Shan Girl At Geneva Human Rights Session

Shan Girl At Geneva Human Rights Session

A Shan girl made her international debut at the 55th Session of the UN Human Rights Conference last April and was received favorably there according to SHAN source.

Charm Tong, 17, from the Shan State of Burma, a member of the newly formed Shan Women’s Action Network (SWAN) and also of Alternative Asean Network on Burma, attend the 55th session of the United Nations Human Rights Commission (UNHCR) which was held last April in Geneva and made oral interventions on Violence Against Women, Child Rights and the Trafficking of Children.

On the question of Women in Burma, she talked about government-sanctioned policy of sexual violence against non-Burman women. “I strongly believe this (that the soldiers appear to have the permission to commit rapes) because there has been no persecution of the rapist soldiers”, she said.

"Actually there are many cases where the people were beaten and fined for defaming the military when they tried to complain about the rape".

Concerning Child Rights, she said: "(C)hildren in Burma could NOT experience these rights. This is very strange because I heard the Burmese government already ratified this Convention". She added: "(W)e all have to shut up and do what the military regime says".

She reported about thousands of children being forcibly relocated along with their parents, "no future, no school, no hospital, no food", about being forced to become child soldiers and child trafficking especially of young girls. "(T)he girls are the same age as me and some are even younger".

"Maybe my government won't listen to me, so I ask all the countries to help me and give the same message to my government".

Kham Harnfah, secretary of the Shan Human Rights Foundation, who also participated in the session, said: "All of us including her mentor, Debbie Stothard, were proud of her".

Shans had joined Burma in 1947 under the treaty called Panglong Agreement which guaranteed Full Autonomy, Human Rights and Democracy for them. They have been fighting against successive Rangoon governments since the terms of agreement were violated. Their main party is the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy that won the General Elections in the Shan State in 1990 and their central armed movement is the Shan States Army.