000 ethnic civilians in more than 140 displacement sites in Kachin and Shan states due to ongoing armed-conflict and human rights violations. Based on 195 interviews conducted primarily in Kachin State during a five-year period (2013-2018), the 68-page report documents the ways in which the Government of Myanmar imposes unnecessary travel restrictions on humanitarian aid organizations. Fortify Rights visited more than 20 displacement camps in Kachin State between 2013 and 2018 and interviewed survivors and eyewitnesses of violations, internally displaced persons, U.N. officials, representatives of international and national humanitarian aid organizations, Kachin Independence Organization representatives, and KIA soldiers.
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
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A displaced Kachin woman rests at a temporary shelter with her week-old infant in Lungbyang village, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State. The child was born while his mother fled from Zai Aung camp for displaced persons after the Myanmar Army fired a mortar near their camp. Displaced mothers and children are disproportionately affected by government-imposed deprivations in aid and healthcare. ©Hkun Lat, January 2017.
From June 2017 to June 2018, the Government of Myanmar unconditionally approved only approximately five percent of 562 applications submitted by international humanitarian agencies seeking “travel authorization” to assist displaced communities in government-controlled areas of Kachin State. Even fewer requests were approved for aid agencies seeking access to areas under the control of the KIA. Aid organizations have all but stopped submitting requests to the civilian government to access displaced populations in KIA-controlled territory, regarding attempts as futile. “They block everything,” said “Zau Raw,” a 60-year-old displaced Kachin man in KIA-controlled territory, referring to the Myanmar military. “All trucks that are trying to cross into KIA-controlled areas are blocked. The authorities also block or obstruct humanitarian access to governmentcontrolled territory. The government’s travel-authorization process for aid groups in Myanmar https://mailchi.mp/fortifyrights/fortify-rights-report-myanmar-end-restrictions-on-humanitarian-aid-in-war-torn-kachin-state?e=30daba6b51
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
effectively acts as a restriction on aid and humanitarian access to displaced Past Issues Translate populations in violation of international humanitarian law. The onerous and vague measures imposed through the travel-authorization process involve civilian authorities and have not only led to undue delays in the delivery of aid to people in need but have completely obstructed humanitarian operations in some areas of Kachin State.
A displaced Kachin family keeps warm around a fire in front of their temporary shelter near Lungbyang village, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State. Displaced Kachin struggle to find essential non-food items, such as firewood, in displacement camps in Kachin State, where winters can be harsh. ŠHkun Lat, January 2017.
While the Myanmar military is largely responsible for hindering the delivery of humanitarian aid to Kachin civilians, the previous administration of President Thein Sein (2011 to 2016) and the current administration of State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi (2016 to present) demonstrated continuity in their respective policies to deprive war-affected Kachin civilians of adequate humanitarian aid. Due to the lack of essential aid, displaced civilians in Kachin State reported increased food insecurity, avoidable health-related deaths, poor living conditions, and protection concerns, according to the Fortify Rights report. The report finds that without ready access to basic and lifesaving aid and assistance, displaced civilians are forced to take risky journeys in search of food and essential items outside displacement camps, exposing them to the dangers https://mailchi.mp/fortifyrights/fortify-rights-report-myanmar-end-restrictions-on-humanitarian-aid-in-war-torn-kachin-state?e=30daba6b51
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
of landmines and armed conflict in Myanmar as well as exploitation and Past Issues Translate arbitrary arrest and detention in China. Aid workers seeking to circumvent the Myanmar authorities’ restrictions face similar risks to deliver aid to displaced populations on the Myanmar-China border.
Displaced Kachin warm themselves in the morning sun in front of their temporary shelter near Lungbyang village, Waingmaw Township, Kachin State. As a result of the Myanmar military’s restrictions on humanitarian aid, shelters for the displaced in Kachin State are often inadequate and in disrepair. ©Hkun Lat, January 2017.
Local aid organizations are under increasing threat in Kachin State. For example, on May 21, the Kachin State Minister of Security and Border Affairs accused the Kachin Baptist Convention—one of the largest providers of aid to displaced communities in KIA-controlled areas—with allegedly violating Article 17(1) of the Unlawful Associations Act for delivering aid in areas under the control of the KIA, which the Myanmar government has labeled as a “terrorist” group. Conviction under Article 17(1) carries a three-year prison sentence and/or a fine. “Depriving civilians of aid in an attempt to overcome an ethnic army is a perverse, unlawful, and ineffective strategy,” said Matthew Smith. “All parties to this war have a duty to protect civilians and that includes by ensuring access to adequate aid.”
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
The Government of Myanmar’s willful deprivation of humanitarian aid Translate to Past Issues displaced civilians in Kachin State violates both international human rights law and international humanitarian law, also known as the laws of war. Under international humanitarian law, all parties to armed conflict are obligated to “facilitate the free passage of humanitarian assistance” and ensure aid workers have “rapid and unimpeded access to the internally displaced.” The Government of Myanmar’s commitments under international human rights law obligates it to protect and promote the rights to food, health, housing, water, and sanitation for displaced populations in the country.
Forcibly displaced Kachin huddle in a temporary shelter at Jaw Masat camp in Myitkyina Township, Kachin State. Displaced civilians fled here after being forced from their homes by fighting between the Myanmar military and the Kachin Independence Army. The Myanmar military denied aid groups access to them in April and May 2018. ©Hkun Lat, May 2018.
On August 27, the U.N. Fact-Finding Mission released findings that Myanmar authorities “frequently and arbitrarily denied” humanitarian aid to civilians in Kachin State. The independent mission said that Myanmar’s top generals should face prosecution for crimes against humanity and war crimes in Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states. On May 1, the U.N. Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Yanghee Lee noted that “any willful impediment of relief supplies” to civilians in Kachin State “may amount to war crimes under international law.” By failing to provide aid and imposing restrictions on humanitarian aid organizations seeking to assist displaced populations in need, the Myanmar https://mailchi.mp/fortifyrights/fortify-rights-report-myanmar-end-restrictions-on-humanitarian-aid-in-war-torn-kachin-state?e=30daba6b51
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Fortify Rights Report - Myanmar: End Restrictions on Humanitarian Aid in War-torn Kachin State
government has failed to meet its obligations under international law. Certain Past Issues Translate authorities responsible for willfully denying lifesaving aid to Kachin civilians may be liable for war crimes. The U.N. Security Council should urgently refer Myanmar to the International Criminal Court to investigate and potentially prosecute those responsible for human rights violations in Kachin and northern Shan states, Fortify Rights said. “Kachin civil society has long exposed how the military’s crimes are part of a longstanding campaign against ethnic communities,” said Matthew Smith. “The international community should redouble support for Myanmar’s human rights defenders and break the cycle of impunity.”
For more information, please contact: David Baulk, Myanmar Human Rights Specialist, Fortify Rights, +95 979 311 1685 (in Myanmar), Email: david.baulk@fortifyrights.org; Twitter: @davidbaulk, @FortifyRights Matthew Smith, Chief Executive Officer, Fortify Rights, +1 202 503 8032 (in the U.S.), Email: Matthew.Smith@FortifyRights.org; Twitter: @matthewfsmith, @FortifyRights Amy Smith, Executive Director, Fortify Rights +66 87 795 5454 (Thai mobile, in Myanmar), Email: amy.smith@fortifyrights.org; Twitter: @AmyAlexSmith, @FortifyRights
Eric Paulsen, Legal Director, Fortify Rights, +60 17 228 1973 (in Malaysia) (Malay; English); Email: eric.paulsen@fortifyrights.org; Twitter: @EricPaulsen101, @FortifyRights https://mailchi.mp/fortifyrights/fortify-rights-report-myanmar-end-restrictions-on-humanitarian-aid-in-war-torn-kachin-state?e=30daba6b51
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