Peace Islands Institute
May 20, 2014
Over the past several years, the government of Burma/Myanmar has taken steps to democratize. Yet, there are serious challenges ahead in developing the rule of law andensuring protection of human rights for all.
Long entrenched policies have disenfranchised some ethnic and religious minorities and in April 2014 the controversial national census only highlighted these disparities. For example, in Rakhine state, continuing violence has further isolated the Muslim Rohingya people, with many thousands displaced to ghettos and refugee camps.Moreover with hundreds of thousands displaced to Thailand, Bangladesh and Malaysia in recent years many have fallen into the exploitative hands of traffickers, with tragic results.
Promising reform, the government of Burma has attracted international and US investment partners. However investors and local leaders must find a way to embrace the opportunity to reform and build a more inclusive society, with equal right to citizenship, livelihood, andeducation. Leaders such as the Archbishop of Yangon have begun to speak up about the need for relationship building instead of division. Robust interfaith and intercultural dialogue is one aspect of civil society development that will strengthen this nation of 135 ethnicities.
How can local projects be supported and strengthened? And what can the United Nations, regional organization, civil society actors and other partners do to assist? Are there successful intercommunal peacebuilding models that can be applied in Burma?
In partnership with Peace Islands, Burma Task Force USA will present a panel of experts on various aspects of this urgent but complex issue. We weave together for the first time several conversations; human rights, interfaith dialogue, and civil society development -- involving academic, Burmese and international stakeholders.
Link : Here
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