On Union Day, Reappraisal of the Peace Process is Needed

[12 February, 2016] Today, on the 69^th anniversary of the signing of the Panglong Agreement, it is time to review the failures of the recent peace process, urged Burma Partnership.

“Drawing from its mistakes, the peace process must move toward an inclusive genuine national reconciliation that seeks justice for the countless victims of the ongoing conflict,” said Khin Ohmar, Coordinator of Burma Partnership.

In a new briefing paper titled, “Protection of People Must be Priority in Burma’s Protracted Peace Process” released to mark Union Day, Burma Partnership highlights how the peace process of the Thein Sein Government has been unsuccessful, ultimately leading to many powerful ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) refusing to sign the nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA). It also resulted in a call by civil society organizations to postpone the Union Peace Conference.

The paper calls on the National League for Democracy (NLD), who recently took up seats in the new Parliament, to amend the current format of the political dialogue process to be all-inclusive in order for Burma to achieve genuine national reconciliation.

“When the people of Burma voted for the NLD, they voted for change; it is time for a reappraisal of the peace process” said Khin Ohmar. “The peace process must be built on a solid foundation of inclusivity and meaningful and full participation of civil society and women. Women’s experience of conflict and war differs to men and their participation in the process is key to ensuring a sustainable peace,” she continued. “Otherwise, communities on the ground, particularly in armed conflict areas, will continue to be displaced, their fundamental rights violated and their calls for safety and security ignored,” she said.

Even now in the fifth year of the peace process, sexual violence against ethnic women continues to be used as a weapon of war by the Burma Army with impunity. The briefing paper points to one crucial ingredient that would lead to sustainable peace that is missing from the current NCA – the full and meaningful participation of women in the peace process. The President Thein Sein’s Government signed the Declaration to End Sexual Violence in Conflict in 2014 and Burma is a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Thus the Government is bound to fulfill its obligations. Yet it has done little to ensure women’s full and meaningful participation in the peace process and to end discrimination and violence against women.

The briefing paper also calls for the end to armed conflict and human rights violations throughout Burma, and urges the international community to provide direct political and financial assistance to EAOs and the Government in equal measure, as well as to develop effective accountability mechanisms for the victims and survivors.

Download the full text of the briefing paper “Protection of People Must be Priority in Burma’s Protracted Peace Process ” in English here.

Download the full text of the briefing paper in Burmese here.
For more information, please contact:
Khin Ohmar, Coordinator, Burma Partnership; +66(0)818840772, khinohmar@burmapartnership.org