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LADINBy The Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF), The Shan Women's Action Network (SWAN)
May 2002
Contents
Map of location of sexual violence | Executive Summary | Introduction
| Historical and political background of Shan
State |
Gender roles in Shan society and traditional
responses to rape | Sexual violence during four
decades of civil war |
Conclusion and recommendations
This
report details 173 incidents of rape and other forms of sexual
violence, involving 625 girls and women, committed by Burmese
army troops in Shan State, mostly between 1996 and 2001. It
should be noted that due to the stigma attached to rape, many
women do not report incidents of sexual violence. Incidents may
also not have reached SHRF, as information on human rights abuses
in Shan State is gained from refugees arriving at the Thai-Burma
border. Therefore the figures in this report are likely to be far
lower than the reality. The report reveals that the Burmese
military regime is allowing its troops systematically and on a
widespread scale to commit rape with impunity in order to
terrorize and subjugate the ethnic peoples of Shan State. The
report illustrates there is a strong case that war crimes and
crimes against humanity, in the form of sexual violence, have
occurred and continue to occur in Shan State.
The report gives clear evidence that rape is officially condoned
as a 'weapon of war' against the civilian populations in Shan
State. There appears to be a concerted strategy by the Burmese
army troops to rape Shan women as part of their anti-insurgency
activities. The incidents detailed were committed by soldiers
from 52 different battalions. 83% of the rapes were committed by
officers, usually in front of their own troops. The rapes
involved extreme brutality and often torture such as beating,
mutilation and suffocation. 25% of the rapes resulted in death,
in some incidences with bodies being deliberately displayed to
local communities. 61% were gang-rapes; women were raped within
military bases, and in some cases women were detained and raped
repeatedly for periods of up to 4 months. Out of the total 173
documented incidents, in only one case was a perpetrator punished
by his commanding officer. More commonly, the complainants were
fined, detained, tortured or even killed by the military.
Shan women are increasingly vulnerable to rape due to the
increased militarization and anti-insurgency measures in Shan
State by the Burmese regime, currently named the State Peace and
Development Council (SPDC). The number of battalions in the state
has nearly tripled since 1988. The majority of rape incidents
were committed in the areas of Central Shan State where over
300,000 villagers have been forcibly relocated from their homes
since 1996. Many rapes took place when girls or women were
caught, usually searching for food, outside the relocation sites.
Rapes also occurred when women were being forced to porter or do
other unpaid work for the military, and when stopped at military
checkpoints.
The report also explores some of the physical and mental effects
of the rapes on the survivors, who suffered not only from the
lack of legal redress for the crimes, but also the lack of any
crisis support. Some survivors faced blame and rejection from
their own families and communities. Many of the survivors decided
to flee to Thailand after being raped. However, the lack of
recognition of Shan refugees in Thailand means these survivors
have no protection, no access to humanitarian aid or counselling
services. They are thus vulnerable to exploitation and
trafficking and are in constant danger of being deported into the
hands of their abusers.
The SHRF and SWAN therefore make the following
recommendations:
To the State Peace and Development
Council:
1. To immediately implement a nationwide ceasefire in order to
stop increased militarization and anti-insurgency campaigns in
the ethnic states;
2. To begin tripartite dialogue with representatives of
non-Burman ethnic nationalities and the democratic opposition on
the country's political future;
3. To respect fully their obligations under international
humanitarian law, including article 3 common to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt the use of weapons against
the civilian population, to protect all civilians, including
children, women and persons belonging to ethnic or religious
minorities, from violations of humanitarian law;
4. To respect fully their obligations under the ILO 1930
Convention concerning forced or compulsory labour (No. 29);
5. To end the continuing violations of the human rights of
women, in particular forced labour, forced relocations, abuse,
torture, sexual violence, exploitation and abuse in detention and
summary executions, often committed by military personnel and
especially directed towards women who are returning refugees,
internally displaced, or belong to ethnic groups or the political
opposition;
6. To put an end to the causes of the systematic forced
displacements of persons and the flow of refugees to neighbouring
countries and create adequate conditions for their safe and
voluntary return and complete reintegration, to allow
humanitarian personnel safe and unhindered access to assist their
return and reintegration, and to address the problems of
trafficking of women and children, especially in the border
area;
7. To fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women by bringing national legislation
and practice into conformity with these conventions, and to
consider signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, as well as the Optional Protocols to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child; 8. To implement fully the
recommendations made by the Committee on the Elimination of
Discrimination against Women, in particular the request to
prosecute and punish those who violate the human rights of
women;
To the Royal Government of Thailand
1. To give protection to Shan civilians along the Thai-Shan
border by allowing them to cross the border into Thailand and to
access refugee camps and UNHCR.
2. To allow Shan asylum seekers access to humanitarian aid
agencies based in Thailand.
3. To exercise particular caution in relation to the deportation
of Shan migrant workers as many are genuine refugees.
4. To not repatriate Shan women into the hands of the Burmese
army.
5. The governments of Thailand and Burma should allow the
international community and UNHCR to participate in any
discussions, negotiations and/or repatriation programs involving
Burmese migrants. Such discussions must address the root causes
for the outflow of migrant workers.
To the international community
1. To not allow political developments in Burma to act as a
'smokescreen' on the continuing human rights violations occurring
predominantly in the non-Burman ethnic nationality areas;
2. To pressure the SPDC to fulfil the recommendations above,
which are based on the Commission on Human Rights resolution
2002/67 on the 'Situation of human rights in [Burma]', and to
withhold all forms of aid to the regime until irreversible
changes are made towards democratic reform in Burma.
3. To pressure UN agencies and international NGOs working in the
ethnic states of Burma to publicly bear witness to the atrocities
being committed by the SPDC against civilians in these areas,
since their silence makes them complicit in these abuses.
This report was jointly researched by the SHRF Women's Desk
and SWAN. The SHRF has been producing monthly newsletters
documenting the human rights abuses, including rape, committed by
the Burmese military in Shan State since 1997. In 1999, the SHRF
produced a Burmese language booklet listing the incidents of rape
committed by the Burmese military in that year. Members of SWAN
have also made a number of presentations at international forums
over the past few years exposing the extent of state violence
against women in Shan State. However, it was clear that a more
detailed and comprehensive report needed to be produced to bring
the international community's attention to the scale of
systematic sexual abuse being committed by the Burmese military
in ethnic areas.
The need to expose the effects that the continuing civil war in
Burma is having on ethnic civilians, particularly women, has
become increasingly urgent in the light of recent indications
that the international community is relaxing its pressure on the
regime due to apparent progress towards political transition. The
continuing restriction of access for outsiders to most of the
border areas and the lack of freedom of information has enabled
the regime to hide the full extent of its ongoing systematic
oppression of the ethnic populations in Burma. By hiding the
scale of these ongoing abuses, the regime is deliberately
obscuring from the international community the urgent need to put
an end to the civil war and to engage the ethnic groups in
dialogue concerning the country's future.
Apart from revealing the extent of the sexual violence committed
by the Burmese military and the need to restore a process of law
that can punish the perpetrators of such crimes, the report also
seeks to explore the problems faced by the rape survivors,
including community censure resulting from prevailing gender
attitudes. SHRF and SWAN compiled information for this report
between January 2001 and March 2002. During this time, 28 women
on the Thai-Burma border were interviewed specifically for this
report, either by members of the SHRF or SWAN networks, or by
members of the Lahu Women's Organisation. These interviews are
reproduced in full as an appendix to this report. A further 145
cases were compiled from the monthly SHRF newsletters. These
cases are less detailed and do not focus on the effects of the
sexual violence on the survivors. Information from all the 173
cases is summarized in a chart also appendixed to the report.
Although the majority of cases documented took place between
1996-2002, five earlier incidents were also included, as they
were compiled through direct interviews with the women
involved.
For current information on rape incidents in Shan State please
refer to the SHRF monthly newsletter found at: www.shanland.org.
SHRF and SWAN wish to thank all those who volunteered their time
to assist with the compilation and editing of this report. We are
grateful to the Norwegian Human Rights Fund for supporting the
production of the report.
Shan State is a mountainous area covering 160,000 square
kilometers in the northeastern part of the country known today as
the Union of Burma. It is rich in natural resources, such as
gems, minerals and teakwood. The population of Shan State is
estimated at over eight million, about half being ethnic Shan,
who inhabit the region's fertile valleys. The Shan are ethnically
linked to the Thai, and speak a similar language. Other ethnic
groups include Akha, Kachin, Lahu, Lisu, Palaung, Pa-O and Wa,
most of whom are hill-dwellers. Shan State used to be divided
into over thirty principalities, ruled by their own hereditary
chieftains. Even when the British colonized Burma, the Shans were
allowed to continue self-rule. The Shans agreed to join the rest
of Burma to gain independence on condition that they would be
granted the right to secede after 10 years. This condition was
stipulated in the constitution, but was never granted.
Efforts by Shan and other ethnic leaders to negotiate with the
Burmese government for more equitable rights for their people
ended abruptly with the coup of 1962, when the army led by
General Ne Win seized power in Burma. Since then, successive
military regimes have ruled the country, refusing to relinquish
power. In the elections of 1990, the Shan Nationalities League
for Democracy (SNLD) won the second highest number of seats
nationwide after the National League for Democracy, led by Aung
San Suu Kyi, but the army refused to honour the results. Members
of the SNLD have since suffered harassment in the same way as
other opposition party members.
Over the past forty years various ethnic resistance movements
have operated in the Shan State. The Burmese military have
responded by steadily building up their military presence in the
area. Owing to the mostly guerrilla nature of the resistance, the
favoured tactic of the regime has been to carry out large-scale
anti-insurgency campaigns targeting civilians, in an effort to
prevent villagers from harbouring and supporting the ethnic
rebels. These campaigns have involved forced relocation of
villages to strategic sites near army bases, where civilians can
be closely guarded. The largest and most intensive forced
relocation program was carried out in 1996-1997 in Central Shan
State. Over 300,000 people from over 1,400 villages were forced
from their homes into relocation sites where nothing was provided
for them. Most of these villagers are still not allowed to return
home, and over half are estimated to have fled as refugees to
Thailand.
"nang ying ker lii pho, to sat ker lii
cao"
(a woman respects her husband; an animal respects its
master)
old Shan proverb
Traditional rural Shan society is male-dominated. Men occupy
all leading positions in the public sphere, as village headmen,
and members of village and temple committees. In family life,
they are regarded as the heads of the household. Women play no
role in decision-making at the community level. They are expected
to marry, serve their husbands, and bear children. In the
household, women do most of the cooking, cleaning and childcare
tasks; outside the house they also fetch water, plant and collect
vegetables.
Even though women are often seen in the markets selling
vegetables and other products, and are expected to keep the
family's money, it is usually men who will make any major
financial transactions, like selling of the rice harvest or
livestock. They also take the major decisions in the family
regarding finances (as illustrated by the Shan proverb: "mae bae
pho, thuk nii": If a man is dominated by his wife, he'll be in
debt.) Most Shans are Buddhists, and religious practices
reinforce women's subordinate status in the society. Only men can
be ordained as monks, who perform key spiritual and ceremonial
functions for the community, and therefore enjoy considerable
respect and power. Although women can become nuns, they have a
lower status than monks and are generally not respected. In
traditional Shan society, the only places of education in
villages were temples, where only boys who ordained as novices
could be educated. This remains true in some villages in Shan
State today. This fact, coupled with the expectation that girls
will anyway become wives and mothers, means that most families
give priority to their sons' education.
In accordance with their subordinate status, women are expected
to be demure in public, and, unlike men, chaste until marriage.
Women who lose their virginity before marriage are described as
"soom to" or "spoiled", and any women engaging in sex outside
marriage are liable to censure, even if the sexual encounter was
forced upon them. Fear of censure within their own communities
thus inhibits women from reporting incidents of rape.
Nevertheless, in the past, rural Shan women had recourse to
customary legal processes to punish rapists. Cases would be
brought before village elders, and if found guilty, men would be
punished by a fine payable to the women, her parents and the
village elders. Women also had the option of taking the cases to
the township courts to be tried under the Burmese penal code
(according to which the maximum penalty for rape is 10 years in
prison.)
Therefore there was some measure of legal protection available
to women in the case of sexual violence. However, this has now
been eroded by the Burmese military's contempt for the law. In
numerous instances of rape in this report the Shan women
survivors attempted to seek justice within their community,
turning to their parents and the village headmen according to
their custom, but were inevitably thwarted by the absolute power
exercised by the Burmese military in their areas.
Most of the information collected in this report covers cases
of rape committed by the Burmese military in the past six years.
However, sexual violence has been commonplace in Shan State
during the past four decades, since the Burmese military began
operations against the ethnic resistance forces in the late
1950s. The context of the civil war has given Burmese troops
licence to practice sexual violence against local ethnic women
with impunity. As potential supporters of the resistance, women
are perceived as legitimate targets for violence. Sexual violence
serves the multiple purpose of not only terrorizing local
communities into submission, but also flaunting the power of the
dominant troops over the enemy's women, and thereby humiliating
and demoralizing resistance forces. Furthermore, it serves as a
"reward" to troops for fighting in the war. Ethnic factors have
exacerbated the tendency to violence, as the military regime has
deliberately deployed troops of other ethnicities in the various
ethnic states. Alienation of the troops from the local
communities, and Burmese nationalist sentiment fuelled by
propaganda, facilitates violence, including sexual violence,
against the local ethnic civilians.
The regime has continued to build up its army over the past
decade, and has increased the number of troops deployed in the
ethnic states, which has inevitably led to an increase in sexual
violence. Despite the fact that Burma is a signatory to the 1949
Geneva Conventions1, the regime has never sought to enforce these
laws amongst its army. When reading this report, the following
terminology should be kept in mind. War crimes cover grave
breaches of the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and other serious
violations of the laws of war, committed on a large scale in
international as well as internal armed conflicts. Although the
articles do not refer to rape and other crimes of sexual violence
specifically when defining grave breaches, the International
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), among others, has interpreted
rape to be an example of "torture or inhuman treatment" or
"willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or
health," which are both grave breaches.
Genocide covers those specifically listed prohibited acts (e.g.
killing, causing serious harm) committed with intent to destroy,
in whole or in part, a national, ethnic, racial or religious
group2. Although Burma is not a party to the Convention on the
Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide (the Genocide
Convention), the Convention has arguably become customary
international law obligating all States. Crimes against humanity
cover those specifically listed prohibited acts ('inhumane acts
of a very serious nature') when committed as part of a widespread
or systematic attack directed against any civilian population on
national, political, ethnic, racial or religious grounds3. Such
acts include murder, extermination, rape, sexual slavery, the
enforced disappearance of persons and the crime of apartheid4.
Genocide and war crimes against humanity are punishable
irrespective of whether they are committed in time of 'peace' or
of war.
Evidence in this report has revealed that the Burmese military
regime is using rape on a systematic and widespread scale as a
'weapon of war' against the ethnic populations in Shan State. It
has also illustrated that the increased militarization of the
region has greatly increased the vulnerability of women and girls
to rape. Examining the jurisprudence from the ICTY and ICTR on
sexual violence as an international crime, illustrates there is a
strong case that war crimes and crimes against humanity are being
committed by the Burmese army in Shan State. The rape survivors
have no recourse either to legal processes, or to any crisis
support inside Shan State. Those fleeing to Thailand are also
denied their right to protection and humanitarian assistance, and
are liable to deportation at any time.
Clearly, the main reason why the Burmese army is able to
continue to commit rape on such a systematic and widespread scale
with impunity is that most of Shan State, particularly the zones
of conflict, is closed off to the outside world. International
human rights monitors entering Burma are not allowed into these
areas, and in other areas are kept under close scrutiny by the
regime. Thus, the only way that news can reach the outside world
is across the borders. However, the regime continually seeks to
discredit any reports from the border areas, dismissing them as
coming from sources linked to "insurgents." Regrettably, some
members of the international community, without coming to the
borders to verify the stories of the refugees, are increasingly
choosing the give the regime the benefit of the doubt. Some
foreign governments are now beginning to soften their stance on
the regime, and to encourage aid and investment, ignoring the
ongoing civil war, and the continuing widespread atrocities being
committed against civilians in the ethnic areas.
International pressure must be maintained on the regime to force
it to begin meaningful dialogue not only with the democratic
opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi but also with the ethnic
opposition. Unless a nationwide ceasefire is called, and
political dialogue addressing the country's ethnic issues
started, the civil war will continue, and the nightmare of
violence in Burma's ethnic areas will continue unabated. There is
no doubt that the context of the war is the direct cause of the
levels of sexual violence occurring today. It is urgently needed
to end the war, demilitarize the ethnic areas, and restore
democracy and the rule of law, so that women and children can
begin to be protected from sexual violence. Given the gender
inequalities prevalent in Shan State, we are under no illusion
that sexual violence will end completely once the war has ended,
but for women to advocate for their rights an essential
prerequisite is democratic governance and the rule of law. Only
upon this basis will it be possible to work towards the complete
end of discrimination against women in our society.
We therefore make the following
recommendations:
To the State Peace and Development
Council:
1. To immediately implement a nationwide ceasefire in order, to
stop increased militarization and anti-insurgency campaigns in
the ethnic states;
2. To allow the participation of representatives of non-Burman
ethnic nationalities in the contacts with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,
which would facilitate broad-based and inclusive national
reconciliation and the restoration of democracy;
3. To respect fully their obligations under international
humanitarian law, including article 3 common to the Geneva
Conventions of 12 August 1949, to halt the use of weapons against
the civilian population, to protect all civilians, including
children, women and persons belonging to ethnic or religious
minorities, from violations of humanitarian law;
4. To respect fully their obligations under the ILO 1930
Convention concerning forced or compulsory labour (No. 29);
5. To end the continuing violations of the human rights of women,
in particular forced labour, forced relocations, abuse, torture,
sexual violence, exploitation and abuse in detention and summary
executions, often committed by military personnel and especially
directed towards women who are returning refugees, internally
displaced, or belong to ethnic minorities or the political
opposition;
6. To put an end to the causes of the systematic forced
displacements of persons and the flow of refugees to neighbouring
countries and create adequate conditions for their safe and
voluntary return and complete reintegration, to allow
humanitarian personnel safe and unhindered access to assist their
return and reintegration, and to address the problems of
trafficking of women and children, especially in the border
area;
7. To fulfil its obligations under the Convention on the Rights
of the Child and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms
of Discrimination against Women by bringing national legislation
and practice into conformity with these conventions, and to
consider signing and ratifying the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination
against Women, as well as the Optional Protocols to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child;
8. To implement fully the recommendations made by the Committee
on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, in particular
the request to prosecute and punish those who violate the human
rights of women.
To the Royal Government of Thailand:
1. To give protection to Shan civilians along the Thai-Shan
border by allowing them to cross the border and to access refugee
camps and UNHCR.
2. To allow Shan asylum seekers access to humanitarian aid
agencies based in Thailand.
3. To exercise particular caution in relation to the deportation
of Shan migrant workers as many are genuine refugees.
4. To not repatriate Shan women into the hands of the Burmese
army.
5. The governments of Thailand and Burma should allow the
international community and UNHCR to participate in any
discussions, negotiations and/or repatriation programs involving
Burmese migrants. Such discussions must address the root causes
for the outflow of migrant workers.
To the international community:
1. To not allow political developments in Burma to act as a
'smokescreen' on the continuing human rights violations occurring
predominantly in the non-Burman ethnic nationality areas;
2. To pressure the SPDC to fulfil the recommendations above,
which are based on the Commission on Human Rights resolution
2002/67 on the 'Situation of human rights in [Burma],' and to
withhold all forms of aid to the regime until irreversible
changes are made towards democratic reform in Burma.
3. To pressure UN agencies and international NGOs working in the
ethnic states of Burma to publicly bear witness to the atrocities
being committed by the SPDC against civilians in these areas,
since their silence makes them complicit in these abuses.