Help support efforts to bring peace and justice to Burma.

The people of Burma — particularly those in ethnic areas — have faced widespread and systematic violations of their rights for too long. Burma’s military-led government lacks the willingness and ability to investigate these crimes, and moreover, is the leading perpetrator of widespread and systematic human rights violations. For this reason, we believe it is incumbent on the UN to establish a Commission of Inquiry (CoI) to investigate human rights violations in Burma. A CoI will facilitate truth-seeking, empower victims, prevent future human rights violations, support peace efforts and national reconciliation, and help bring an end to impunity for violators of human rights in Burma.

16 national governments already back a Burma CoI, but in order for it to become a reality, more support is needed. The best chance for a CoI is to have specific wording calling for it included in the next UN General Assembly Resolution on Burma, which will be drafted by EU countries in September 2011. At this time, the most effective thing you as a concerned individual can do to help make a CoI a reality is to lobby your government’s foreign ministry to publicly express support for a CoI and to call on the UN to take concrete steps to establish the commission.

Burma Partnership and The Best Friend are currently holding a letter writing and petition campaign. These organizations are collecting letters and petitions, and will deliver the documents to the appropriate stakeholders in mid-September.

To sign a petition, visit The Best Friend Library at 302/2 Nimmanhaemin Road, Soi 13, in Chiang Mai. If you’d prefer to write your own letter, sample letters can be found at www.burmapartnership.org/coi-toolkit/ or downloaded here. Completed letters can be e-mailed to info@burmapartnership.org, or sent directly to your government’s foreign ministry.
The deadline is 15 September 2011.

Sign the online petition >>
Download sample letter >>