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Statement at the 54th Session of the UN Human Rights Council
Interactive Dialogue on the report of Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar
Delivered by May Thiri Khin, Burma Human Rights Network
We thank the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) for their recent report. The creation of the IIMM has been an important step by this Council to strengthen its efforts for justice and accountability.
The Burma Human Rights Network is a civil society organisation working to document crimes against Muslim minorities and others in Myanmar while CIVICUS has been tracking attacks on civic space including the torture, sexual violence and killings of political and human rights activists in detention, as also documented by the IIMM.
We welcome the engagement of the IIMM with civil society and survivors. We recommend the IIMM ensure more regular and transparent communication and coordination with affected communities and civil society in Myanmar and Bangladesh through more dedicated IIMM outreach focal points who can speak Burmese and other ethnic languages. We also request the IIMM to translate its updates into more ethnic languages.
We encourage the IIMM to continue to investigate crimes against Muslim and other ethnic minorities throughout the country. We also urge the IIMM to better support Myanmar human rights organisations on investigative standards, tools, and techniques. Such trainings will allow them to better support the mechanism’s mandate by submitting evidence collected according to best practices and international standards.
We encourage all UN member states to show their commitment to justice and accountability for the people of Myanmar by increasing their support to civil society groups and activists documenting serious crimes, continuing to fund the IIMM and to support ongoing international justice mechanisms.
We thank you.
Civic space in Myanmar is rated as Closed by the CIVICUS Monitor