The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) welcomes the decision of Myanmar’s legitimate National Unity Government (NUG) to dissolve the junta-controlled ‘Myanmar National Human Rights Commission’.
SAC-M urges the NUG to establish a new, impartial and independent national human rights institution to replace the defunct junta-controlled commission without delay.
That commission was formed in 2011 under the quasi-civilian Thein Sein government and has been complicit in the horrific violence committed by the Myanmar military in the years that followed, including since its attempted coup on 1 February 202ts in1.
The NUG’s decision to dissolve the commission follows a ruling by the Global Alliance of National Human Rights Institutions (Ganhri) on 31 December 2024, to officially revoke the junta-controlled commission’s accreditation status and remove it from its network.
Ganhri, which accredits national human rights institutions worldwide, found that the junta-controlled commission had failed to meet the Paris Principles – minimum standards that national human rights institutions must meet to be considered credible and effective, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1993.
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In practice, the junta-controlled commission’s main function since its formation has not been to protect the rights of the Myanmar people, but to attempt to whitewash the military’s abhorrent human rights record.
The commission stayed silent during the military’s genocidal attacks against the Rohingya in Rakhine state in 2016 and 2017. The commission has not once raised the alarm as credible allegations of human rights violations and serious international crimes committed against civilians by the junta have become widespread since its attempted coup.
Ganhri’s decision to revoke the junta-controlled commission’s accreditation marks a significant blow to the military’s attempts to launder its enduring international image as one of the world’s worst human rights abusers.
The people-led process already underway to remove the military and build a new Myanmar is, at its heart, a struggle for human rights. The establishment of an impartial, independent national human rights institution for Myanmar, that upholds the Paris Principles, is a critical step in the development of robust human rights protections for all Myanmar people.
SAC-M calls on the NUG, having sacked the junta-controlled commission’s leadership, to also sack the criminal leaders of the illegitimate Myanmar military, including Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and his deputy, General Soe Win, and appoint new, legitimate leaders to head the military.
Furthermore, SAC-M calls on the NUG to dissolve the junta-controlled “Union Election Commission” and establish a new, independent electoral commission in preparation for such time that free, fair and genuinely democratic elections are held in accordance with the Federal Democracy Charter. – SAC-M
AGENDA RAKYAT - Lima perkara utama
- Tegakkan maruah serta kualiti kehidupan rakyat
- Galakkan pembangunan saksama, lestari serta tangani krisis alam sekitar
- Raikan kerencaman dan keterangkuman
- Selamatkan demokrasi dan angkatkan keluhuran undang-undang
- Lawan rasuah dan kronisme
