Report: Human Rights Abuses Continue in Mon State
‘According to the data and facts we collected, human rights abuses are happening in every township in Mon State,’ said the Human Rights Foundation of Monland.
By NETWORK MEDIA GROUP (NMG)
Saturday, December 15, 2018
Rights violations are still widespread in Mon State, according to a new report released by the Human Rights Foundation of Monland.
The organization launched “What is Changing?” on Tuesday, a report highlighting continued human rights abuses in Mon State, despite the election of the National League for Democracy administration in 2015. It argued that the political situation in the state has changed little from the time of military rule, and emphasizes the need to obtain justice for victims.
“According to the data and facts we collected, human rights abuses are happening in every township in Mon State. The highest number of abuses are related to land disputes; second is child rape cases; third is related to violence,” Human Rights Foundation of Monland’s program coordinator Min Banyar Ek told NMG. “The highest number of human rights abuses are happening in Kyaikmayaw and Ye townships,”
This report involves data collected from 34 villages in Paung, Chaungzon, Kyaikmayaw, Mudon, Thanbyuzayat and Ye townships and interviewd with more than 560 people.
Farmland disputes, sexual violence, environmental degradation caused by the over-extraction of natural resources, as well as limitations on freedom of expression persist in Mon State.
The 64-page report stated that the people’s participation in electing legislators is not sufficient in protecting the public from human rights abuses. The government and parliament must also pass and implement laws in accordance with international norms and values in order to put a stop to human rights abuses.
The Human Rights Foundation of Monland also criticized the use of outdated, colonial-era laws to resolve cases of human rights abuses.
