The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) has submitted a proposal urging the government to sign the International Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant, chairperson Win Mya has said.
The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) has submitted a proposal urging the government to sign the International Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant, chairperson Win Mya has said.
The Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant and the Civil and Political Rights Covenant are two key parts of the UN’s Universal Human Rights Declaration that were adopted in 1966 and ratified as international law in 1976. The former government of Myanmar (then Burma) was among the countries that supported the rights declaration when it was originally backed by the UN General Assembly in 1948, however, the country has yet to sign the two international covenants.
Win Mya said: “Our task is to convince and support the government to join in international human rights agreements. That’s the reason we’re advising the authorities to sign the more important one – the Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Covenant. This may open the door for global economic privileges.”
Every international convention needs practical measures after being signed, he noted. The commission has already advised the government to sign Civil and Political Rights Covenant, too.
“I bet the government is willing to participate in international conventions on its way to [becoming a] democracy,” the chairperson said confidently.
The MNHRC was established by President Thein Sein on September 5, 2011 and is currently run by 15 members. According to a new law for human rights proposed on March 28, a new – and improved – commission will come into being in near future.
