Entries by kwat-admin

Burma Army commits war crimes against Kachin IDPs: blocking access to refuge, using as human shields and minesweepers, indiscriminate shelling, looting

May 15, 2018 Urgent update by the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)  Contrary to claims by Burma Army commanders that they have not targeted civilians in their recent offensives against the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), interviews by KWAT with IDPs reveal that in April 2018 Burma Army troops committed war crimes against villagers in three […]

Urgent call for safe passage of ethnic villagers trapped by Myanmar Tatmadaw offensives throughout Kachin State and for provision of humanitarian aids

30 April 2018 From April 11 to 28, 2018, due to fierce offensives by the Myanmar Tatmadaw, people from Tanai township, Awng Lawt village, Kamaing township, Man Wai/Loi Nawng Khu village, Namti township, Kasung village, Inn Jang Yang township, Chipwi township and Zan Naung Yang villages have fled for their lives to the jungle and […]

Kachin Communities Worldwide Demand United Nations Security Council Urgently Refers Burma to the International Criminal Court

23rd April 2018 The Burma military broke the ceasefire with the Kachin Independence Organisation in 2011. Since then, residents of the Kachin region have endured various forms of human rights violation as well as denial of humanitarian assistance by Burmese military. Their daily lives have also become dictated by the ebb and flow of armed conflict […]

State terror in the Kachin hills

In late 2012, the Burma Army intensified military operations against strongholds of the Kachin Independence Army (KIA). This culminated in a massive offensive on the KIA headquarters at Laiza on the China-Burma border starting in mid-December. This month long assault involved repeated mortar shelling and aerial bombings in the Laiza area, populated by 20,000 civilians, […]

Myanmar: Drop Criminal Defamation Charges Against Kachin Activist

Decriminalize defamation laws, uphold right to freedom of expression (YANGON, November 14, 2017)—The Government of Myanmar should immediately and unconditionally drop criminal defamation charges against 56-year-old ethnic Kachin human rights defender Dashi Naw Lawn and uphold the right to freedom of expression, said the Kachin Women’s Association of Thailand (KWAT) and Fortify Rights today. The […]

Recent defamation case in Phakant highlights urgent need to bring the Burma Army under civilian control

September 8, 2017 Since the founding of the Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT) on September 9, 1999, we have been working to promote and protect the rights of women and children in Kachin areas of Burma. Unfortunately, due to worsening Burma Army offensives and abuses, the rights of our communities continue to be systematically violated. A recent […]

Appeal for the immediate release of Kachin farmer Nlam Bawk Naw, arbitrarily arrested on the Ledo Road by the Burma Army on June 20, 2017

Date: 8th August, 2017 Press release by Kachin CSOs Kachin CSOs are calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Kachin farmer Nlam Bawk Naw, who was arbitrarily arrested by Burma Army troops on the Ledo Road in eastern Hpakant township on June 20, 2017. On that day, at about 3 pm, there had been […]