Nobel Women's Initiative

Stand in solidarity with the women human rights defenders in Burma by supporting their campaign for a United Nations General Assembly resolution establishing a Commission of Inquiry on possible war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma. UN member states will meet this September at the sixty-fifth session of the General Assembly, where ongoing human rights violations within Burma will be discussed.

Nobel Peace laureate Daw Aung San Suu Kyi met with Burmese labour minister – Aung Kyi – yesterday in Rangoon. In a joint statement, both parties said they were satisfied with the meeting. 

Aung San Suu Kyi, head of Burma's pro-democracy movement, has begun her tour outside of Rangoon for the first time since being released from house arrest since last November.   In June, the Burmese regime threatened that if Suu Kyi embarked on her tour, "There may be chaos and riots as evidenced by previous incidents."  

Women in northern Burma are living in fear as the Burmese military regime employs sexual violence in their offensive against the Kachin Independence Army.

Members of the Burmese Army gang-raped at least 18 women and girls between June 10 and June 18. Four of the women were killed after their rapes, while one later died from injuries sustained during the incident.

"These are not random acts of violence," said Shirley Seng, a spokesperson for the Kachin Women's Association Thailand. "The Burma Army is committing gang-rape and killing on a wide scale. It is clear they are acting under orders."

Read KWAT's press release on the rapes in Burma here.

Last week, European Union foreign ministers met and decided to maintain EU targeted economic sanctions against the dictatorship in Burma for another year since there has been no genuine change. Elections held in Burma last year have not led to improvement in human rights. In fact, the situation in Burma is getting worse with recent military attacks against civilians.

We often criticize governments when they do not take action they should. Now we have the opportunity to thank the EU for prioritizing human rights in Burma. 

Take action. Copy and paste the message below and send it through the website of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office in the UK to express your thanks.

Download the PDF or read below for actions that you can take today.

Urge the Canadian government to follow up on its commitments to:

• Urge other countries to support the establishment of a United Nations (UN) Commission of Inquiry
• Call on Burma to ensure Aung San Suu Kyi's safety
• Call on Burma to release over 2000 political prisoners
• Engage with Association of South-east Asian Nations (ASEAN) in holding Burma accountable to international human rights standards

The six women Laureates of the Nobel Women's Initiative, welcome the release of their sister Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi. Read the statement below.

We women Nobel Peace Laureates welcome our sister Nobel Peace Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi to her freedom from detention.  For years she has been unjustly confined to her home and denied the opportunity to see her family and friends, to participate in politics and to live in freedom.  Despite the efforts of the military regime in Burma to deny the people of Burma the leadership of Aung San Suu Kyi,  her strength, vision and faith continued to guide them in their ongoing struggle for rights and democracy.  

On October 28, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for an international Commission of Inquiry to look into the widespread human rights abuses perpetrated by the ruling military junta of Burma. Although in August it conveyed interest in such an investigation, Clinton's statement marks the first time the U.S. has expressed explicit and unequivocal support for a Burma Commission of Inquiry.

The Nobel Women's Initiative welcomes the United States' support for an United Nations commission of inquiry into human rights abuses in Burma.

The U.S recently announced that it will join Britain, Australia, the Czech Republic and Slovakia in actively supporting the inquiry, to investigate war crimes and crimes against humanity perpetrated by the Burmese military regime.

June 19 marks the 65th birthday of Aung San Suu Kyi, who has spent more than 14 of the past 20 years in detention in Burma.  She is the democratically elected leader of Burma, and the world's only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize winner.  

The Nobel Women's Initiative has released a statement to mark the occasion, honouring their sister Laureate and calling for international action to promote peace and democracy in Burma. Nobel Laureate Shirin Ebadi also recorded a special video message in solidarity with the people of Burma.

Read the Nobel Women's Initiative statement and watch the video message from Shirin Ebadi below.

Today the Nobel Women's Initiative and the Women's League of Burma launched the report for the International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma.

The Tribunal--which took place in New York on March 2, 2010--was a catalyst for action on the situation in Burma. The Tribunal featured testimony from twelve women of Burma. The report includes findings and recommendations aimed at the international community, the Burmese regime and civil society.

View the archived webcast.

Visit our blog.

Read some of the stories of the women who are testifying at the tribunal.

We are Live Blogging during the tribunal today.

Follow us on Twitter and Facebook. 

It's time for the world to put the Burmese generals on trial. Avaaz is launching a call for the UN Security Council to investigate the regime for crimes against humanity -- a judgment of guilt could lead to prosecution of top generals by the International Criminal Court.

http://www.avaaz.org/en/jail_the_generals

Over the next two months the UK and the US hold the powerful Presidency of the United Nations Security Council - both President Obama and Prime Minister Brown have spoken passionately about Burma, so now is our best chance in years to get the Security Council to act.

Take action now!

Read the rest of this Take Action from Avaaz and sign the petition..

During August and September of 2009, the United Kingdom and the United States will act consecutively as President of the UN Security Council.  Both ambassadors have the ability to propose a Security Council resolution to create a Comission of Inquiry on Burma to investigate the crimes against humanity that the Burmese Military junta have perpetrated on the Burmese population.

Join Nobel Peaze Price Winner Desmond Tutu and 55 members of the United States Congress in demanding the U.S. and U.K. Ambassadors to the United Nations to create a Comission of Inquiry on Burma.

Born on 19 June 1945, detained democracy leader and Nobel Peace Laureate, Aung San Suu Kyi will face her 64th birthday in Insein Prison. Detained for more than 13 years by the military junta, Aung San Suu Kyi was moved to Insein after her arrest on 14 May 2009.

Having committed no crime, Aung San Suu Kyi currently faces a sentence of 3-5 years and a mockery of a trial. Clearly an attempt to add trumped-up charges at a time when Daw Aung San Suu Kyi's unlawful detention was scheduled to end 27 May 2009, the democratic leader is now at the notorious Insein Prison and will remain there for her 64th birthday.

In the wake of cyclone Nargis, nearly 2.5 million Burmese face starvation, dehydration and life-threatening disease. Women and children are especially at risk, comprising more than half of the victims in the region. International response to cyclone Nargis has been met with opposition by the military junta in Burma, while China has blocked the UN Security Council on actions necessary to move forward.  The Nobel Women's Initiative urges world leaders to respond to this urgent matter so that the survivors of the cyclone receive life-saving humanitarian aid in an expedient manner.

Peaceful protests by Burmese pro-democracy activists and Buddhist monks and nuns have come under brutal attack by the ruling junta. The uprising, which was spurred by a massive rise in fuel prices on August 15, 2007, has fueled an already vibrant national movement for democracy. Protestors peaceful actions are in full accordance with their fundamental right to free speech. The arbitrary detention, violent attacks and overt intimidation by the military regime cannot be condoned. Yet China , a member of the United Nations Security Council and host of the 2008 Olympic Games, continues to provide Burma with economic and military support.

Take action . Tell the Chinese government that you stand with the Burmese protestors and against any government that continues to support the brutal Burmese regime sign the petition on avaaz.org.

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Since mid-August 2007 Burma's military regime has unleashed the latest crackdown on its citizens' long-standing nonviolent resistance movement. Read a Summary of Recent Events.

Read the latest News on Burma.

Read about Burma's political history and repression at the hands of the military regime at our Burma Issue page.

Take Action for Aung San Suu Kyi and the people of Burma.

Learn what you can do for the people of Burma leading up to the 2008 Beijing Olympics.