Engaging a pariah: Human rights training in Burma/Myanmar

Human Rights Quarterly

Volumn 29, Issue 2, 2007, Pages 368-402

  Kinley, David ^a   Wilson, Trevor ^b  

^a UNIVERSITY OF SYDNEY   (Australia)

^b AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY   (Australia)

Author keywords

[No Author keywords available]

Indexed keywords

DEMOCRACY; HUMAN RIGHTS; INTERNATIONAL AID; INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION; MILITARY GOVERNMENT; SOCIAL EXCLUSION; TRAINING;

ASIA; EURASIA; MYANMAR; SOUTHEAST ASIA;

EID: 34249930145     PISSN: 02750392     EISSN: None     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1353/hrq.2007.0019     Document Type: Article

References (166)

1. Throughout the article we generally adopt the UN approach of referring to the state as "Myanmar," though "Burma" is also used, especially where organizations (such as the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT)) themselves prefer the term.
2. First, by way of a "caretaker government" from 1958-1960 and thereafter, until the present day, under various guises and titles. There is a huge body of documentation and literature on the struggle for democracy and respect for human rights throughout this period. In addition to those sources cited throughout this article (especially, Steinberg, infra note 32), other noteworthy accounts include:
3. AUNG SAN SUU KYI, FREEDOM FROM FEAR 167-272 (Penguin Books 1995)(1991);
4. Josef Silverstein, Burma's Struggle for Democracy: The Army against the People, in THE MILITARY AND DEMOCRACY IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC 69-87 (R.J. May & V. Selochan eds., 1998);
5. CHRISTINA FINK, LIVING SILENCE: BURMA UNDER MILITARY RULE (2001).
6. See also Human Rights Yearbooks on Burma, produced since 1994 by the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma, available at http://www.ncgub.net, as well as the annual country reports and special reports produced by Amnesty International, available at http://www.amnesty.org;
7. Human Rights Watch, available at http://www.hrw.org.
8. For more general commentary and analysis on Myanmar, see Free Burma Coalition, available at http://www.freeburmacoalition.org; the daily updated survey and "clippings service" of stories from news services worldwide at BurmaNet, available at http:// www.burmanet.org.
9. Kimina Lyall, Downer Limits Response to Suu Kyi's Detention, AUSTRALIAN, 6 June 2003, at 9.
10. On which incident see, Amnesty International, Myanmar: Justice on Trial, Al Index ASA 16/019/2003, 30 July 2003, available at http://www.amnesty.org/library/index/engasa160192003.
11. In fact, the notion of states' obligations under international law was a key feature of the workshops, and this was made explicit in the use of the term in the some of the official workshop titles.
12. A useful summary of developments can be found in the annual survey of Asian affairs in Asian Survey. Specifically for this period, see Donald M. Seekins, Burma in 1999: A Slim Hope, 40 ASIAN SURVEY 16 (2000);
13. Tin Maung Maung Than, Myanmar (Burma) in 2000: More of the Same?, 41 ASIAN SURVEY 148 (2001);
14. Tin Maung Maung Than, Burma/Myanmar in 2001: A Year of Waiting, 42 ASIAN SURVEY 115 (2002);
15. Allen L. Clark, Burma in 2002: A Year Of Transition, 43 ASIAN SURVEY 127 (2003).
16. For a notably laudatory discussion of the ICRC's work thus far in Myanmar (from a former political prisoner), see Khin Zaw Win, impoverishment as Freedom: An Orwellian Double-Speak, Nov. 2005, available at http://www.freeburmacoalition.org/khinzawwin.htm.
17. At the time, Mr. Dauth was Deputy Secretary of DFAT. He later served as Australia's Ambassador to the United Nations in New York from 2000-05 when he was again involved in Myanmar issues.
18. In addition, both Chris Sidoti and David Kinley gave numerous media interviews, both nationally and internationally, in their capacities as consultants and trainers in the program. They also corresponded and met privately with many Burmese activists and opposition groups and bodies in Australia, Myanmar, and elsewhere, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and other representatives from the National League for Democracy, the National Council of the Union of Burma, representatives from the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (the "Government in Exile"), the Democratic Alliance of Burma, the Shan Women's Action Network, the Human Rights Education Institute of Burma (Chiang Mai, Thailand), and the Burmese Lawyers' Council, in Bangkok. During the preparation of Phase 2 of the program, the consultants also met with the Shalom Foundation and the United Nationalities Alliance, which comprised representatives from a number of ethnic groups including the Shan, Mon, Kachin, Rakhine, Karen, and Karenni peoples.
19. Spreading the Right Word, MYANMAR TIMES, 30 Oct. 2000, at 7.
20. Australian minister defends "unique" foreign policy approach (edited extracts from Mr. Downer's speech at the opening of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law), MYANMAR TIMES, 4 Dec. 2000, at 6.
21. See, e.g., Workshop on Human Rights and Responsibilities Opened, NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR, 23 July 2002, available at http://www.myanmar.gov.mm/NLM-2002/enlm/July23.htm#(5);
22. with respect to reporting on workshops run by the Myanmar Human Rights Committee itself, see Workshop on Women's Human Rights Held, NEW LIGHT OF MYANMAR, 8 Jan. 2003, available at http:// mission.itu.ch/MISSIONS/Myanmar/03nlm/ n030108.htm#Workshop_on_Womens_Human_Rights_held_. This reporting by the official press was factual, if minimal, and without comment, but it was quite accurate and did not seek to inject any bias.
23. See Australia Sponsors Human Rights Workshops in Burma (Australian Broadcasting Corp. television broadcast, 16 Aug. 2001), transcript available at http://www.abc.net.au/7.30/content/2001/s347795.htm.
24. During negotiations undertaken in Rangoon Aug. 1999.
25. The Paris Principles were developed by the OECD and adopted by the U.N. in 1993. See National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, G.A. Res. 48/134, U.N. GAOR, 48th Sess., U.N. Doc. A/48/49 (20 Dec. 1993).
26. For the text of the Principles, see the Annex to OHCHR, Fact Sheet No. 19, National Institutions for the Promotion and Promotion of Human Rights (Apr. 1993), available at http://www.unhchr.ch/html/ menu6/2/fs19.htm#annex.
27. See infra note 41.
28. See Les Luck, Item 9: The Question of the Violations of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms Anywhere in the World (20 Mar.-28 Apr. 2000), available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/hr/hr_violation.html;
29. Hon. Alexander Downer, Making a Real Difference to Human Rights, Address Before the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law (20 Nov. 2000), available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/media/speeches/foreign/2000/ 001120_hr.html;
30. Alexander Downer, Human Rights in Australia's Foreign Policy, Address at Consultations between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Non-Governmental Organizations on Human Rights (30 July 2002), available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/hr/speeches/ 960730_downer_dfat_ngo.html.
31. See generally Australian Department of Foreign Affairs, Burma Country Brief (Jan. 2007), available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/geo/burma/burma_brief.html.
32. See David Kinley & Penny Martin, International Human Rights Law at Home: Addressing the Politics of Denial, 26 MELB. U. L. REV. 466-77 (2002);
33. Hillary Charlesworth, Madelaine Chiam, Devika Hovell & George Williams, Deep Anxieties: Australia and the International Legal Order, 23 SYDNEY L. REV. 423, 433-34, 436 (2003).
34. Press Release, Alexander Downer, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Australian Government to Continue Human Rights Training in Burma (25 May 2001), available at http://www.ausaid.gov.au/media/ release.cfm?BC=Media&ID=8637_899_6425_6920_5972) (this media release is fairly typical).
35. Similarly, in a speech he gave for the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Downer stated "I would be the last to inflate the prospects of turning around the very poor situation in Burma." Downer, Making a Real Difference to Human Rights, supra note 17.
36. Press Release, Chris Sidoit (sic), Human Rights Commissioner, Reporting on Visit to Myanmar (Burma) (5 Aug. 1999), available at http:// www.hreoc.gov.au/media_releases/1999/99_31.html (issued on Sidoti's return to Australia reporting on his discussions with the Myanmar government and with the National League for Democracy Vice Chairman Tin Oo).
37. See also InternationalReports.net, Human Rights Training Takes Off in Myanmar, available at http://www.internationalreports.net/ asiapacific/myanmar/2003/humanrights.html.
38. Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, adopted 18 Dec. 1979, G.A. Res. 34/180, U.N. GAOR, 34th Sess., Supp. No. 46, U.N. Doc. A/34/46 (1980) (entered into force 3 Sept. 1981), 1249 U.N.T.S. 13, reprinted in 19 I.L.M. 33 (1980) [hereinafter CEDAW];
39. Convention on the Rights of the Child, adopted 20 Nov. 1989, G.A. Res. 44/25, U.N. GAOR, 44th Sess., Supp. No. 49, U.N. Doc. A/44/49 (1989) (entered into force 2 Sept. 1990), reprinted in 28 I.L.M. 1448 (1989) [hereinafter Rights of the Child].
40. The two week mission, which was conducted by Kate Eastman and an AusAid officer, included extensive consultations with three ministries - namely, Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General's Office.
41. The team was convened under the auspices of the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University and was led by Professor David Kinley, the then Director of the Castan Centre. The program was conducted under the auspices of AusAID, the Australian Agency for International Development, and administered by Monash International. See infra note 25.
42. To be sure, there was a surreal element to undertaking such a program in a country where the admonitory caveats that: The People's Desires [are:] * Oppose those relying on external elements, acting as stooges, holding negative views; * Oppose those trying to jeopardize stability of the State and progress of the nation; * Oppose foreign nations interfering in internal affairs of the State; * Crush all internal and external destructive elements as the common enemy appear on billboards throughout the country and frequently on the pages of the official national daily newspaper, The New Light of Myanmar. This sense of surrealism abated somewhat after one's initiation, but it never really disappeared.
43. Throughout the two and half years of the program four trainers were used: Kate Eastman, Sarah Joseph, David Kinley, and Chris Sidoti.
44. See the consultants' accounts provided to, and considered by, the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defense, and Trade in its inquiry into and report on Australia's involvement in human rights and good governance education. The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia, Human Rights and Good Governance Education in the Asia Pacific Region, ¶3.253-4 (24 June 2004), available at http://www.aph.gov.au/house/ committee/jfadt/hrgoodgov/report.htm.
45. All the above trainers are legally trained and either full-time or part-time university academics.
46. As Craig Reynolds puts it in his reflections upon very similar dilemmas regarding his own experience of academic engagement in the country - there is "a hunger for scholarly exchange that I believe the international community must try to satisfy" Craig J. Reynolds, The Ethics of Academic Engagement with Burma, in BURMA/MYANMAR: STRONG REGIME, WEAK STATE 123, 135 (Morten Pedersen, Emily Rudland & Ronald May eds., 2000).
47. Thomas Risse & Kathryn Sikkink, The Socialization of International Human Rights Norms into Domestic Practices: Introduction, in THE POWER OF HUMAN RIGHTS: INTERNATIONAL NORMS AND DOMESTIC CHANGE 1, 1 (Thomas Risse, Stephen Ropp, & Kathryn Sikkink eds., 1999).
48. Id. In the chapters that comprise the remainder of the book, a number of authors provide empirical studies of how this process is borne out in practice in such countries as Chile, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Morocco, the Philippines, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and a number of Eastern European states.
49. See, e.g., Myint Cho, Dealing with Burma the Australian Way, IRRAWADDY (1 Oct. 2002), available at http:// www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=2735&z=27. See also the views of a prominent Australian figure in the pro-democracy movement, Interview by Tony Jones with Janelle Saffin, Executive Member, Burma Lawyers Council, and Chris Sidoti, Former Human Rights Comm'r, in Austl. (7 Nov. 2000), available at http://www.abc.net.au/lateline/stories/s209527.htm.
50. Though invariably referred to as NGOs, these organizations are in fact arms of the state, having little or no independence from the government. For analysis of the history and dimensions of the destruction of civil society in Myanmar see David Steinberg, BURMA: THE STATE OF MYANMAR 98-122 (2001).
51. Then the ABRI (Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia), now the TNI (Tentara Nasional Indonesia).
52. Interestingly, Burmese opposition groups (namely both the NLD and the NCUB) suggested to the authors on a number of occasions the need to revise this exclusion of the military on the basis that it was the military that was (and is) responsible for most human rights abuses, not the bureaucracy. Furthermore, the military were included in similar human rights training workshops in Myanmar that were conducted by Premier Oil (a British corporation which at that time had significant commercial interests in Myanmar) in 2001 and 2002. David Kinley was part of the team of trainers who conducted these workshops See The Business and Human Rights Management Report: A Study of Eight Companies and Their Approaches to Human Rights Policy and Management System Development, ETHICAL CORP., Nov. 2004, at 62-64;
53. Carl Mortished, Premier Oils the Wheels of Change in Burma, THE TIMES (UK), 2 Mar. 2001, at 33.
54. A "Shadow" Report critically assessing Myanmar's record in protecting the rights covered by CEDAW, prepared by the Women's League of Burma was submitted to the UN Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 2000, at the same time as the government of Myanmar submitted its report to the same UN Committee.
55. DEPT. OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND TRADE, HUMAN RIGHTS MANUAL 2004, available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/hr/hr_manual_2004/ index.html.
56. This was, and still is, especially significant given the extremely limited access in Myanmar both to the Internet itself and to sites on the Internet.
57. The degree to which the legal system, and especially the independence of judiciary, has been compromised was and is a particular problem; see Myint Zan, Judicial Independence in Burma Since Independence: Constitutional History, Actual Practice and Future Prospects, 4 S. CROSS U. L. REV. 19 (2000).
58. Initial reports of States parties: Myanmar, U.N. ESCOR, Comm. on Rts. of the Child, addendum, U.N. Doc. CRC/C/8/Add.9 (1995);
59. Initial reports of States parties: Myanmar, U.N. ESCOR, Comm. for Elim. of Discrim. against Women, U.N. Doc. CEDAW/C/MMR/1 (1999).
60. See http://www.ohchr.org for details. Indeed, one set of workshops conducted in 2002 focused exclusively on the Myanmar government's preparations for the submission of its second periodic report to Committee on the Rights of the Child. The workshops were conducted with personnel from the Department for Social Welfare, who were responsible for drafting the report. Professor Daw Khin Aye Win, Chair of the Myanmar National Committee for Women's Affairs (which had responsibility for preparing Myanmar's CEDAW reports), met frequently with the consultants and attended two of the workshops in the program.
61. See Paris Principles, supra note 15.
62. Both countries have a human rights commission: Komnas Ham in Indonesia (established in 1993) and SUHAKAM in Malaysia (established in 1999). Despite the considerable international and domestic skepticism over the intentions behind the creation of both commissions, both were to confound their initial critics by growing into small but prominent institutions within the polity of the two countries, albeit more so in Indonesia than Malaysia. See also, Monika Talwar, Indonesia's National Human Rights Commission: A Step in the Right Direction?, Hum. Rts. Brief, (1997), available at http://www.wcl.american.edu/ hrbriefs/v4i2/index42.htm;
63. Amanda Whiting, Situating Suhakam: Human Rights Debates and Malaysia's National Human Rights Commission, 39 STAN. J. INT'L L. 59 (2003), respectively.
64. Certainly, one must be wary of exaggerating the importance of such an initiative, but it cannot be rejected out of hand, as some argued. See, e.g., Khin Maung Win of the Burma Lawyers' Council, who dismissed the Commission (sic) as a "joke" on the grounds that (a) there are many human rights abuses in Myanmar; and (b) the SPDC must first change its attitude and behavior towards the people of Myanmar; these are precisely the grounds that support arguments for the establishment of a human rights body, at least, as a first step. Khin Maung Win, Burma Human Rights Body is Not All that is Needed, 6 LEGAL ISSUES ON BURMA J. 16 (2000), available at http://www.blc-burma.org/activity_pub_liob.html#liob6.
65. Report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, Submitted Pursuant to Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2002/67, U.N. ESCOR, Comm'n. on Hum. Rts., 59th Sess., Agenda Item 9, U.N. Doc. E/ CN.4/2003/41 (2002).
66. Funding was also provided for Myanmar judges to attend judicial training seminars overseas. See Naw Seng, Australia to Assist Judges, THE IRRAWADDY, 11 June 2002, available at http://www.irrawaddy.org/aviewer.asp?a=2345&z=22.
67. For general information on these forums, see http:// www.asiapacificforum.net.
68. AUSTRALIAN AGENCY FOR INTERNATIONAL DEVELOPMENT, HUMAN RIGHTS IN BURMA, SUMMARY OF PHASE 1 (2004), available at http:// www.ausaid.gov.au/publications. The Report was prepared by the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Monash University.
69. Alexander Downer, Minister for Foreign Affairs, Making a Real Difference to Human Rights, Address at the Castan Centre for Human Rights Law, Melbourne (20 Nov. 2000), available at http://www.dfat.gov.au/ media/speeches/foreign/2000/001120_hr.html.
70. For example, after the first year of the program, a senior AusAID official told the Committee It was assessed that the courses had met their objectives and exposed to human rights standards and principles. They had succeeded in raising awareness and stimulating discussion and debate. On the basis of that, no significant changes are proposed. We are looking at extending the exposure of people to those very same principles and protocols. Richard Moore, AusAID, Address Before the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee(6 June 2001), in OFFICIAL COMMITEE HANSARD, at 360.
71. The following papers were presented: David Kinley, Human Rights Workshops in Burma, Burma/Myanmar Update 2002, Presented at Australian National University (14 Feb. 2002);
72. David Kinley, Human Rights Engagement, The Struggle for Democracy in Burma: Policy Options for Australia, Presented at the Asialink Forum, University of Melbourne (8 May 2003);
73. David Kinley, Supping with the Devil: Promoting Human Rights in Problem Places, Presented at the Fulbright Symposium on Human Rights Education and Peace, University of Melbourne (23 June 2005);
74. Kate Eastman, Human Rights Education and Rogue States - Burma and Afghanistan, Presented at the Australia and New Zealand International Law Association Conference, Wellington, New Zealand (July 2003)(all papers on file with author Kinley).
75. See Chris Johnson, Gesture, Not Reform, Seen from Downer Myanmar Trip REUTERS NEWS, 30 Sept. 2002;
76. Editorial, No One Should Indulge Burma's Generals, THE AGE, 3 Sept. 2003.
77. Press Release, The Hon. Alexander Downer, Burma Visit (3. Oct. 2002), available at http://www.foreignminister.gov/au/releases/2002/ fa144_02.html. The Press Release is unequivocally optimistic about the future of the program.
78. These were: 1) Judges and Law Officers; 2) Law Enforcement; 3) Children; 4) People Movement (including trafficking); 5) University/Academic Liaison; 6) Conflict Management.
79. These statements were not published, nor were texts provided to participants - who took notes - but copies were provided to the Australian Embassy. (On file with authors).
80. Comments in confidence from a source with direct knowledge of the prison.
81. All of which were witnessed by one or other or both of the authors, as recorded in the Reports submitted to the Australian Agency for International Development by the Castan Centre of Human Rights Law and Monash International following each set of workshops.
82. For example, Bangladesh, China, Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam.
83. Specifically, from 29 June to 3 July 2000. He undertook his second mission from 9-12 Oct. 2000, see Report of the Secretary-General on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar, U.N. GAOR, 55th Sess., Agenda Item 114(c), U.N. Doc. A/55/509 (2000).
84. Since their 48th Session in 1992, the Commission on Human Rights has passed a resolution annually on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar. Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, C.H.R. Res. 1992/ 58, U.N. ESCOR, Comm/n on Hum. Rts., 48th Sess. (1992), available at http://ap.ohchr.org/documents/mainrec.aspx.
85. Similarly, the General Assembly has passed a resolution every year since their 46th Session in 1991. Situation in Myanmar, G.A. Res. 46/ 132, U.N. GAOR, 46th Sess. (1991), available at http://www.un.org/ documents/resga.htm.
86. SHAN HUMAN RIGHTS FOUNDATION AND SHAN WOMEN'S ACTION NETWORK, LICENSE TO RAPE: THE BURMESE MILITARY'S REGIME'S USE OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE IN THE ONGOING WAR IN THE SHAN STATE (May 2002), available at http://www.shanland.org/resources/bookspub/humanrights/LtoR/.
87. See further, infra note 88.
88. Mandalay and Taunggyi.
89. For example UNICEF, UNDP, UNHCR, and ICRC.
90. These workshops were run with the officials from the Department of Social Welfare, amongst whose responsibilities was included the compilation of Myanmar's periodic reports of the country's compliance with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child; see Pinheiro urges Australia to Continue Funding for the Human Rights Workshops, THE MYANMAR TIMES, 4 Nov. 2002, at 3.
91. Such as the office of the Secretary-General, the Committee on the Rights of the Child, and the Committee for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, to which it already submits periodic reports.
92. The International Crisis Group, which contributed significantly to debates over strategies and policy options that might be adopted by the international community in respect of Myanmar, took the same view in respect of its recommendations to try to create "a positive environment for change" in the country. International Crisis Group, Myanmar: Sanctions, Engagement or Another Way Forward?, 26 Apr. 2004, at iii, available at http://www.crisisgroup.org/ library/documents/asia/burma_myanmar/078_myanmar_sanctions_ engagement_or_other_way_web.pdf.
93. See, e.g., Ye Htut, Australia Takes the Wrong Road to Rangoon 6 LEGAL ISSUES ON BURMA J. 19 (2000), available at http://www.blc-burma.org/ activity_pub_liob.html#liob6;
94. Tim O'Connor, AID/WATCH Condemns Australian Government Support for Brutal Burmese Dictatorship, 20 Dec. 2002, available at http:// www.aidwatch.org.au/index.php?current=47&display=aw00241 &display-item=1;
95. Craig Skehan, Australian Rights Lawyers under Fire on Burma, THE AGE, 6 Sept. 2000;
96. Shan Woman: Australia's Human Rights Trainings for Burma Do Little to Stop Violations of Human Rights, SHAN HERALD AGENCY FOR NEWS, 15 Dec. 2002, available at http://www.shanland.org/ articles/humanrights/2002/shan_woman.htm/view;
97. Kalinga Senevirante, Australians Debate Myanmar Policy, ASIA TIMES, 11 Oct. 2002;
98. Geoff Thompson, Australia Hosts Human Rights Workshop in Burma, Radio Broadcast from Australia Broadcasting Corp. (16 Aug. 2001) (transcript available at http://www.abc.net.au/pm/stories/s347802.htm);
99. Press Release, Australian Council for International Development, NGOs Sceptical of Benefits of Human Rights Aid to Burma (20 Apr. 2000), availabe at http://www.acfid.asn.au/pubs/2000_releases/ 20_April_00_Burma.htm.
100. See also Cho, supra note 31;
101. Interview by Tony Jones, supra note 31.
102. The initiative was also subject to, statements, questions, and debate in the Australian Senate. See, e.g., Bob Brown, Senate Parliamentary Debates of Commonwealth of Australia (28 June 2000), in OFFICIAL COMMITTEE HANSARD, at 15875;
103. Marise Payne, Senate Parliamentary Debates of Commonwealth of Australia (6 Mar. 2003), in OFFICIAL COMMITTEE HANSARD, at 9357;
104. Kerry Nettle, Senate Parliamentary Debates of Commonwealth of Australia (7 Mar. 2003), in OFFICIAL COMMITTEE HANSARD, at 10330.
105. For a more detailed and sympathetic consideration of the initiative by the Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, see generally the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, supra note 26.
106. Chris Sidoti conducted several such workshops in Sydney under the auspices of the Burmese Community Association between 2001 and 2003.
107. See Interview with Mark Baker, Singapore-based Southeast Asia correspondent of the Sydney Morning Herald, in Burma in Oct. 2002. Baker visited Rangoon to cover Foreign Minister Downer's visit and was one of the few Australian journalists to interview Aung San Suu Kyi directly. Mark Baker, Downer Faces Burma's Tyrants, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 5 Oct. 2002, available at http://www.theage.com/au/articles/2002/10/04/1033538774051.html.
108. Her stance was the principal basis upon which many in the expatriate Burmese community mounted a well-organized, if at times monocular, campaign against the program.
109. Suu Kyi Warming to Rights Seminars, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 20 Feb. 2001 (reporting comments by Sidoti). In fact, this degree of flexibility complemented Aung San Suu Kyi's generally pragmatic attitude to dealing with the military regime, in which compromise was a key element where "both sides give as well as take."
110. See Talking Point with Aung San Suu Kyi, BBC NEWS ONLINE, 14 Feb, 2003, (transcript available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/talking_print/forum/2542971.stm).
111. Such as an easing of tension in the government's relationship with the International Labor Organization, which led to the latter establishing an office in Myanmar in 2002.
112. This was under serious consideration at the time of the program's curtailment and would probably have been a feature of Phase 2 of the program had it proceeded.
113. Trevor Wilson, personal recollections.
114. See, e.g., Interim Report of the Special Rapportuer of the Commission on Human Rights, The Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, U.N. ESCOR, Comm'n on Hum. Rts., 57th Sess., ¶16, U.N. Doc. A/57/290 (2002),(Special Rapportuer declares that the human rights workshops "should continue");
115. Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, G.A. Res. 57/231, U.N. GAOR, 57th Sess., ¶1(e), U.N. Doc. A/57/231 (2003), which states that it "[W]elcomes ... the dissemination of human rights standards for public officials and some non-governmental organizations and ethnic groups through the convening of a series of human rights workshops."
116. Communications to Trevor Wilson by officials from the relevant Myanmar Ministries and agencies.
117. Programs in these areas were launched over the period 2001-2004 by AusAID. See Aid Activities in Burma, available at www.ausaid.gov.au;
118. UNHCR, available at http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/ country?iso=mmr;
119. UNICEF, available at http://www.unicef.org/myanmar/;
120. IDE, available at http://www.ideorg.org/ SectionIndex.asp?SectionID=l16, and attributed privately (in conversations with Trevor Wilson) by these organizations to the breakthrough achieved by the Australian program. See public reports on the web sites of the respective organizations.
121. Information provided to Trevor Wilson by Myanmar officials organizing the training, who indicated that officials from economic and infrastructure ministries as well as a few from Military Intelligence participated in these subsequest workshops.
122. Report of the Special Rapporteur of the Commission on Human Rights on The Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, U.N. ESCOR, Comm'n on Hum. Rts., ¶ ¶22-23, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/2002/45 (2002) (in accordance with Commission resolution 2001/15).
123. See also Interim Report of the Special Rapportuer of the Commission on Human Rights on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, U.N. ESCOR, Comm'n on Hum. Rts., 58th Sess., U.N. Doc. A/58/219 (2003);
124. Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, C.H.R. Res. 2003/12, U.N. ESCOR, Comm'n Hum. Rts., 59th Sess., Agenda Item 9, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/ 2003/L.36 (2003).
125. By then, the Prime Minister, but who held the post of Secretary One during the time of the program.
126. Trevor Wilson's conversation with Myanmar government advisor, March 2005.
127. The Business and Human Rights Management Report: A Study of Eight Companies and Their Approaches to Human Rights Policy and Management System Development, supra note 34, at 56-64;
128. Mortished, Premier Oils the Wheels of Change in Burma, supra note 34.
129. Greg Sheridan, Engaging Burma is "Best Way," THE AUSTRALIAN, 21 Dec. 2000, at 6. The article goes on to note: "Dr Surin is regarded as one of the most outspoken democracy advocates in any southeast Asian government ... [and] has been harshly critical of the Burmese regime."
130. In 2002-2003, UNHCR for the first time conducted workshops for Myanmar government agencies involved in managing displaced ethnic communities, using the Australian government workshops as a model. In 2004, UNICEF began a juvenile justice program with Myanmar government agencies and others, which is acknowledged as a direct successor to the Australian workshops and which took up subjects that were proposed under the suspended Phase 2 of the original Australian program.
131. See Larry Jagan, Rangoon Welcomes Amnesty, BANGKOK POST, 1 Feb. 2003, available at http://www.burmalibrary.org/TinKyi/archives/2003-02/msg00000.html.
132. See, e.g., Reports of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights to the Commission on Human Rights, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, available at http://www.ohchr.org/english/countries/mm.
133. See also Int'l Comm. of the Red Cross, Annual Report 2003, 145-47 (2004);
134. Int'l Comm. of the Red Cross, Annual Report 2004, 152-55 (2005), available at http://www.icrc.org/eng.
135. See Rachel Chambers, The Unocal Settlement. Implications for the Developing Law on Corporate Complicity in Human Rights Abuses 13 HUM. RTS. BRIEF 14 (2005), available at http:// www.wcl.american.edu/hrbrief/13/unocal.pdf?rd=1.
136. See Press Release, Unocal, Settlement of Unocal case, December 2004 (13 Dec. 2004);
137. Daphne Eviatar, A Big Win for Human Rights, THE NATION, 9 May 2005, available at http://www.thenation.com/doc/ 20050509/eviatar.
138. Clive Parker, Wrangle Prolongs Allocation of Unocal Payout, THE IRRAWADDY, 17 Aug. 2005.
139. See LICENSE TO RAPE, supra note 59. The principal contentions of the report were that rape and other forms of sexual violence were being used systematically, and with apparent high level approval, as instruments of oppression against Shan women in particular and the Shan people generally. The report was distinctive in its comprehensive coverage, depth of analysis, and provision of empirical data. The report appears to have struck a chord with the government for after the expected initial outright denials, it then, unusually, instituted an inquiry into the allegations made in the report. No doubt this had something to do with the significant exposure that the report received in the international media, which was leveraged further by a number of statements made in the US Congress and by the US State Department in June and July 2002. However, following its (unsurprising) conclusion that the allegations were "groundless and malicious," the inquiry was widely condemned as a sham.
140. See The Shan Women's Action Network, Mockery of justice: The SPDC's Investigation into the "License to Rape" Report, 24 Sept. 2002, available at http://www.shanland.org/ resources/bookspub/humanrights/A_mockery.htm.
141. See the entry on the Australian Agency for International Development
142. See generally Security Council Report, Update Report No. 4 on Myanmar, 15 Dec. 2005, available at http:// www.securitycouncilreport.org/atf/cf/ {65BFCF9B-6D27-4E9C-8CD3-CF6E4FF96FF9}/ Update%20Report%2015%20December%202005_Myanmar.pdf.
143. See Press Release, United Nations Information Service, Secretary-General Express Concern at exclusion of Political Groups from Myanmar National Convention (21 Feb. 2005), available at http:// www.unis.unvienna.org/unis/pressrels/2005/sgsm9726.html.
144. The State Protection Law permits the Executive, by way of "restrictive order," (Art. 10) to detain those "desiring to cause subversive acts" (Art. 1). The legislation further expressly provides for the granting of "prior approval" to detain a person for up to three years without any provision for judicial review of the merits or legality of the detention (Art. 14). State Protection Law, 1975, No.3 (Myanmar).
145. Developments Concerning the Question of the Observance by the Government of Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), International Labor Office, 294th Sess., Agenda Item 6, G.B.294/6/2 (2005), available at http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ relm/gb/docs/gb294/pdf/gb-6-2.pdf.
146. Note by the Secretary-General on the Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, U.N. GAOR, 60th Sess., Agenda Item 73(c), U.N. Doc. A/60/221 (2005).
147. See Hiding in Shame?, Asian Analysis, Jan. 2006, available at http://www.aseanfocus.com/asiananalysis/article.cfm?articlelD=911.
148. On which point, see David Steinberg, Burma/Myanmar - The Triumph of the Hardliners, SOUTH CHINA MORNING POST, 15 Aug. 2003.
149. With respect of programs aimed at addressing HIV/AIDS in the country, see U.N. Children's Fund Myanmar, Protecting children and women from HIV/AIDS, available at http://www.unicef.org/myanmar/hiv_aids.html;
150. Asian Business Coalition on AIDS, Myanmar Business Coalition on AIDS, available at http://www.abconaids.org. With respect to the historically more problematic and ambiguously successful efforts to stamp out forced labor, see Developments Concerning the Question of the Observance by the Government of Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), International Labor Office, 282nd Sess., Agenda Item 4, GB.282/4 (2001), available at http://www.ilo.org/ public/english/standards/relm/gb/docs/gb282/pdf/gb-4.pdf.
151. For details, see Developments Concerning the Question of the Observance by the Government of Myanmar of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), supra note 93.
152. See, e.g, recent articles by the founder of the Free Burma Coalition, Maung Zarni. Maung Zarni, Isolating Burma will not help Aung San Suu Kyi, THE INDEPENDENT (UK), 18 June 2005, available at http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/ article226281. ece;
153. Maung Zarni, Western Pressure on Burma Isn't Working, THE INDEPENDENT (UK), 4 Jan. 2006 (in which he expressly advocates "a critical dialogue with the junta at all levels about nation building, including the need to institutionalize international human rights norms");
154. Editorial, Rethinking Burma Policy, THE IRRAWADDY, Aug. 2005, available at http://www.irrawaddy.org/ aviewer.asp?a=4899&z=108;
155. Amyotheryei U Win Naing, Burmese People are Ready for Compromise, THE IRRAWADDY, 17 Aug. 2005, available at http:// www.freeburmacoalition.org/uwinnaing.htm.
156. Situation of human rights in Myanmar, C.H.R. Res. 2005/10, U.N. ESCOR, Comm'n on Hum. Rts., 61st Sess., U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/RES/2005/10 (2005) extended the mandate of the Special Rapporteur by one year. For an assessment of the "strong foundations" built by Pinheiro as the Special Rapporteur for future positive developments in the country, see Joseph Silverstein, Some Thoughts on the Special Rapporteur Paulo Pinheiro and His 2002 Final Report to the UN Human Rights Commission, 14 LEGAL ISSUES ON BURMA J. 1 (2003), available at http://www.blc-burma.org/activity_pub_liob.html#liob14.
157. For a clear exposition of the more subtle EU approach, see Hervé Jouanjean, Deputy Director General (External Relations), European Commission, National Reconciliation and Foreign Assistance: The Future of the People is our Challenge, Address at the European Union's Burma Day Conference 2005 (5 Apr. 2005), available at http:// europa.eu.int/comm/external_relations/myanmar/intro/.
158. See also Harn Yawnghwe, An EU Strategy for Burma/Myanmar: (18 Oct. 2005), available at http://www.freeburmacoalition.org/ eustrategyforburma.htm, in which he argues that "the EU needs to look at the issue from a different perspective ... to explore in greater depth to what extent it can work with the people of Burma/Myanmar including the military, and its neighbors to bring about the desired change that will serve both the interests of the EU and that of Burma/ Myanmar."
159. An axiom used in How to Save It, THE ECONOMIST, 23 July 2005, at 3. The reports on Myanmar by the International Crisis Group since 2000 have also consistently called for engagement rather than isolation of Myanmar.
160. See International Crisis Group, Myanmar/Burma, available at http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=2958&1=1.
161. We encouraged Myanmar to expedite the process [of implementing the "Roadmap to Democracy"] and welcomed the invitation by Myanmar to the Foreign Minister of Malaysia in his capacity as Chairman of the ASEAN Standing Committee to visit Myanmar to learn first-hand of the progress. We also called for the release of those placed under detention. The Honourable Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, One Vision, One Identity, One Community, Chairman's Statement of the 11th ASEAN Summit, ¶34 (12 Dec. 2005), available at http://www.aseansec.org/l8039.htm. This follows the one other notable occasion when in 2003, Dr. Mahathir Mohamad, the then Prime Minister of Malaysia, suggested that Myanmar might be expelled from ASEAN if its government's continued refusal to compromise its hard-line approach was perceived to be damaging ASEAN's international credibility. The governments of Singapore and the Philippines subsequently voiced similar concerns.
162. See Mark Baker, ASEAN May Expel Rangoon: Mahathir, SYDNEY MORNING HERALD, 22 July 2003. ASEAN's approach to Myanmar continues to be characterized as a "slight hardening." The Gathering Mild Rebuke, ECONOMIST, 2 Sept 2006, at 25.
163. See S.C. Res. 8939, U.N. SCOR, 5619th mtg., U.N. Doc. S/RES/8939 (2007). For text of the Resolution and the debate, see http://www.un.org/ News/Press/docs/2007/sc8939.doc.htm. South Africa joined China and Russia in voting against the Resolution, and Congo, Indonesia, and Qatar abstained. The Resolution was tabled by the USA and the United Kingdom.
164. See United Nations Envoy Quits, BBC NEWS ONLINE, 8 Jan. 2006, available at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/ 4592842.stm. Strikingly, one of the strongest points he made upon resigning (in an interview on the BBC World Service - the same day as the above article) was in response to a question about the possible continuation of economic and political sanctions against Myanmar when he said "No, No, No, No . . . . If you go to Myanmar you'll see sanctions hurt the wrong people"; Television interview by THE WORLD TODAY with Razali Ismail, 6 Jan. 2006, available at http://www.freeburmacoalition.org/razali.htm.
165. See Report of the Secretary-General on The Situation of Human Rights in Myanmar, U.N. GAOR, 60th Sess., Agenda Item 9, U.N. Doc. E/CN.4/ 2004/30 (2004).
166. ICG, supra note 64, at iii.