Civil Society Welcomes SEANF Review of MNHRC Membership, Significant Step Towards Accountability
Civil Society Welcomes SEANF Review of MNHRC Membership, Significant Step Towards Accountability
BANGKOK, Thailand (29 September 2026) — The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI), the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA), and The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institutions (Burma/Myanmar) (Working Group)
welcome the decision of the South East Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum (SEANF) to commence a formal review of the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission’s (MNHRC) continued eligibility for membership.
On 25 September 2026, SEANF announced that its Governing Board had commenced a formal review of the MNHRC’s eligibility for membership, following a special meeting convened on 14 August 2026 pursuant to Article 11(6) of the SEANF Rules of Procedure. The review assesses whether the MNHRC continues to meet the standards of independence, effectiveness, and institutional integrity established by the Paris Principles and included in SEANF’s definition of a national human rights institution (NHRI).
The review follows years of civil society advocacy calling on regional and international NHRI networks to address the MNHRC’s continued membership and engagement despite longstanding concerns regarding its independence and effectiveness.
Since the 2021 illegal military coup attempt, MNHRC has failed to act as an independent institution capable of protecting victims or holding the military accountable for widespread and systematic human rights violations. Rather than scrutinizing the military’s conduct or pursuing accountability for serious abuses, MNHRC’s inaction has enabled the junta to use the institution as a shield against scrutiny—providing the appearance of human rights oversight while leaving victims without meaningful protection or access to justice.
In December 2024, the Global Alliance of NHRIs Sub-Committee on Accreditation (GANHRI-SCA) issued a pivotal decision to remove MNHRC’s accreditation and membership. This led to the Asia Pacific Forum of NHRIs (APF) subsequently expelling the MNHRC from its membership in May 2025.
Similarly, civil society has long consistently called on SEANF to take similar action since the 2021 illegal military coup attempt. The commencement of this review marks an important development in that advocacy.
A significant step toward accountability and institutional integrity
The commencement of this formal review is an important step toward safeguarding the credibility and integrity of SEANF as a regional network of NHRIs. For years, ANNI, FORUM-ASIA, the Working Group, and civil society partners have called on SEANF to hold the MNHRC accountable and reconsider its continued membership.
The MNHRC’s continued association with SEANF, despite longstanding concerns regarding its independence and failure to adequately fulfill its human rights mandate amid grave and ongoing violations in Myanmar, has raised serious questions about the SEANF’s commitment to the Paris Principles and its role in promoting credible and effective NHRIs.
We therefore welcome SEANF’s decision to undertake this review as a necessary exercise of institutional accountability.
SEANF should uphold its membership standards
We urge the SEANF Governing Board members — the Chairpersons of the Human Rights Commission of Malaysia (SUHAKAM), the Indonesia National Commission of Human Rights (Komnas HAM), the Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines (CHRP), the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT), and the Provedor de Direitos Humanos e Justiça (PDHJ), Timor-Leste — to carry this process through to its necessary conclusion.
On 26 September, MNHRC released a statement in response to the public announcement of a review of its membership eligibility. In this statement, MNHRC declared it would “categorically reject and dissociate from the review initiated by the Forum.” Its outright refusal to participate in a fair process, despite being given an opportunity to respond to the concerns under consideration, further underscores its unwillingness to confront longstanding concerns regarding its independence, its complicity in the context of the military junta’s human rights violations, and its compliance with the Paris Principles. This response is itself further evidence of the MNHRC’s failure to engage constructively with legitimate scrutiny of its institutional conduct and independence.
At the conclusion of the review, SEANF should determine that the MNHRC no longer meets the requirements for membership and remove it from the network, consistent with the outcome of the GANHRI-SCA’s years-long review. We urge SEANF members to ensure that the final determination is grounded in the evidence considered throughout the review and the longstanding concerns documented by civil society.
Such a decision would reaffirm that membership in a regional network of NHRIs carries meaningful obligations of independence, effectiveness, institutional integrity, and compliance with the Paris Principles. It would also demonstrate that SEANF’s membership standards apply meaningfully to all members.
For the people of Myanmar, removing the MNHRC from SEANF would make clear that regional NHRI networks will not lend institutional legitimacy to an institution that has failed to independently uphold human rights amid the country’s ongoing crisis. It would also reaffirm the importance of credible, independent NHRIs in protecting the rights and dignity of the people of Myanmar.
Appreciation for SUHAKAM’s leadership
We commend SUHAKAM, as Chair of SEANF for 2026, and all SEANF members for taking this important step to address longstanding concerns regarding the MNHRC’s compliance with the Paris Principles.
Khin Ohmar, Chairperson of Progressive Voice, member of the Working Group, said: “We welcome that the SEANF Governing Board, under the 2026 Chairship of SUHAKAM, has commenced a formal review of the MNHRC regarding its membership in SEANF. We appreciate this principled step taken by the SEANF members. But this formal review must lead to the immediate removal of the MNHRC from SEANF. The junta’s commission has no place in a regional human rights institution. SEANF must follow the decisions of GANHRI and the APF to safeguard the credibility and integrity of the institution in the region.”
Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA and Secretariat of ANNI, expressed our appreciation for SEANF under the leadership of SUHAKAM: “We particularly commend SUHAKAM for its leadership during its 2026 Chairpersonship and for advancing this process with integrity. We appreciate SUHAKAM and SEANF members for listening to civil society voices and responding through a formal institutional process.”
Bo Bo, Executive Director of Generation Wave, member of the Working Group, said: “We would like to extend our heart-felt appreciation to SUHAKAM for its principled leadership during its 2026 Chairship to hold MNHRC accountable for non-compliance with the Paris Principles. We also applaud SEANF members for standing up for its principles and heeding our voices. We urge SEANF to revoke MNHRC’s membership at the earliest opportunity.”
This is an important opportunity for SEANF to demonstrate that regional solidarity among NHRIs must be grounded in accountability, independence, and a shared commitment to human rights. We encourage the Governing Board to complete the review transparently and impartially and to take the necessary decision to preserve the integrity of SEANF, uphold the Paris Principles, and stand with the people of Myanmar.
For more information, please contact:
The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar); WG_NHRI@protonmail.com
ANNI Secretariat, FORUM-ASIA; anni@forum-asia.org
About the Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI)
The Asian NGO Network on National Human Rights Institutions (ANNI) was established in December 2006. It is a network of Asian non-governmental organisations and human rights defenders working on issues related to National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs). ANNI has members that are national organisations from all over Asia. ANNI currently has 28 member organisations from 19 countries or territories. The work of ANNI members focuses on strengthening the work and functioning of Asian NHRIs to better promote and protect human rights as well as to advocate for the improved compliance of Asian NHRIs with international standards, including the Paris Principles and General Observations of the Sub-Committee on Accreditation (SCA) of the Global Alliance of NHRIs (GANHRI).
More information at https://forum-asia.org/anni/
About the CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar)
The CSO Working Group on Independent National Human Rights Institution (Burma/Myanmar) advocates for the establishment of a new NHRI—tentatively named the Union Human Rights Commission—to replace the illegitimate MNHRC which has aligned itself with the illegal military junta. The Working Group was previously known as the ‘CSO Working Group on MNHRC Reform.’ Currently, it consists of 21 Myanmar civil society organizations. From its founding in 2019 until the attempted coup in February 2021, the Working Group consistently advocated for an effective MNHRC that demonstrated a commitment to the international standards set forth in the Paris Principles.
More information at https://www.facebook.com/WGonNHRIBurma
SUHAKAM (Human Rights Commission of Malaysia)
South East Asia National Human Rights Institution Forum
Commission on Human Rights of the Philippines
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
National Unity Consultative Council
