The Burmese government continues to commit human rights abuses including torture and inhumane treatment with impunity, according to a new report by ND-Burma.Its member organizations documented 371 cases of human rights violation across the country of which 83 cases, or 22 %, constituted torture and ill treatment.
Torture and ill treatment in Burma take place in two distinct places: in detention centers where political prisoners are interrogated and held, and in ethnic nationality areas where the Burmese military is present.
The study found that torture of political prisoners generally takes place shortly after an individual is arrested during interrogations. In ethnic nationality areas, it said torture seldom takes place in formal detention centers but is meted out in military bases or remote rural villages. Shan State and Kachin states are particularly hard hit. They face human rights violations, including arbitrary arrest, forced labor, forced portering, confiscation of property, restriction of movement, and sexual violence.
The report also raises concerns regarding the new National Human Rights Commission, including its lack of full independence, its inability to investigate crimes committed by the military, and its failure to comply fully with best practices for national human rights commissions as described in the Paris Principles.
Torture and ill treatment have a ripple effect, said ND-Burma, with potentially long lasting negative consequences for individuals, families and society as a whole.