Religious freedom for Myanmar’s 500,000 ethnic Chins is being denied, says a new report by the Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO).
“Chins continue to face religious persecution,” Salai Za Uk Ling, programme director for CHRO, told IRIN. “Despite strong government reforms, these efforts have yet to be extended to religious freedom.”
According to the 5 September report entitled Threats to our Existence: Persecution of Ethnic Chin Christians in Burma, the mainly Christian Chins are under pressure to convert to Buddhism as a result of state policy. The mountainous Chin State, in western Myanmar, is also one of the country’s least developed regions.
“The government needs to recognize that a multi-ethnic Burma needs to be a multi-religious Burma,” said Phil Robertson, Asia deputy director for Human Rights Watch. “This is a challenge the government has to face.” The 2012 US State Department’s International Commission on Religious Freedom categorizes Myanmar as a country of “particular concern”.
ds/cb
This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions
It was The New Humanitarian’s investigation with the Thomson Reuters Foundation that uncovered sexual abuse by aid workers during the Ebola response in the Democratic Republic of Congo and led the World Health Organization to launch an independent review and reform its practices.
This demonstrates the important impact that our journalism can have.
But this won’t be the last case of aid worker sex abuse. This also won’t be the last time the aid sector has to ask itself difficult questions about why justice for victims of sexual abuse and exploitation has been sorely lacking.
We’re already working on our next investigation, but reporting like this takes months, sometimes years, and can’t be done alone.
The support of our readers and donors helps keep our journalism free and accessible for all. Donations mean we can keep holding power in the aid sector accountable, and shine a light on similar abuses.
