Washington, D.C.
A Press Release from FREEDOM NOW
Today, Freedom Now released a strongly-worded ruling from the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention finding that Aung San Suu Kyi is being detained illegally by the military junta in Burma. The Working Group stated:
“The unsubstantiated hints of the Government [of Burma] to [Ms. Suu Kyi’s] “activities detrimental to peace and tranquility” and to Suu Kyi’s “campaign with the intention of harming the integrity of the Union” are irrelevant . . . because not even the Government asserts [she] has ever resorted to violence or incited to hostility or violence . . . In light of the foregoing, the Working Group renders the following opinion. The deprivation of liberty of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi is arbitrary being in contravention of Articles 9, 10, and 19 of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. . . The Working Group believes that under the circumstances the adequate remedy would be the immediate release of Ms. Aung San Suu Kyi.”(emphasis added).
Under Working Group procedures, the decision was provided exclusively to the Burmese junta for 21 days before being released to Freedom Now, which litigated the case at the UN with authorization of a member of Ms. Suu Kyi’s family. The Working Group is an independent and impartial tribunal, whose membership is currently comprised of experts from Algeria, Iran, Hungary, Paraguay, and Spain. Previously, the Working Group issued three other opinions – 8/1992, 2/2002, and 9/2004 – that Ms. Suu Kyi’s prior terms of house arrest were also in violation of international law. After Ms. Suu Kyi’s political party and its allies won the 1990 elections in Burma with more than 80% of the vote, she has spent more than 11 of the last 17 years under house arrest, and continuously since 2003.
The Burmese junta extended Ms. Suu Kyi’s house arrest despite an international outcry demanding her release. The global appeal included calls by the UN Secretary-General, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, 14 UN Human Rights Rapporteurs, ASEAN, European Union, and 59 former Presidents and Prime Ministers led by former Norwegian Prime Minister Kjell Magne Bondevik.
“We are gratified the UN has reaffirmed that Aung San Suu Kyi is being held in violation of international law. Nevertheless, this judgment is about much more than the detention of one courageous woman,” said Jared Genser, President of Freedom Now. “Her detention is a symbol of the ongoing oppression of the Burmese people. The real question is how long will Burma’s bold-face defiance of the United Nations, ASEAN, EU, and so many others be tolerated?” he added.
For more information, contact FREEDOM NOW
P.O. Box 30155 • Bethesda, Maryland 20824-0155 • + 1 202 320-4135 •jgenser@freedom-now.org