Mizzima awarded global JTI certificate for reliable news on Myanmar

-
Image
Mizzima Mizzima, one of Myanmar ’s most prominent news outlets and a press freedom advocate, obtained the Journalism Trust Initiative ( JTI ) certification from global audit firm Bureau Veritas , JTI says in a press statement 5 January.  Operating in clandestine mode within Myanmar and supported by an exiled team, Mizzima strives to fulfil its role as reliable source of news and information for the Myanmar public. “Your Journalism Trust Initiative certification affirms what audiences already know: that principled, transparent journalism matters. Congratulations on this achievement and on your continued contribution to informing citizens about Myanmar,” says Benjamin Sabbah , director of Journalism Trust Initiative “Myanmar’s ongoing conflict has created an intensely contested media landscape, where mis- and disinformation are increasingly deployed to reinforce state propaganda and the prevailing “official” narrative. Although Mizzima is already regarded as one of the most trusted ...
Post a Comment

Forced labour complaints on the rise in Burma, says ILO

-
Thursday, 09 June 2011 12:53 Thea Forbes

Chiang Mai (Mizzima)  – The International Labour Organization (ILO) office in Burma has seen a dramatic rise in complaints about forced labour owing to increased public awareness about the problem, Agence France-Presse has reported.

The opening ceremony of the 100th annual conference of
the International Labour Organization in Geneva. The
UN-backed agency works for workers' rights around the
world. Photo: AFP / Sebastien Feval
The ILO has received 506 complaints of forced labour since the start of 2010, AFP reported.

‘The number of complaints received continues to increase reflecting increased awareness of the law and rights under the law as well as increased confidence to complain’, Steve Marshall, the ILO liaison officer in Rangoon told Mizzima in March.

The ILO has received 749 complaints since its forced labour complaint mechanism and office was established in the country in February 2007, according to AFP.

The ILO, a UN agency, has been running awareness-raising campaigns since 2007 across the country and distributes Burmese language brochures to disseminate information. It is currently trying to reach an agreement in order to release the brochure in different ethnic languages to promote further awareness.

Earlier, Marshall told Mizzima that there are still many people in Burma who are unaware of their rights under international and domestic law, and ‘…the number of complaints cannot be used to reflect the size of the problem…many people are still either unaware of their rights or are not in a position to attempt to exercise them’.

'There is still a long way to go', Marshall told AFP.

He said that the ILO had “serious difficulty” assessing allegations against non-state armed groups, but they were negotiating with the government to get access at least to cease-fire groups.

He also pointed out that although each army recruitment complaint (often for underage child soldiers) related to just one person, there are also some complaints that are registered which are cumulative complaints from many people in one single case, according to AFP.

Marshall told AFP that since 2007 there have been 174 successful cases of people who have been recruited underage by the military and subsequently released to their families. In response, 20 officers and 110 other ranks have been disciplined, according to defence officials.

Forced labour, especially by the Burmese military, has become endemic in many areas of Burma. For much of the ethnic population it has become the norm. Although the government has shown signs of cooperation by allowing the ILO to continue its work in Burma for another year as of February 2011, there are still at least five people detained in prison associated with the lodging of complaints.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

World's longest internet shutdown ends in parts of Myanmar

-
Image
Rakhine people travel by motorcycle in Sittwe, Rakhine State, Western Myanmar, 02 February 2021. Photo: Nyunt Win/EPA By AFP The world's longest internet shutdown -- affecting more than a million people for 19 months in one of Myanmar's ethnic conflict zones -- has come to an end, according to a mobile operator based in the region. The internet in parts of Myanmar's troubled northern states of Rakhine and Chin was suspended in June 2019 following "emergency" orders issued by the telecoms department under Aung San Suu Kyi's civilian government. Following Monday's military coup, mobile operator Telenor Group confirmed it had reinstated full services in eight townships in Rakhine and Chin states on Wednesday. "Telenor Group and Telenor Myanmar have been advocating for the restoration of services and emphasised that freedom of expression through access to telecoms services should be maintained for humanitarian purposes," the company said in a stateme...
Read more

First ministerial meeting held

-
Image
Mizzima Myanmar held the first meeting among newly appointed ministers after a recent major cabinet reshuffle by the military in capital city of Nay Pyi Taw on Tuesday morning, according to a release from the Military True News Information Team Xinhua reported. The Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, acting President U Myint Swe and nine newly appointed union ministers were present at the meeting held at the Presidential Palace, the release said. Min Aung Hlaing unveiled plans to include reopening religious buildings and pagodas, resuming domestic travel and hotel businesses as well as industries in line with COVID-19 rules and regulations, and revitalizing the country's economy.
Read more

Indonesia detains British woman on terror suspect list

-
Image
File photo of Indonesian police personnel standing guard. (Photo: AFP) AFP Indonesia has detained a British woman named on a list of global terror suspects and plans to deport her for visa violations, authorities told AFP Tuesday. Tazneen Miriam Sailar -- a Manchester-born convert to Islam married to an Indonesian jihadist who was killed in Syria -- is not charged with terror offences. But she and her late husband are on an Indonesian police list of suspected extremists that includes several foreigners notorious in the West. Sailar, 47, and her 10-year-old Indonesia-born son, were being held in Jakarta after being picked up last year without documents allowing her to remain in the Southeast Asian nation, her lawyer Farid Ghozali said. "She was put (in detention) while awaiting her return, which will be facilitated by the British embassy," Indonesian immigration directorate spokesman Ahmad Nursaleh told AFP. The embassy declined to comment, and it was unclear when...
Read more