News from HART: On Friday, HART published a visit report detailing the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Sudan and South Sudan. Burma 2,000 people have been forced to flee their homes leaving villages empty and schools closed due to fighting and the use of helicopters and a fighter jet plane by the Burmese […]
Burma Last Sunday, three Kachin men from the village of Malun Banka near the Shan State border have gone missing after reportedly being stopped by Burmese soldiers on their way to work at a charcoal kiln. According to UNICEF, Burma was making efforts to eliminate underage army recruitment. Thus far the army is currently charging […]
News from HART In a new blog post, Edwin O’Connell discusses the recent attacks in Nigeria and how they were not given enough importance: http://www.hart-uk.org/blog/nigerias-forgotten-caliphate/ Burma “A spokesman for President Thein Sein has said he will raise with the Religious Affairs Ministry an inflammatory speech delivered by U Wirathu, a prominent member of the […]
News from HART: – 123 individuals and organisations, including HART, have written to Ban Ki-Moon regarding the recent announcement by the ICC Chief Prosecutor that she is suspending new investigations in the cases of President al Bashir and those Sudanese officials indicted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. – HART Prize for Human […]
News from HART: On Tuesday, Baroness Cox raised an oral question in the House of Lords on the human rights situation in Sudan. More here. From the HART Blog: Lawrie Elsdon-Dew analyses Nigeria’s bleak future in a new blog post. One of HART’s partners in Nigeria, the Archbishop of Jos Benjamin Kwashi, discussed his opinions […]
Burma Chris Lewa, director of the Arakan Project, told reporters that most of the 15,000 Rohingyas who have left Burma in the past month have not yet reached their destinations, raising fears that their boats have not been allowed from reaching shore. The Kachin Independence Army (KIA) fought with the Burmese Army on Sunday […]
Burma According to a statement released last Friday by Fortify Rights, a Bangkok-based group, Burma’s state security force are working directly with transnational crime syndicates in the trafficking of Rohingya Muslims. According to the group, authorities have gained as much as $7,000 per boatload in exchange for a passage out to sea. According to […]
Over the past few years Burma has been moving from a half-a-century long military regime to a full multiparty democracy. However, despite economic successes and increased investment in the country, it still faces big challenges in terms of political and religious freedoms: In Shan and Kachin State, following the end of a 17-year ceasefire in […]
News from HART: Thursday 16th October was World Food Day 2014. For this annual event, which aims to heighten public awareness of the problem of hunger in the world, and strengthen international and national solidarity, Agnes Magyar has prepared a briefing on malnutrition, with a focus on Timor-Leste and the work of our partners, HIAM […]
News from HART • HART has signed a joint letter written by the South Sudan Action Network on Small Arms, in coordination with 15 other South Sudanese organisations and with the support of 5 international non-governmental organisations, to the African Union’s Commission of Enquiry regarding arms flows into South Sudan. • On the HART blog: […]
News from HART • On the HART blog: Edwin O’Connell discusses how Boko Haram’s actions – and the Government’s response – have impacted civilians in northern Nigeria. Brutality by both sides has created a climate of fear amongst civilians, who have no-one left to trust. • Less than two weeks to go until our next Volunteers’ Reception! […]
News from HART • A group of 71 organisations, including HART, have written to the UN Security Council about Sudan’s grave human rights violations and links to terrorism. The letter reminds the UN of its statements and commitments regarding Sudan. Read the letter here. • A HART team have just returned from Nagorno-Karabakh after a […]
The 19th August is World Humanitarian Day, which celebrates the commitment of humanitarian workers around the world. It is also a day to recognise and remember the aid workers who have lost their lives. In 2013, there were 460 attacks on aid workers – an all-time high. The theme for #WHD2014 is #HumanitarianHeroes. At HART, we […]
On the 16th of June 2014, Burma Campaign UK hosted a special meeting with representatives from community based women’s organisations to discuss the situation of women in Burma today in relation to the current political reform process. Representatives included Tin Tin Nyo, General Secretary of the Women’s League of Burma; Naw Susanna Hla Hla Soe, […]
In her contribution to the debate on the Queens’ Speech, Baroness Cox highlighted the plight of women suffering from sexual violence in war, particularly in places where Governments allow it to continue with impunity. Baroness Cox reminded peers that all is not well in Burma: “Despite some welcome reforms, the Burmese Government are continuing brutal […]
On a recent visit to Burma, the HART team met with ethnic national peoples who describe growing human rights violations, continuing military offensives and widespread humanitarian need, particularly in Kachin and northern Shan states (you can read the report here). Systematic abuse against the Rohingya in Burma is also increasing. There is frustration that the international […]
This essay was Highly Commended in the HART 2014 Scholarship Competition: Burma is a nation split into seven states and seven divisions. Within these states live a variety of ethnic groups which make up the country’s population including Burman, Shan, Kachin, Mon, Karen, Rahkine, Chin and Karenni. Tensions exist between ethnic groups for territorial, religious […]
On the 21st February 2014, HART held its annual Scholarship Prize-Giving Event in the Swiss Church, London. The HART Scholarship competition aims to raise awareness of the oppression suffered by the people with whom HART works and to encourage young people to learn about human rights. This year’s theme was ‘Burma Unmasked’, exploring the plight […]
Baroness Cox’s Credo, in which she sets out the beliefs and inspiration guiding her work, has been published in the Times. She says of HART’s work and mission: “We try to serve and speak for other people denied their freedom and trapped in conflict, including the Rohingya Muslim, Shan Buddhist and Christian Kachin peoples in […]
Yesterday in the House of Lords, Baroness Cox asked the British Government what ‘their assessment [is] of recent developments in Burma with regard to the situation of the ethnic national groups, in particular the Kachin, Shan and Rohingya peoples.’ The Senior Minister of State, Baroness Warsi (Con), responded that the Government welcomes the ‘continuing talks […]
As the lights glistened in the Olympic stadium, independent athlete Guor Marial was transported back to memories of his ‘life on the run’. Captured at the age of seven by Misseriya Arab tribesmen from Western Sudan in 1993, Guor was taken to Muglad to work as a slave and was kept in dire conditions. Tied […]
This week marked a historic visit by Thein Sein, President of Burma, to the UK, the first visit by a Burmese leader in more than 25 years. In November 2010, Burma (also known as Myanmar) held elections, replacing the military regime with a military-backed civil government. The election was the first in 20 years and […]
HART’s summer newsletter is now available and features a report from HART’s recent visit to Kachin state, Burma, as well as information about our upcoming Channel Swim for Change, HART Highlights and dates for your diary. You can download a copy of the newsletter below.
The plight of Burma’s ethnic nationals was in the spotlight last week with peers discussing the issue twice on Wednesday, and a demonstration for the Global day of Action for Kachin on Friday. HART’s aim is to be a ‘voice for the voiceless’. Burma’s ethnic nationals are precisely that: oppressed by the Government of Burma, […]