YouSaid · the spoken record

Naw Hser Hser

lines on the record
9
first
2023-07-14
most recent
2023-07-14
sittings or episodes
1
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un-security-council

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  1. “I urge the Council today to demand an end to all forms of violence against women human rights defenders and civil-society leaders and to take meaningful action to demonstrate that the protection of women’s human rights is fundamental to peace, not only in Myanmar but in all conflicts and crises.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  2. “Local ethnic women’s organizations are vital to providing humanitarian assistance to their communities, and they need the Council’s support to continue that essential work. This is an important moment for Myanmar. For the first time, we the people of Myanmar are united across ethnic, religious and gender lines in our common struggle to end the military dictatorship, ensure justice and call for a federal democratic Myanmar, grounded in diversity and pluralism. Now we need the Council’s support. I would like to end my statement today with one simple point. Myanmar is an example of how political violence, including sexual violence, is used to intimidate, punish and silence human rights defenders, journalists and women leaders in many conflicts, such as in the Sudan, Afghanistan, Yemen, Syria and Libya.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  3. “In addition, I urge the Council to reject any efforts by the military junta to hold sham elections, which cannot be free or fair or lay the groundwork for a democratic future. Finally, I ask the Council to build on the progress of resolution 2669 (2022) by continuing to demand an immediate end to all forms of violence in Myanmar, including sexual and gender-based violence, and by keeping Myanmar on the agenda of the Security Council through open meetings, so that civil society can participate. Currently, one in three people in Myanmar are in need of humanitarian assistance due to food insecurity and limited access to health care, including sexual and reproductive care for survivors.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  4. “I therefore urge the Security Council to refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court for war crimes, genocide and crimes against humanity. As the Special Rapporteur on Myanmar recently noted, the military needs three things to sustain itself — arms, money and international legitimacy. Women members of civil society know all too well that those are also the tools used to perpetrate violence against women in the country. The Security Council should impose an embargo on the sale and transfer of arms, ammunition and aviation fuel. I also urge the international community to enact targeted sanctions against the military and its proxies, including Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  5. “Women from ethnic or religious minorities, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and intersex women and women who are politically active have been targeted for such abuse. As a result of such attacks, many women feel they have no choice but to censor themselves or scale back their activism. International actors should support women human rights defenders, protect their fundamental rights and enable their participation, including at the international level. Accountability is essential to ending all forms of violence against women in all their diversity. The 2021 coup was a result of decades of impunity for the military junta, including for its use of sexual and gender-based violence as a tactic to target and terrorize civilian populations. At the moment, domestic options for justice, including for conflict-related sexual violence, are impossible.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  6. “The real number of cases is likely much higher, since many victims do not report sexual violence for fear of further abuse by the military. Women and LGBTQI people in detention are vulnerable to torture, including sexual violence. Thousands of women have been arrested since the coup and remain in detention, and 15 have been sentenced to death for their pro-democracy activities. Sexual violence is a deliberate and systematic tactic for targeting and punishing women, not only for speaking out against the regime but also for defying patriarchal norms. Many women defenders face both online abuse and tactics that can result in offline violence, false allegations and unlawful arrests.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  7. “That undermines our ability to support IDPs and survivors of conflict-related sexual violence. Many women defenders are in hiding, or like me have been forced to leave Myanmar in order to continue their work. The military has long used sexual violence to attack civilian populations. Rape and sexual violence were hallmarks of the military’s 2017 genocide of the Rohingya, and Rohingya women and girls, including transgender women, who fled Myanmar for Bangladesh now face higher risks of violence. Since the coup d’état, we have documented more than 100 cases of conflict- related sexual violence and gender-based violence. In one case, junta soldiers repeatedly raped a woman at gunpoint in front of her husband in Chin state. That same evening, the victim’s sister-in-law, who was seven months pregnant, was also raped by junta soldiers.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  8. “Despite those risks, women remain at the forefront of the resistance to the military and make up more than 60 percent of pro-democracy human rights defenders. Women human rights defenders from across Myanmar are on the front lines, providing essential services to internally displaced persons and survivors of conflict- related sexual violence, reporting on human rights abuses and providing shelter and safe houses for protesters. We are united in our collective call for a federal democracy in Myanmar, and we know that in order to achieve that, we must not only end military rule but also challenge patriarchal oppression, Women human rights defenders in Myanmar face enormous challenges, including threats to their safety and that of their families. For example, the military has issued arrest warrants for many of our staff.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source

  9. “Ms. Naw Hser Hser: I thank you, Mr. President, for the opportunity to brief the Council today in its open debate on conflict-related sexual violence. I am Naw Hser Hser, an advisory board member of the Women’s League of Burma, a civil-society coalition representing women from across Myanmar. It has now been more than two years since the military launched a coup overthrowing the elected Government, which has resulted in further conflict across Myanmar. More than 23,000 civilians have arrested by the junta and more than 1.8 million have been displaced, and women and girls are at greater risk of sexual and gender-based violence, largely at the hands of the military but from anti-military defence forces as well.”

    2023-07-14 · UN Security Council · Security Council, S/PV.9378 (2023) · source