Chiang Mai, Thailand, June 27, 2008 -- An agreement was signed last week in Burma between a consortium led by the South Korean trading company Daewoo International, the military regime in Burma, and the China National Petroleum Corporation (CNPC) for the sale and transport of natural gas from Burma’s Bay of Bengal to Yunnan Province, China. The deal marks a significant step toward a transnational gas pipeline to China that will result in massive human rights abuses in Burma, according to the Shwe Gas Movement (SGM).

By Blaine Bookey, ERI 2008 Summer Legal Intern

Cambodia is on the brink of explosion. Oil has been discovered and the country is developing rapidly. Afflictions caused by exploration and development – including environmental destruction, human rights violations, and land grabbing accompanied by evictions – plague the country.

Mathoura (center) explains indigenous community's land rights to local police

Ping Ly and Mathoura Ith, two Cambodian attorneys, are working to prevent these disasters while they still can. Ping and Mathoura have been in the United States for just over a month and are currently interning with EarthRights International (ERI) in the DC office.

Ping and Mathoura both attended the Royal University of Law and Economic Science in Phnom Penh and completed their lawyer training in 2003. Mathoura began her career as an attorney working for the Legal Aid of Cambodia on a juvenile justice project. She then worked at the Community Legal Education Center (CLEC) on a public interest advocacy project, which involved representing the community in cases involving land disputes. Currently, she works for the East-West Management Institute (EWMI), an international NGO. At EWMI, she focuses on human rights and is also working on a project with the Ministry of the Interior providing land law training.

Ping began working in a private firm. At the same time, he worked as a part-time lawyer for Protection Juvenile Justice, a local NGO that represents juveniles both as victims and defendants. Thereafter, he began working at the Center for Social Development on the Court Watch Project (CWP). The CWP monitors criminal and civil proceedings and publishes reports every three months. The reports provide statistics on issues such as unlawful detention and adherence with fair trial rights. Moreover, the organization works more generally on the rule-of-law in Cambodia, monitoring courts being an important part of this, as well as analyzing cases to discuss the judiciary’s ability to serve as a check and balance on the executive. Last year, Ping began working as a contract lawyer for the CLEC where he represents clients in land disputes. One of his cases involves a dispute between approximately 300 families and a sugar company who has allegedly poisoned the ground water and destroyed and deforested the land.

Ping and Mathoura hope to continue their work upholding environmental and human rights in Cambodia and came to the US to gain tools to further support their efforts. They began their trip to the U.S. as participants in a summer program on environmental law at the American University, Washington College of Law. At American, they learned about environmental law in general as well as international institutions and mechanisms to protect the environment, such as the World Bank’s Inspection Panel.

Ping (center, in yellow) and Mathoura attending community meeting

At ERI, Ping and Mathoura have gained a more in depth knowledge of ERI’s approach. They have also attended Congressional hearings and a civil bench trial. ERI has helped facilitate meetings with other attorneys and organizations working on environmental and human rights issues. In addition to learning about substantive law and mechanisms, they have been able to learn about the role of the lawyer in another country. In Cambodia, lawyers must consult with the President of the Bar Association before discussing their case with the public including the press, TV, and radio. It is considered a breach of attorney-client confidentiality (even with the client’s consent) to talk about such a case to the public. In the U.S., media campaigns are used strategically in conjunction with litigation to effectuate change, a freedom we take for granted. Ping and Mathoura have been able to compare experiences with attorneys here and will take the knowledge gained back with them to their practice in Cambodia.

Ping and Mathoura’s visit to the U.S. is the beginning of a global partnership and they look forward to being part of an ever-growing network of international attorneys committed to working for justice.

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Click image to view the entire Reuters slideshow

Despite the enormous international response to the devastation of Cyclone Nargis, the Burmese military regime has egregiously failed to respond appropriately.

ERI Calls on Oil Companies to Use Their Influence With the Burmese Junta to Help Improve Desperate Conditions

Related News:

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Reuters Comprehensive Coverage of Cyclone Nargis

OLDER NEWS ARTICLES: "Will Corruption Hurt Myanmar Relief Effort?" (Reuters) "UN: Urgent Need to Help Myanmar Farmers" (Associated Press) "Unseen Burma: An Aid Worker's Story" (BBC News) "World Bank Backs ASEAN Aid Team in Burma" (Voice of America News) "WHO Says Burma Health System Back on Its Feet"  (ABC News) "Saving the Children" (Al Jazeera English) "WER Burma Relief in Full Swing" (Reuters AlertNet) "Aid Workers Tell of Time in Burma" (BBC News) "Burma Gives 'Cronies' Slice of Strom Relief" (The Washington Post) "Myanmar Cyclone Survivors Left Without Shelter, Aid Workers Say" (Bloomberg) "Myanmar: Military Junta Orders Foreign Medics To Leave Cyclone-Hit Areas" (Asia News) "Burma Cyclone: UN Tackles Dengue Threat" (UK Guardian) "Burmese Generals Deserved to be Flogged: US Congressman" (The Irrawaddy) "Sports Writer Arrested After Aiding Myanmar Cyclone Victims" (AFP) "Burma Cyclone in Video" (BBC News) "UN Fuel Appeal for Burma Farmers" (BBC News) "Burma Cylcone Fund Falling Short" (The Press Association) "Burma Gives 'Cronies' Slice of Storm Relief" (Washington Post) "Landslides Hit Burma's Valley of Rubies" (News.com.au) "Volunteers Send Aid Through Burma's Back Door" (Christian Science Monitor) "Burma Says No Tax Taken From Aid" (The Press Association) "US Backs UN Rights Expert's Report on Myanmar" (AFP) "Fishing Industry Hampered by Reports of Fish Feeding on Corpses" (The First Post) "Myanmar: Cost of Rice Still Increasing" (ReliefWeb) "Sight of Myanmar's Cyclone Damage Unspeakable" (Global Nation) "Myanmar: Life Inside a Police State Since Cyclone Nargis" (ABC News) "UN, Government Begin Cyclone Assessment in Myanmar" (Associated Press) "UN Officials Say Myanmar Delayed Aid Helicopters Flying" (Bloomberg Asia) "UN May Get Choppers to Burma" (Bangkok Post) "Comic Arrested for Burma Aid Runs" (BBC News) "WFP May Need Rice Imports for Cyclone-Hit Myanmar" (Reuters) New Footage of Cyclone Nargis (FoxNews) Statementy by US Press Secretary on Cyclone Relief for Burma  Burma and the Bush Administration (The Daily Standard) "Inside Burma's Relief Efforts" (Toronto Star) "Four US Ships to Leave Coast After Myanmar Snub" (Agence France Presse) "UN: 1 Million In Myanmar Aren't Getting Basic Aid" (Associated Press) "Myanmar Rulers Still Impeding Access" (New York Times) "UN Human Rights High Commissioner Accuses Burma of Obstructing Aid" (Voice of America Radio News) Read the full VOA News article here "UN Labor Agency Warns: Forced Labor Could Increase In Cyclone Reconstruction" (International Herald Tribune) "Burma Reopens Schools Hit By Cyclone" (UK Guardian) "Let Them Eat Frogs" (Bangkok Post) "Asean Steps In Where Others Fear to Tread" (The Irrawaddy) "Myanmar Warned Over Forcing Cyclone Survivors Home" (Washington Post) "Myanmar Defends Cyclone Response After US Rebuke" (Reuters) "US Sharply Critical of Myanmar Constitution" (Agence France Presse) "Myanmar Charter 'Washes Away' Suu Kyi Victory (AFP) "Amid Aid Delays, Locals in Burma Rebuild" (Christian Science Monitor) "Boycott Burma: To Go or Not To Go" (UK Independent) "Burma Rulers Tighten Grip on Power" (Voice of America News) "Myanmar Races to Plant Delta Rice Fields Before Monsoon Season" (Bloomberg Asia) "UN Says Myanmar Junta Forcing Cyclone Victims From Refugee Camps" (Associated Press) "Pope Urges Myanmar to Give Aid Works Effective Access" (Reuters) "Myanmar Enacts New Charter As Aid Trickles In to Cyclone Victims" (Agence France Presse) "Myanmar Capital In Sharp Contrast To Cyclone Zone" (Associated Press) "Delaying Democracy - How Long Must the Burmese Wait?" (International Herald Tribune) "At Home With the General" (The Guardian) "US Navy Waiting for Junta's Permission to Deliver Burma Aid" (Washington Post) "Myanmar Lashes Out at 'Chocolate Bar' Foreign Aid" (Reuters) "Relief As War in Myanmar" (Asia Times) "Regime Quakes in Burma & China" (The Nation) "Burma Warns of Food Shortage" (Washington Post) "Getting Creative on Myanmar Aid" (Wall Street Journal)

Federal Judge Adds Torture and Cruel Treatment Claims to Upcoming Trial Against Chevron for Beating and Shooting of Nigerian Protestors

Trial Will Include Claims Under International Human Rights Law Brought by Victims of 1998 Attack on Demonstrators at Chevron Offshore Platform in Nigeria

San Francisco, June 2 - In a ruling issued late last Friday, United States District Court Judge Susan Illston held that the beating and shooting of Nigerian protestors at a Chevron offshore platform may constitute torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment under international human rights law, expanding the upcoming trial in this case to include these claims.

Thursday, May 8, 2008 GMT 6:40pm

Dear Friends,

So many of you have reached out, expressing your grief and concern, your thoughts and prayers, and your solidarity over Burma’s most recent tragedy.  We want to thank you for that—and thank you for your sincere desire to do what you can to help, once again, in Burma’s time of great need.  Your camaraderie has meant a lot to us as we have worried about our friends, our colleagues, our family members, our students and alumni--communications are still down and we simply don’t know if those we love are safe. 

We have also, of course, been trying to determine the best way to provide relief and help to ease the incredible suffering that we know is happening right now.  You have asked us what you can do to help.  To answer that question perfectly honestly, we must say quite simply that we just don’t know.  When we ask those who would, in normal circumstances, know more about disaster relief than we do—they wring their hands and tell us that they don’t know either. 

Nobody does.  It is a great source of frustration and distress.  Many major international disaster relief organizations are receiving donations that they currently cannot use, in the hopes that the regime will give them the access that they need soon; other humanitarian relief organizations are sending individual volunteers and staff members into Burma with wads of cash, hoping that they’ll be able to find ways to hand it out in person when they arrive; small local organizations are doing what they can to make a difference for one person, one family, one village at a time. 

We know that you are looking to us to give you an answer—to tell you how you can help, where you can send money, supplies, medicine.  The truth is, we can’t give you a simple answer.

We have been spending time learning about what organizations that we know and trust are doing right now.  We have a new list, below, of groups that we believe are making the most direct impact on the ground.  This situation will change every day—and other people, with different contacts and information will have different suggestions.  We are not saying that these are the only groups that are doing good work.  We know there are more.  These are simply organizations that we believe will effectively receive and distribute support in what is truly an almost impossible situation that gets increasingly urgent with each passing day.

Please keep in touch, and check back with us regularly.  We hope to have more positive news to report soon.

Katie Redford

Click here for ERI's recommended list of aid and disaster relief organizations

Click here for more updates from inside Burma

ERI Calls on Oil Companies to Use Their Influence With Burmese Junta to Help Improve Desperate Conditions

Related News:

Click to view hi-res map

Reuters Comprehensive Coverage of Cyclone Nargis "Delaying Democracy - How Long Must the Burmese Wait?" (International Herald Tribune) "At Home With the General" (The Guardian) "Relief As War in Myanmar" (Asia Times) "Regime Quakes in Burma & China" (The Nation) "Burma Warns of Food Shortage" (Washington Post) "Getting Creative on Myanmar Aid" (Wall Street Journal)

--- 

EarthRights International Official Statement - Thursday, May 7, 2008

What may turn out to be the worst natural disaster in Burma’s history struck this past week, when Cyclone Nargis reigned devastation on the former capital, Rangoon as well as the Irrawaddy River Delta and parts of Pegu Division, Karen State, and Mon State. Initial reports of a few hundred deaths have risen to over 20,000, and unconfirmed information from inside Burma  Over a million have been left without shelter, food and other necessities, and reports of bodies being dumped into rivers and whole towns wiped out underscore the severity and desperate conditions facing those affected. Our thoughts and prayers go out to the victims of this horrible tragedy. indicates that number will increase dramatically as access to cut-off areas is slowly restored.

While the ruling military regime in Burma has been criticized over its handling of the crisis - from insufficient warnings of the on-coming storm to a slow and inadequate response - the world community must focus on those currently suffering in Burma.  The reclusive State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), has indicated it will accept international assistance, but visa restrictions continue to slow the delivery of aid, with the United Nations humanitarian affairs coordinator, Rashid Khalikov appealing on Wednesday to the SPDC to drop burdensome visa requirements.

The Burmese people are being caught in a frustrating international standoff that is delaying the crucial delivery of aid - the reclusive military regime is suspicious of the international community’s political agenda - and the international community is wary of the SPDC’s commitment to help its own people based on its track record. Government and nongovernmental aid agencies alike correctly remain concerned that the military regime will divert aid to assist the army and their supporters, especially because those affected are predominantly Karen and other ethnic groups that the SPDC has been oppressing for years. This history further underscores the need for delivery of aid by experienced disaster agencies and organizations experienced in providing humanitarian relief and services to the people of Burma.

As a result of this mutual distrust, over a million Burmese continue to suffer the devastating after-effects of the storm while urgently needed assistance waits ready to be delivered. The SPDC should immediately allow aid organizations unfettered access to the devastated communities and repeal all restrictions that are delaying assessment and response efforts, including visa and customs procedures for relief supplies and personnel.  Although logistical challenges present major hurdles to the delivery of much-needed aid – roads are damaged and blocked, whole fleets of boats have been destroyed, infrastructure in many areas has been reduced to rubble – we call on the SPDC to allow  disaster experts, who specialize in delivering supplies, providing potable water, emergency shelters and health care, to do their jobs.

At this time, when the army can for once do something to ease a desperate situation, criticism of the Burmese regime’s track record on human rights is counterproductive. Statements like those of First Lady Laura Bush, no matter how well-intentioned, are not helpful. In a brief televised statement on Monday, Mrs. Bush moved to confirm the Burmese junta’s fears that international aid is another method of political influence by lecturing the military on its failures and seemingly conditioning further direct US aid on the admittance of U.S. assessment teams. While The First Lady is correct in her assessment of the human rights situation in the country and the military government’s oppressive nature, the focus right now must be on delivery of aid.

As a human rights organization, we call on the US government to put aside the lectures and immediately prepare to deliver aid to those who are in desperate need.  We call on the SPDC to grant immediate visas and access to humanitarian organizations to help in the delivery of aid, and we implore the global community to assist these efforts with donations and support for the people of Burma affected by this awful disaster. 

ERI Calls On Oil Companies to Use Their Influence With the Burmese Junta to Improve Desperate Conditions

Oil companies asked to fully disclose their diplomatic efforts with the regime in Burma in the wake of Cyclone Nargis

Chiang Mai, Thailand, Tuesday, May 27, 2008 - In the interest of improving the emergency relief effort in Burma, EarthRights International is demanding that the multinational corporate partners of the military regime use their influence to pressure the regime to accept all aid and fully cooperate with international relief efforts.

Moreover, in the interest of transparency and corporate responsibility, EarthRights International requests the corporations to publicly disclose any past, present, and future diplomatic efforts toward the military regime in the wake of Nargis.

“There are very few members of the world community today that have meaningful influence with the regime, but one of them is the oil companies, the regime’s largest source of revenue” said Ka Hsaw Wa, Executive Director of ERI. “With that power comes responsibility, especially when lives are at stake.”

It has been nearly one month since Cyclone Nargis completely devastated the Irrawaddy Delta in Burma, home to 6.5 million people. Since then, the military regime has actively obstructed international emergency relief efforts, costing thousands of lives.

Access to the hardest hit areas has increased considerably since a meeting last Friday between U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and Senior General Than Shwe, when the junta leader reportedly agreed to open the country to the international relief effort, which has been put on hold for weeks.

But due to the previous delay, the access and capacity of the relief effort is no where near where it should be: at least 2.4 million survivors are in desperate need of aid, thousands upon thousands of which have still received no aid at all, and the number of aid workers on the ground is extremely small relative to the immense size of the disaster. The junta’s flash of openness is regarded as unreliable.

The official figures of the number of dead and missing has not changed since May 16: 77,738 are reported dead and 55,917 missing. These figures, nearly two weeks old, were widely regarded as conservative when they were first released by the military regime in Burma. By now they are grossly inaccurate. EarthRights International fears the death toll is much higher than 100,000 people.

The U.S.-based Chevron and the French oil company Total, both partners with the military regime in the controversial Yadana gas project, have already announced some of their efforts, which ERI commends. Both companies announced donations of US$2 million dollars to aid organizations assisting in cyclone relief, an amount that exceeds the donations of some donor countries; Total has offered the use of their resources, including transport and fuel oil, to provide relief through its personnel in Burma. EarthRights International commends these efforts.

However, EarthRights International is not convinced that the companies have done enough, diplomatically, to pressure the regime to accept international emergency relief.

“In the aftermath of the cyclone, the critical hours, when emergency relief could have saved thousands of lives, what did Chevron do to pressure the regime to open its doors?” asked Naing Htoo, Program Coordinator with ERI. “The companies claim to benefit the people of Burma, but for that they’ll need to do more than write checks.”

Chevron and Total are partners with the junta in the Yadana gas project, the military regime’s largest source of revenue and the subject of a recent ERI report, The Human Cost of Energy, released just prior to Cyclone Nargis. The report documents the companies’ ongoing complicity in serious human rights abuses connected to the project, including forced labor, murder, rape, and torture; abuses which have been ongoing for seventeen years. The Human Cost of Energy is the first comprehensive report on conditions in the Yadana pipeline region since Chevron acquired Unocal’s interest in 2005, and it describes Chevron’s continuing legal liability associated with abuses in the pipeline region. 

Learn more about what you can do to assist Cyclone Nargis relief efforts  

*NOTE: The plaintiffs asserting claims arising out of the attacks on the villages of Opia and Ikenyan have decided not to pursue those claims. Any references in past documents to the Opia and Ikenyan incidents are no longer operative in this case.

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*NOTE: The plaintiffs asserting claims arising out of the attacks on the villages of Opia and Ikenyan have decided not to pursue those claims. Any references in past documents to the Opia and Ikenyan incidents are no longer operative in this case.

Click here to view full text.

Return to case overview

*NOTE: The plaintiffs asserting claims arising out of the attacks on the villages of Opia and Ikenyan have decided not to pursue those claims. Any references in past documents to the Opia and Ikenyan incidents are no longer operative in this case.

Click here to view the full text.

Return to case overview

*NOTE: The plaintiffs asserting claims arising out of the attacks on the villages of Opia and Ikenyan have decided not to pursue those claims. Any references in past documents to the Opia and Ikenyan incidents are no longer operative in this case.

Click here to view full text.

Return to case overview