EarthRights International has submitted a report to the United Nations High Commissioner on Human Rights in connection with the U.N. Human Rights Council's periodic review of the human rights obligations of Burma (Myanmar).  The report focuses on human rights abuses associated with oil and gas projects in Burma, which are emblematic of abuses on development projects in Burma generally, and makes a number of recommendations to eliminate such abuses in the future.

"The human rights record of the Burmese military regime is terrible overall, but some of the worst abuses continue to be associated with oil and gas projects," said Ka Hsaw Wa, ERI's Executive Director, who left Burma following massacres of students in 1988.  ERI's submission catalogs abuses that have been documented in reports such as 2009's Total Impact and the recently-released Energy Insecurity, including ongoing forced labor and recent targeted killings by security forces protecting gas pipeline projects.

The report complements other reports submitted by Burma human rights organizations as part of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) process, most notably the joint submission of the Burma Forum on the UPR, a coalition of fourteen organizations.  The Burma Forum submission documents crimes against humanity throughout Burma, pervasive impunity for perpetrators, and a complete denial of freedom of association, labor rights, and other basic rights.

The UPR process is a comprehensive review of the human rights performance of each U.N. member state every four years, and NGOs have a voice in the process by making submissions to the High Commissioner.  Burma will then need to respond to a summary of the NGO submissions prepared by the High Commissioner.  "This is one of the few opportunities that the people of Burma have to address the military regime where the regime must respond to their concerns," said Ka Hsaw Wa.  "For people whose voices have too often been silenced by a brutal dictatorship, this is a valuable chance to show the world the reality of the situation in Burma, in a way that the regime cannot ignore."