Critical Response Event: Myanmar

Please join the Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies for a virtual presentation on the current situation in Myanmar by Mr. Kyaw Win, the Executive Director of Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN). Myanmar is currently in its fifth year of a "nationwide" civil war, begun in 2021 when the Tatmadaw military overthrew the country's elected government, invoked a 'state of emergency,' arrested government officials and political activists, and began ruling through a military junta. In its efforts to retain power, the military junta has committed serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law across Myanmar. These have included deliberate attacks on civilians, religious and educational sites, and health facilities, as well as arbitrary detention, torture, and forced labor. In northern Rakhine State, new investigations by Human Rights Watch and Fortify Rights document grave abuses by the Arakan Army (AA) against Rohingya civilians, including killings, beheadings, torture, forced recruitment of children, and severe restrictions on movement and livelihoods. These abuses, combined with the junta’s blockade on aid, have driven the largest movement of Rohingya to Bangladesh since 2017. Myanmar's civil war also maps onto a decades-long genocidal process against Muslim minorities across the country, who are experiencing increasing levels of persecution and vulnerability.

In this Critical Response Event, Mr. Kyaw Win (Executive Director of the Burma Human Rights Network) will provide an update on the fluid situation in Myanmar, including newly implemented laws that tighten control over civic spaces, grant authorities broad powers to monitor, censor, and criminalize online activity, and impose severe criminal penalties -- including the death penalty -- for criticism or peaceful opposition to the junta's planned elections. Mr. Win will also discuss the humanitarian situation in Bangladesh's refugee camps, which has deteriorated sharply with more than 150,000 new arrivals over the past 18 months. Q&A will be moderated by Cohen Institute Specialist, Dr. Ashley Greene.

Speaker Bio:

Kyaw Win is a human rights activist, born and raised in Rangoon, Burma (Myanmar). Mr. Win graduated with a BA (Hons) in Business Management with an Accounting pathway from the University of Westminster in London. In 2012, Kyaw Win founded the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN) in London. In his position as Executive Director of BHRN he leads several different teams inside of Myanmar who are documenting human rights violations, violation of freedom of religion, the spread of hate speech and anti-Muslim pogroms. BHRN is operating throughout Myanmar, under his leadership, BHRN has expanded across Burma and become a reliable source of information for the international community. Mr. Win is also one of the founding leaders of Muslim of Myanmar Multi-ethnic Consultative Committee (MMMCC), has been interviewed by numerous media outlets, and has authored several articles featured in publications such as The Asia Times, EU Observer, and more.

Additional Information and Registration:

This event is hosted by the Cohen Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies at Keene State College as part of our ongoing series of Critical Response Events. These events are meant to spotlight ongoing or emerging crises across the globe. Speakers in this series represent a wide range of scholarly research and views; our guests' perspectives should not be taken as representative of the Cohen Institute or Keene State College as a whole.

The webinar is free and open to everyone, but advanced registeration is required. Please register here.

This event is part of the Cohen Center calendar.