Join the IPU in upholding the human rights of the parliamentarians of Myanmar

Office of the
Secretary General
Geneva, 3 September 2021
Parliamentary solidarity at work
Join the IPU in upholding the human rights of the
parliamentarians of Myanmar
Dear Madam President,
Dear Mr. President,
Six months have elapsed since the military coup d’état in Myanmar prevented your
colleagues-parliamentarians from taking up their duties. In the light of new and
serious information about their situation as well as an encouraging international
initiative in support of their human rights, I wish to take this opportunity to inform you
and seek your assistance in helping uphold their fundamental freedoms.
Most recently, in May 2021, the IPU Governing Council adopted a decision
concerning the human rights situation of 50 parliamentarians in Myanmar (44 men, 6
women), which you can find below:
https://www.ipu.org/sites/default/files/documents/myanmar-e_0.pdf.
The situation in Myanmar remains deeply alarming, as allegations of torture,
inhumane and dangerous conditions of detention continue to be corroborated by new
reports, coupled with disturbing accounts of the toll that the latest upsurge of the
COVID-19 pandemic is inflicting in the country, including within the notorious prison
system where 30 members of parliament are being held incommunicado. This
disastrous situation requires us to act now.
In my circular letter of 20 July 2021, I proposed several ways (listed in Annex I) in
which your Parliament could lend its support for the protection of individual
parliamentarians at risk across the world. While I renew my call on you and your
Parliament to explore these courses of action with regard to the parliamentarians in
Myanmar, I would also like to invite you and/or your colleagues to write to the
Minister of Foreign Affairs of your country to request him/her to take diplomatic
measures in support of the protection of the human rights of the parliamentarians
of Myanmar. In Annex II, you will find a draft letter that you may wish to use for this
purpose.
You may also wish to lend your support to the International Parliamentarians
Alliance for Myanmar (IPAM), which was established by a group of concerned
parliamentarians on 22 March 2021 and has since grown to include 300
parliamentarians from 28 countries. Interested parliamentarians can join this
coalition on their own behalf and choose to attend its regular briefings at their
convenience. They can also add their name and their voice to support the public
actions and statements made by fellow parliamentarians who are part of this
alliance. In so doing, they would contribute to the implementation of the decision
adopted by the IPU Governing Council, which urged “its member parliaments and
the IPU Secretariat to seek to build a network of members of parliament to take
concrete actions … in partnership with human rights organizations active in the
region”.
./..
Dansk Interparlamentarisk Gruppes bestyrelse 2020-21
IPU Alm.del - Bilag 31
Offentligt
The IPU will systematically collect information on concrete parliamentary actions in
support of parliamentarians at risk. I would therefore be grateful if you could keep the
IPU informed, via hrteam@ipu.org, of any such initiatives taken by your Parliament.
At the same time, the IPU stands ready to provide your Parliament with information in
real-time on this case so that your initiatives have the greatest relevance and impact.
I thank you in advance for your support and look forward to hearing from you soon on
this important matter.
Yours sincerely,
Martin Chungong
Secretary General
Annex I: List of suggested actions to promote parliamentary
solidarity and uphold the human rights
of parliamentarians in Myanmar
• Bring the decision adopted by the IPU Governing Council to the attention of
the members of your Parliament.
• Organize parliamentary debates on the case and adopt a position to support
the parliamentarians whose fundamental rights are in jeopardy, in particular
through adopting resolutions/declarations.
• Set up a mechanism within parliament entrusted with taking follow-up action
based on the IPU decision on human rights cases.
• Take bilateral measures by approaching other relevant authorities in your
country and other relevant countries with a view to promoting the settlement
of the case.
• Contact parliamentarians in relevant countries to express your concern over
the case and invite them to take appropriate action to support their
colleagues at risk.
• Meet the ambassador of Myanmar accredited in your country to discuss the
cases and express your concern.
• Organize parliamentary visits to discuss the cases or mandate
parliamentarians travelling on mission abroad to discuss the cases with
relevant authorities.
• Discuss the cases during visits to your country by foreign delegations or any
other relevant authority of the countries concerned.
• Take joint action with the parliaments of neighbouring countries.
• Convey this case and IPU decision to the authorities, institutions and
organizations concerned at the national, regional and sub-regional levels to
encourage them to intervene with a view to reaching a settlement in the
case.
• Inform the media of the case and publicize the activities of your Parliament
and the IPU regarding the protection and promotion of the human rights of
parliamentarians in Myanmar.
• Inform the IPU of any action your Parliament has taken so that the IPU can
give visibility to the collective solidarity of the international parliamentary
community towards Myanmar MPs.
Annex II: Draft letter to your Minister of Foreign Affairs
Join the IPU in upholding the human rights of the
parliamentarians of Myanmar
Dear Minister,
Six months have elapsed since the military coup d’état in Myanmar prevented the
parliamentarians elected in November 2020 from taking up their duties as mandated
by the people of Myanmar.
I wish to express my profound concern about the plight of the parliamentarians of
Myanmar, who are reportedly facing appalling human rights violations, including
arbitrary imprisonment and torture, threats and intimidation, in addition to the
illegitimate takeover of power which prevented them from exercising their
parliamentary mandate.
The Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the world organisation of national parliaments
of which the Myanmar Parliament is a Member, has taken action to condemn this
attack on democracy and human rights and urged the military authorities to put an
end to these violations. Most recently, in the course of the 142nd IPU Assembly in
May 2021, the Governing Council of the IPU adopted a decision concerning the
human rights situation of 50 parliamentarians in Myanmar (44 men, 6 women), which
is available https://www.ipu.org/sites/default/files/documents/myanmar-e_0.pdf
I wish to take this opportunity to seek your assistance in helping uphold the human
rights of the parliamentarians of Myanmar. Specifically, I wish to request that you
take effective diplomatic measures to protect their fundamental freedoms, either by
engaging the military authorities of Myanmar directly or by taking action with the
foreign representatives of other States that could exert pressure on the military
authorities.
I remain at your disposal to discuss this matter further and hope that your
intervention may reinforce the efforts of the IPU and its Members to restore the
rights of the parliamentarians of Myanmar, and by extension, the rights of the
people of Myanmar.
Yours faithfully,
…