MMR 001 / 1216 / OBS 108
Murder
Burma
December 15, 2016
The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights
Defenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture
(OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma.
Brief description of the situation:
The Observatory has been informed by reliable
sources about the murder of Ms. Chit
Pandaing, better known as “Eh Paw
Tel”, a 22-year-old Karen women rights defender working with the Mine
Advisory Group (MAG) and a strong advocate against land confiscation and the
negative impacts of mining in Dawei and other Townships in Tenasserim Region,
Burma.
According to the
information received, on November 19, 2016, Ms. Chit Pandaing was stabbed to
death by an unidentified individual in Dawei Town as she was preparing to take
part in a fundraising singing competition at Shwewethiri sports ground.
On November 20, 2016,
police in Dawei Town opened an investigation into Ms. Chit Pandaing’s murder.
At the time of publication of this appeal, Ms. Chit Pandaing’s murderer
remained at large.
The Observatory strongly condemns the murder of Ms.
Chit Pandaing and urges the authorities to adopt effective measures to ensure
the protection of human rights defenders, including land and environmental
rights defenders, in Burma, and to conduct an immediate, thorough, impartial,
and transparent investigation into the above-mentioned events.
Actions requested:
Please write to the authorities of Burma asking
them to:
i. Carry out an immediate, thorough, impartial, and
transparent investigation into the murder of Ms. Chit Pandaing in order to
identify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, and
sanction them as provided by the law;
ii. Guarantee in all circumstances physical and
psychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Burma;
iii. Comply with all the provisions of the UN
Declaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations General
Assembly on December 9, 1998, in particular with its Articles 1 and 12.2;
iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights and
fundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on Human
Rights.
Addresses:
• U Htin Kyaw, President; Fax: +95 1 652 624
• Lt Gen Kyaw Swe, Minister for Home Affairs;
Fax: +95 67 412 439; Email: mohamyanmar@gmail.com
• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Minister of Foreign
Affairs, Fax: +95
67 412396
• U Win Mra, Chairman of the Myanmar National
Human Rights Commission; Email: chmyanmarnhrc@gmail.com
• U Tun Tun Oo, Union Attorney General;
Email: ago.h.o@mptmail.net.mm
• Maj Gen Zaw Win, Director General, Myanmar
Police Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Fax: +95 67 412006; Email: mpfserver@gmail.com
• HE Mr. Htin Lynn, Ambassador Extraordinary
and Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva,
Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 732 89 19, +41 22 732 73 77, Email: mission@myanmargeneva.org
• Embassy of Myanmar in Brussels, Belgium,
Fax: +32 2 705 50 48, Email: mebrussels@skynet.be
Please also write to the diplomatic representations
of Burma in your respective countries.
***
Paris-Geneva, December 15, 2016
Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quoting
the code of this appeal in your reply.
The Observatory for the Protection of
Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH and
OMCT. The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situations
of repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT are
both members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented
by international civil society.
| Tweet |
English