Statement on the end of the unofficial moratorium on executions in Myanmar

Statement

By the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, on 11 August 2022

The World Coalition Against the Death Penalty, and ACAT-France, ACAT-Germany (and their partner organization Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany), Amnesty International, Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), Avocats Sans Frontières France, Centre for Civil and Political Rights, Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE International), Coalition Marocaine Contre la Peine de Mort, CrimeInfo, Culture pour la Paix et la Justice (CPJ), Death Penalty Focus, German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP), Greater Caribbean for Life, Hands Off Cain, Japan Innocence & Death Penalty Information Center, Legal Awareness Watch Pakistan, Lifespark – movement against the death penalty, Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH), Norden Directions, Observatoire Marocain des Prisons (OMP), Society for Human Rights and Development Organisation (SHRDO), Southern Methodist University (SMU) Human Rights program, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, Texans Against State Killing (TASK), The Advocates for Human Rights, The Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA-IROL), The Kenya Human Rights Commission, The Rights Practice, The Sunny Center Foundation USA Inc., Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM) and Witness to Innocence, strongly condemn the end of the unofficial moratorium on executions in Myanmar, with the first executions since 1988, which goes against the international trends towards abolition of the death penalty.

The World Coalition and the 32 co-signatories further condemn the arbitrary use of the death penalty and the violation of an incredible number of international human rights standards:

• The four people executed, Phyo Zeya Thaw, Kyaw Min Yu, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zawwere, were opponents of the military regime, and included a human rights defender and a pro-democracy politician
• The four men were convicted as civilians by a military court 
• The trials were highly secretive and deeply unfair, with no right to an adequate legal assistance at all stages of the proceedings
• They did not have the right to appeal to a court of higher jurisdiction
• They did not have the right to seek pardon, or commutation of sentence
• Their families were not notified and learned about the executions through the junta’s media reports and their bodies have not been released to the families
• Their right to life and their right to be free from torture or cruel, degrading and inhuman treatment or punishment were denied

The World Coalition and the 32 co-signatories organizations call on the Member States of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) of which Myanmar is a member, and on the United Nations Member States, to take measures to prevent further executions, including by opening an investigation into human rights violations and imposing sanctions on high profile military generals connected with human rights abuses in Myanmar.

The World Coalition and the 32 co-signatories express its solidarity with Human Rights Defenders and the abolitionist community in Myanmar, as well as to the families and relatives of those who were executed, to the murder victims’ families and to the more than 100 people still facing the death penalty.

This statement is co-signed by the following organizations:

1. ACAT-France
2. ACAT-Germany (and their partner organization Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany)
3. Amnesty International
4. Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN)
5. Avocats Sans Frontières France
6. Centre for Civil and Political Rights
7. Citizens United for Rehabilitation of Errants (CURE International)
8. Coalition Marocaine Contre la Peine de Mort
9. CrimeInfo
10. Culture pour la Paix et la Justice (CPJ)
11. Death Penalty Focus
12. German Coalition to Abolish the Death Penalty (GCADP)
13. reater Caribbean for Life
14. Hands Off Cain
15. Japan Innocence & Death Penalty Information Center
16. Legal Awareness Watch Pakistan
17. Lifespark – movement against the death penalty
18. Ligue des droits de l’Homme (LDH)
19. Norden Directions
20. Observatoire Marocain des Prisons (OMP)
21. Society for Human Rights and Development Organisation (SHRDO)
22. Southern Methodist University (SMU) Human Rights program
23. Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty
24. Texans Against State Killing (TASK)
25. The Advocates for Human Rights
26. The Institute for the Rule of Law of the International Association of Lawyers (UIA-IROL)
27. The Kenya Human Rights Commission
28. The Rights Practice
29. The Sunny Center Foundation USA Inc.
30. Together Against the Death Penalty (ECPM)
31. Witness to Innocence

For more information, read the statements made by a variety of World Coalition’s member organizations:

Amnesty International:

https://www.amnesty.org/en/latest/news/2022/07/myanmar-first-executions-in-decades-mark-atrocious-escalation-in-state-repression/

Anti-Death Penalty Asia Network (ADPAN), Capital Punishment Justice Project, (CPJP), Eleos Justice, Monash University, LBH Masyarakat, Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture (MADPET), Odhikhar, Taiwan Alliance to End the Death Penalty, ECPM (Together Against the Death Penalty) and Transformative Justice Collective:

https://cpjp.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/Myanmar-media-release-clean.docx.pdf

FIDH and ALTSEAN-Burma:

https://www.fidh.org/en/region/asia/myanmar/myanmar-junta-reaches-a-new-low-with-shocking-executions 

Human Rights Watch:

https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/07/25/myanmar-junta-executes-four 

International Commission of Jurists:

https://www.icj.org/myanmar-execution-of-pro-democracy-activists-following-a-closed-door-trial-by-military-tribunal-violates-the-right-to-life-and-is-the-ultimate-cruel-inhuman-and-degrading-punishment/

Parliamentarians for Global Action (PGA):

https://www.pgaction.org/news/myanmar-executions-2022-07.html