Murder of Ms. Chit Pandaing

Murder

Burma

December 15, 2016

The Observatory for the Protection of Human RightsDefenders, a partnership of FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture(OMCT), requests your urgent intervention in the following situation in Burma.

Brief description of the situation:

The Observatory has been informed by reliablesources about the murder of Ms. ChitPandaing, better known as “Eh PawTel”, a 22-year-old Karen women rights defender working with the MineAdvisory Group (MAG) and a strong advocate against land confiscation and thenegative impacts of mining in Dawei and other Townships in Tenasserim Region,Burma.

According to theinformation received, on November 19, 2016, Ms. Chit Pandaing was stabbed todeath by an unidentified individual in Dawei Town as she was preparing to takepart in a fundraising singing competition at Shwewethiri sports ground.

On November 20, 2016,police in Dawei Town opened an investigation into Ms. Chit Pandaing’s murder.At the time of publication of this appeal, Ms. Chit Pandaing’s murdererremained at large.

The Observatory strongly condemns the murder of Ms.Chit Pandaing and urges the authorities to adopt effective measures to ensurethe protection of human rights defenders, including land and environmentalrights defenders, in Burma, and to conduct an immediate, thorough, impartial,and transparent investigation into the above-mentioned events.

Actions requested:

Please write to the authorities of Burma askingthem to:

i. Carry out an immediate, thorough, impartial, andtransparent investigation into the murder of Ms. Chit Pandaing in order toidentify all those responsible, bring them before an independent tribunal, andsanction them as provided by the law;

ii. Guarantee in all circumstances physical andpsychological integrity of all human rights defenders in Burma;

iii. Comply with all the provisions of the UNDeclaration on Human Rights Defenders, adopted by the United Nations GeneralAssembly on December 9, 1998, in particular with its Articles 1 and 12.2;

iv. Guarantee the respect of human rights andfundamental freedoms in accordance with the Universal Declaration on HumanRights.

Addresses:

• U Htin Kyaw, President; Fax: +95 1 652 624

• Lt Gen Kyaw Swe, Minister for Home Affairs;Fax: +95 67 412 439; Email: mohamyanmar@gmail.com

• Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, Minister of ForeignAffairs, Fax: +9567 412396

• U Win Mra, Chairman of the Myanmar NationalHuman Rights Commission; Email: chmyanmarnhrc@gmail.com

• U Tun Tun Oo, Union Attorney General;Email: ago.h.o@mptmail.net.mm

• Maj Gen Zaw Win, Director General, MyanmarPolice Force, Ministry of Home Affairs, Fax: +95 67 412006; Email: mpfserver@gmail.com

• HE Mr. Htin Lynn, Ambassador Extraordinaryand Plenipotentiary, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva,Switzerland. Fax: +41 22 732 89 19, +41 22 732 73 77, Email: mission@myanmargeneva.org

• Embassy of Myanmar in Brussels, Belgium,Fax: +32 2 705 50 48, Email: mebrussels@skynet.be

Please also write to the diplomatic representationsof Burma in your respective countries.

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Paris-Geneva, December 15, 2016

Kindly inform us of any action undertaken quotingthe code of this appeal in your reply.

The Observatory for the Protection ofHuman Rights Defenders (the Observatory) was created in 1997 by FIDH andOMCT. The objective of this programme is to prevent or remedy situationsof repression against human rights defenders. FIDH and OMCT areboth members of ProtectDefenders.eu, the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implementedby international civil society.