10 May 2007
Human Rights Experts Urge Release of Aung San Suu Kyi
U.N. officials call on Burma to free political prisoners
United Nations -- More than a dozen international human rights experts are calling on Burma to release Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners.
The 14 U.N. special rapporteurs May 10 joined to call for the release of Burma's more than 1,300 political prisoners as May 27 -- the end of the current term of detention for Aung San Suu Kyi -- approaches.
Aung San Suu Kyi, the general secretary of the National League for Democracy, has spent 11 of the last 17 years behind bars or under house arrest for campaigning against the ruling junta. Since her party and its allies won the 1990 election with more than 80 percent of the parliamentary seats, the Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been detained without charge or trial. She has been held in isolation for the past four years.
In May 2006, U.N. Under Secretary for Political Affairs General Ibrahim Gambari visited Burma and met with Senior General Than Shwe to discuss political prisoners and other concerns. After the under secretary-general's visit, the government renewed Aung San Suu Kyi's house arrest for another year, a decision strongly condemned by the United States. (See related article.)
In a statement released in Geneva, headquarters for the U.N. human rights organizations, the rapporteurs called on the ruling junta, which renamed the country Myanmar after seizing power, to release Aung San Suu Kyi unconditionally and to free all remaining political prisoners. "We believe this would give a significant sign of the government's will to initiate a genuine and effective transition towards democracy," they said.
"The U.N. human rights experts believe that the stability of Myanmar is not well served by the arrest and detention of several political leaders or by the severe and sustained restrictions on the exercise of civil, cultural, economic, political and social rights," according to their statement.
As one of the world's most acclaimed human rights defenders, Aung San Suu Kyi is a political and spiritual leader of Burma, the statement continued. "Her tireless commitment to nonviolence, truth, and human rights has made her a worthy symbol through whom the plight of all people in [Burma] may be recognized."
The statement was endorsed by Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; Hina Jilani, the special representative of the secretary-general on human rights defenders; Ambeyi Ligabo, the special rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression; Manfred Nowak, the special rapporteur on torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; and Yakin Ertürk, the special rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences.
Also signing were Leandro Despouy, the special rapporteur on the independence of judges and lawyers; Asma Jahangir, the special rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief; Rodolofo Stavenhagen, special rapporteur on the situation of human rights and fundamental freedoms of indigenous people; Miloon Kothari, the special rapporteur on adequate housing; Paul Hunt, the special rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health; Jean Ziegler, the special rapporteur on the right to food; Sigma Huda, the special rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children; and Juan Miguel Petit, the special rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography.
Lack of U.N. Action Will Not Deter U.S. Push for Reform in Burma
See also "Lack of U.N. Action Will Not Deter U.S. Push for Reform in Burma."
For additional information, see U.S. Support for Democracy in Burma.
