Location: Joukowsky Forum, Watson Institute, 111 Thayer Street
Just returned from Myanmar/Burma, Pinheiro will provide a first-hand look at the state of human rights in the country in the midst of a military crackdown on civilian protest. While in Myanmar/Burma November 11 – 15, Pinheiro visited the notorious Insein Prison, which has held numerous political prisoners over the years, and a monastery raided by the government in September. Previously barred from entering the country since 2003, he also met with several government officials this month, and his every step was reported in the media worldwide.
Pinheiro is also author of a report delivered to the UN General Assembly in October, stating that there were already 1,200 political prisoners before the crackdown began in recent months. At Brown, he has worked closely with the Brown Chapter of the US Campaign for Burma. He held a panel of scholars, policymakers, and students in October titled “Burma: Saffron Revolution versus Authoritarian Consolidation.”
Pinheiro is Cogut Visiting Professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at the Watson Institute. He holds a PhD in political science and a graduate degree in sociology from the University of Paris. He is professor of political science and research associate at the Center for the Study of Violence at the Universidade de São Paulo. He also led the research team producing the UN's 2006 World Report on Violence against Children, as a UN assistant secretary-general appointed to study the issue.
Read the UN press release detailing his Burma mission here.
Read a Reuters report of his visit here.
Read an AP report here.
Pinheiro’s October report to the UN General Assembly is available here.
A video and summary of Pinheiro's October panel at Brown are available here.
Event Summary
UN Envoy Aims to Keep Pressure on Myanmar
In his first US public appearance since his five-day fact-finding mission to Myanmar/Burma, Professor Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Human Rights, emphasized the importance of obtaining any information – even incomplete information – on the state of human rights in the country. Pinheiro’s trip to the country from November 11 to 15 was his first return since 2003, when he was last allowed to visit on behalf of the UN.
In early September, bloody images from the military junta’s crackdown on peaceful monk- and civilian-led protests began flooding the international media. The conflict is said to have begun when the military beat three monks who protested the rise of oil prices, but quickly became a call for democracy, as thousands of civilians took to the streets in a movement called the “Saffron Revolution.” With the help of digital cameras and the internet, the international community has had access to the military crackdowns, arousing what Pinheiro called “universal revulsion” against the military government.
In his address, Pinheiro emphasized the limitations of his visit. “This was not a full-fledged fact-finding mission,” he said, citing the short time period, the lack of access to civilians, and the government restrictions on his movement. “My only moment where I was not with the government was when I met with [certain UN dignitaries] and interviewed prisoners and monks.” Despite these constraints, however, Pinheiro expressed his gratitude to the government for allowing him to return to the country. “[The mission] was a very unusual format that in normal circumstances I would not accept,” he said before adding, “I’m not complaining.”
During his visit to Myanmar/Burma, Pinheiro met with several groups, including the government’s newly established human rights body, the police, 12 monks, and administrators of the Yangon general hospital. He also visited the infamous Insein prison, where an estimated 1,200 political prisoners were held before the military crackdown began in September. There, he was able to conduct one-on-one meetings with five detainees. These interviews were unrecorded, to Pinheiro’s knowledge.
Pinheiro will present the findings of his mission to the United Nations in December; however, he is still unclear about his proposals for improved compliance with human rights legislation. He said, “I need to report, I need to be public, but I must convince the authorities to comply [with human rights laws.]” While the government has provided detailed records in response to some of his requests for information, Pinheiro said, “There is a lot of information I cannot verify.”
In his concluding remarks, Pinheiro discussed the importance of timing in improving the political situation of Myanmar/Burma. “Thanks to the impact of images and the worldwide revulsion [to the military crackdown], the international community is sharing a moment of coordination,” he said. “My fear is that the scenes of these marchers will be forgotten and we will lose this opportunity.” Pinheiro stressed the significant role that international cooperation, especially among the East and Southeast Asian countries, could play in stabilizing the country and facilitating political transition. He said, “I want to tell the other countries, ‘you owe something to these people. They represent our values… The international community has to show some competence to talk less and act more effectively.’”
Pinheiro will share his report with the UN Human Rights Council on December 11. The government of Myanmar will review his report prior to its submission.
At Brown, Pinheiro is the Cogut Visiting Professor at the Center for Latin American Studies at the Watson Institute.
By Watson Student Rapporteur Victoria Chao ‘08
Read AP coverage of his talk here.
More coverage of his mission is available here.