Residents, who fled from conflict between the Myanmar army and the Arakan Army (AA), arrive at a temporary refugee camp at a monastery in Sittwe, Rakhine State on June 29, 2020. Yangon – Myanmar has imposed a partial lockdown on Rakhine State’s more than 3 million inhabitants after nearly 100 COVID-19 cases were reported within 12 hours earlier this week. 0000999541 00000 n Since January 2020, Rakhine State has witnessed an intensification of the conflict between the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw. 0000019448 00000 n �kTb� FFኛۙcyg��F&�+�12��2�Nh�ݮT&U���Tn����.qnyL�e��A2k�������Sl��)�aE��.9����^[�1�d�+�U�W�M��������q9N���z�a��4#+��T�E\�X����l�in��.�*�0������"BÌ�K|Vw����A�%Z�9�V5�"Lՙ�X��LF��v'�vg��ŗ���G� �V THE hunting and selling of primates in the Kyauktaw Nature Reserve, Rakhine State, has cause a drop in the population of the species, according to a local pagoda trustee group. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy, 2020 Report on International Religious Freedom, Section II. The population of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Rakhine State grew by nearly 10,000 in October due to intensified attacks from the air and waterways by the Burmese military against the Arakan Army, the Rakhine Ethnic Congress (REC) reported. In October remarks to Frontier, a monk active in Ma Ba Tha stated, “So what if Ma Ba Tha was funded by the USDP? Neither of the two was Rohingya. Rakhine State is a restive border area, which neighbors Bangladesh and has a long history of violent military crackdowns and ethnic clashes between the majority Rakhine Buddhist population … Until last month, fighting between the Myanmar military and the Arakan Army (AA), which is fighting for greater autonomy from the central government, had raged in Rakhine since 2018. During that time, it had killed or injured hundreds and forced some 226,000 people to flee their homes. Applications for civil service and military positions continued to require the applicant to list his or her religion. Found insideThe best country-by-country assessment of human rights. The human rights records of more than ninety countries and territories are put into perspective in Human Rights Watch's signature yearly report. Found inside – Page 800Population: 54,000,000 Capital: Nay Pyi Taw Freedom Status: Not Free Electoral ... KEY DEVELOPMENTS IN 2019 • Tensions remained high in Rakhine State due to ... According to the ICC’s Office of the Prosecutor, during the year it was in the process of organizing a fact-finding mission to gather relevant evidence for its investigation into credible allegations that crimes against humanity were committed against Rohingya in Burma. Thus, the history is divided into the Dhanyawadi, Waithali, Laymro and Mrauk U. Mrauk U was conquered b… One also admitted to committing rape in Taung Buzar Village, Rakhine State. The constitution states that every citizen is equally entitled to freedom of conscience and the right to freely profess and practice his or her religious beliefs. Christian and Muslim groups seeking to build small places of worship on side streets or other inconspicuous locations continued to be able to do so only with approval from local authorities, according to religious groups. Since 1999, Burma has been designated a “Country of Particular Concern” (CPC) under the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998 for having engaged in or tolerated particularly severe violations of religious freedom. The pandemic led to additional government restrictions on all forms of worship, including Buddhist, Christian, and Muslim, but sources reported punishments for violation were disproportionally meted out to religious minorities. The same action – for instance, a gathering of five or more persons – had the potential to result in charges and punishment under the Natural Disaster Management Law (three months to three years’ imprisonment or a fine or both), the Prevention and Control of Communicable Diseases Law (six months’ imprisonment or a fine), or Article 188 of the Penal Code (one to six months’ imprisonment or a fine). Religious and community leaders and civil society activists organized intrafaith and interfaith events, and some worked jointly to develop mechanisms to monitor and counter hate speech and to promote religious tolerance and diversity. Office of the Coordinator for Cyber Issues, Office of the U.S. Communal violence ceased to exist and communal tensions also significantly decreased in Rakhine State during the NLD government’s term since 2016. In February, Vice President Myint Swe and other senior government officials participated in an interfaith conference organized by Religions for Peace in Loikaw, Kayah State. In 2020, armed conflict between the government and the Arakan Army, an ethnic non-state armed group, triggered about 58,000 in Rakhine and Chin States. Senior U.S. government officials – including the Secretary of State, the Acting Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations, the USAID Administrator, the Ambassador to Burma, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom, and senior Department of State officials for East Asia and human rights – consistently raised ongoing U.S. concerns about religious freedom in the country with senior government and military leaders. At the request of the Office of the State Counsellor of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and in collaboration with the Kofi Annan Foundation, the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State was founded in September 2016 as a … Numerous human rights groups described Wirathu’s anti-Muslim and xenophobic rhetoric as hate speech. According to the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO), authorities continued practicing discriminatory and abusive policies against members of religious minority groups. HRW said that the government announced in April 2017 that it would begin closing the camps. Muslim students typically were not permitted to join institutes for professional studies. At year’s end, the two men were reportedly in the custody of the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague. Embassy officials at all levels emphasized the importance of addressing the effects of ethnoreligious violence and hate speech, including anti-Muslim rhetoric. Found insidePEOPLE AND SOCIETY Population: 56,590,071 (July 2020 est.) ... including an estimate for the non-enumerated population of Rakhine State, which is assumed to ... Before the COVID-19 pandemic led to the suspension of public events, the White Rose campaign – which grew in response to anti-Muslim activities in 2019 – conducted food distribution and a “Peace Biker” rally in Yangon during Ramadan. Twelve mosques and religious schools remained closed in Ayeyarwady, Mandalay, and Sagaing Regions, as well as in Shan State, according to the Burma Human Rights Network. Following the attacks, the government vowed to crush the rebel group, labelling them as terrorists. Found inside – Page 5Persistent conflicts in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Kayin and Shan states have triggered large‐scale population displacement particularly since 2017. Muslims throughout the country still faced restrictions on travel into and out of Rakhine State and reportedly feared authorities would not allow them to leave Rakhine State if they were to visit the state. Tens of thousands of people remain displaced, with serious humanitarian consequences for the civilian population. There are some 80,903 people in IDP camps, and more than 154,000 outside of these camps. It further provides to every citizen the right to profess and practice his or her religion if not contrary to laws on security, law and order, community peace, or public order and morality. In November 2019, The Gambia filed an application instituting proceedings against Burma at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and a request for provisional measures, alleging Burma’s actions against Rohingya violated the 1948 UN Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. 0001037494 00000 n RAKHINE STATE Since January 2020, Rakhine State has witnessed an intensification of the conflict between the Arakan Army and Tatmadaw. According to the CHRO, in January and before COVID restrictions were in place, the Chin State government prohibited a religious gathering organized by the Chin Baptist Convention, the largest Christian organization in Chin State. On June 26, the YMBA issued a statement demanding “insults” to Buddhism, race, and religion must be stopped or be prosecuted, according to Frontier. None of the candidates was elected to office. The data is disaggregated until Adm 3 level. ... explosion in Rakhine State in November. This coincides with increasing international pressure, as they will soon submit a report to the ICJ. Tens of thousands of … The government hosted conferences and attended events with a number of interfaith groups, including Religions for Peace, to promote reconciliation, peace, and development through national and local initiatives in its interfaith councils, the Interfaith Youth Network, and Women of Faith Network. COVID-19 restrictions that remained in place at the end of the year, however, stopped all events. According to REC, there were 226,804 IDPs in the state on October 1 and 236,229 IDPs by November 2. âThe two forces have especially clashed in Rathedaung, Pauktaw and Minbya townships. 0000006724 00000 n Four laws passed in 2015 for the “protection of race and religion” remain in effect. The Ministry of Religious Affairs and Culture continued to restrict non-Buddhist religious teachings to government-approved religious buildings and prohibited prayer services and religious teaching in private homes. Rakhine State’s Gu Dar Pyin village was the site of a massacre by the military in 2017, part of its campaign of mass atrocities that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh. In April, UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Yanghee Lee stated that the military “may once again be committing crimes against humanity in Rakhine State.” According to Lee, the military had expanded its campaign against minorities from Rakhine to Chin States, adding, “having faced no accountability, the Tatmadaw continues to operate with impunity.” According to NGO Fortify Rights, two former soldiers confessed in videos recorded in July by the Arakan Army to having taken part in atrocities committed by the army against Rohingya in 2017. Featuring updates and revisions that reflect recent historiography, this new edition of The Portuguese Empire in Asia 1500-1700 presents a comprehensive overview of Portuguese imperial history that considers Asian and European perspectives. The IIMM, established by the UN Human Rights Council in 2018 to facilitate fair and independent criminal proceedings covering human rights abuses in Burma since 2011, continued to develop protocols and procedures to balance public outreach with confidentiality and the protection of witnesses in criminal cases. According to a Baptist leader, in October the UWSA, which controls the Wa Self-Administered Division in Shan State, again closed all churches and restricted home worship to a maximum of four families together amid other severe limits on Christian worship, teaching, and proselytizing. 0000001098 00000 n Monday, November 09, 2020. NO. In May, the Ambassador at Large for International Religious Freedom warned that the Burmese military was denying Rohingya Muslims access to medical care and exposing them to the risk of complications in severe cases of COVID-19. A number of interfaith groups continued mobilizing civil society around the country to promote religious tolerance. Rakhine state officials say limit on children will help ease tensions with Buddhists, whose population is growing at slower rate The two-child policy will be mandatory in … This decision by President Thein Sein and the UEC may have facilitated the success of the ANP in Rakhine State. Found inside... northern part of Rakhine State (Arakan) in current-day Myanmar.85 In Rakhine State, they comprised 25 per cent of the state's total population of 1,300 ... Found inside – Page 390Before the August 2017 military crackdown, most Rohingya lived in Rakhine State and made up at least a third of the population of the state—second to the ... Various forms of Christianity are dominant among the Kachin, Chin, and Naga ethnic groups. The nine recognized orders submit to the authority of the SSMNC, the members of which are elected by monks. Sources stated obtaining travel permits often involved extortion and bribes. As of the end of the year, the government had not released the full report. Title. NGOs stated the government’s travel authorization process for aid groups within the country effectively restricted aid and humanitarian access to displaced populations, in violation of international humanitarian law. According to NGOs, both the government and nationalist monks used their influence and resources to build Buddhist infrastructure in majority Christian areas, including in Kachin and Chin States, against the wishes of the local population. The IRC is responding with health care, protection for vulnerable women and children, and emergency support for the refugees. 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