MNHRC criticised for lacking action on rights violations in Arakan

By Aung Htein 22 Jul 2020

Aung Htein | DMG
22 July, Sittwe

The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) has come in for criticism for allegedly doing little to address a growing stack of complaints about reported human rights violations in Arakan State.

At least 30 cases of human rights violations transpiring over the course of ongoing conflict in the state were submitted to the MNHRC, but to date the commission has yet to take action regarding the complaints, said U Myat Tun, director of the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association.

“We wish for the commission to take effective action,” he said. “All say Myanmar is walking on the path of democracy. If the country practises democracy, it must protect human rights. If human rights can be protected, the country is sure to enjoy the fruits of democracy. At the moment, human rights are not progressing.”

Cases involving abduction and unlawful killings constituted the majority of reported human rights violations submitted to the MNHRC by the Arakan Human Rights Defenders and Promoters Association.

U Myat Tun said that although the commission is weak in protecting human rights, the association pledges to continue to submit complaints about human rights violations in Arakan State.

Highlighting the nature of its unrequited mission, U Myat Tun said that although 18 locals from Tinma village in Kyauktaw Township were arrested by the Myanmar military about five months ago, the association has yet to receive any information about them.

“If they are alive, I’d like to meet with them,” said U Aung Nyunt Thein, the brother of arrestee Ko Kyi Lin. “If they are guilty, a punishment should be meted out as a deterrent. Currently, we don’t know whether or not they are still alive. So, I ask the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission to expose the case.”

Elsewhere and, critics say, emblematic of the MNHRC’s toothlessness, the military arrested five villagers from Kyaukseik in Ponnagyun Township in April and subjected the men to videotaped beatings aboard a naval vessel.

The military admitted to wrongdoing by its personnel in the case and issued a press release saying action would be taken against those responsible, but the accountability process has lacked transparency, with no information about the case being released by the military nor apparently sought by the MNHRC.

With lawmakers submitting complaints involving six cases of alleged human rights violations in Kyauktaw Township alone, the MNHRC has replied to only three of them, and even in those cases the commission reportedly did not contact the victims, said MPs.

The MNHRC should first make field trips to determine whether human rights violations actually took place in any given instance, said U Oo Tun Win, the Kyauktaw Township MP in the Pyithu Hluttaw. He said the commission had yet to live up to its title.

The All Arakan Students’ & Youths’ Congress (AASYC) sent complaints about rights violations in Arakan State in 2018 but did not receive any response, so the congress suspended those efforts last year. In a reporting reboot, a complaint about the 2020 arrest of Ko Zaw Min Tun from Kyaukseik village, Ramree Township, was submitted to the MNHRC on July 17, but no response has yet been received, said Ko Tin Oo, general secretary of the AASYC.

“It needs to set up a separate commission in Arakan State,” suggested Ko Tin Oo. “Violations of human rights in Arakan State should be scrutinised by the commission in Arakan State. It is accessible. Anyone can send complaints at any time. The commission in Arakan State would protect the human rights of the people.”

AASYC sent a report on human rights violations in Arakan State to the UN Human Rights Council on July 9. In so doing, the AASYC demanded formation of a separate human rights commission with participation from human rights activists, MPs and those from civil society organisations in Arakan State.

DMG contacted the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission seeking comment on the criticism but did not receive any reply.

With regard to alleged human rights violations, the MNHRC scrutinised more than 280 cases in March 2020, more than 360 in April and 200 in May, according to a press release from the commission dated July 14.