PINHEIRO SEEKING SPDC APPROVAL FOR HR ASSESSMENT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 000370

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STATE FOR EAP/BCLTV AND DRL
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E.O. 12958: DECL: 05/04/2012
TAGS: PREL PHUM BM
SUBJECT: PINHEIRO SEEKING SPDC APPROVAL FOR HR ASSESSMENT
TEAM

Classified By: COM CARMEN M. MARTINEZ FOR REASON 1.5(D).


1. (SBU) Summary: On March 20, UN Special Rapporteur
Pinheiro briefed the U.S., EU, Japanese, and Australian
Ambassadors on his current visit to Burma. Pinheiro said the
6-day visit is to update information prior to his March 31
presentation to the UN Human Rights Committee and to request
government approval for a human rights assessment team to
visit Burma. Pinheiro stated that his impression was that
since his last visit in November, there has been no real
progress on basic freedoms in Burma and, in fact, there had
been some negative developments. He told COM privately after
the meeting that he was increasingly frustrated with the lack
of progress on human rights and that he does not have any
indication that the regime is sincere about reforms. End
Summary.

Overall Assessment - Poor


2. (C) UN Special Rapporteur briefed the U.S., EU, Japanese,
and Australian Ambassadors on March 20 on his current visit
to Burma, asking for their impressions of recent developments
on human rights in the country. Pinheiro said his impression
is that there has been no progress on basic freedoms since
his last visit in November 2002 and, in fact, he believes
there have been some negative developments. He cited as
examples the increase in harassment of the NLD and Aung San
Suu Kyi, the lack of cooperation with the ILO on forced
labor, and the failure to release any political prisoners
until just days before his visit. Pinheiro said it is
becoming increasingly apparent to him that the SPDC does not
want dialogue with the NLD at this time. Meanwhile, he said,
the SPDC's recent diplomatic achievements, such as the recent
visit of the Thai Princess and the Bangladeshi Prime
Minister, help mitigate international pressure for reform.


3. (C) Pinheiro said he was seeking current information on
conditions in Burma for his presentation to the UN Human
Rights Committee on March 31. In addition to obtaining the
views of the gathered Ambassadors, he said he would be
meeting with SPDC Secretary One Khin Nyunt, the Home
Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs officials, Aung San Suu
Kyi, ethnic leaders, and "all the usual suspects." He also
planned to visit Insein prison, a labor camp, and the tomb of
U Thant (the only Burmese UN Secretary General). Pinheiro
said the short length of this visit did not allow any field
visits. He would be staying in Rangoon, but on his next
visit he hoped to travel to Rakhine State.

Proposed Human Rights Assessment Team


4. (C) Pinheiro said he would also seek SPDC approval of his
proposal for a human rights assessment team to visit Burma,
hopefully later this year. Following up on the need for an
independent assessment of the Shan rape allegations, Pinheiro
said he has been back and forth a great deal with the Burmese
on a mutually acceptable assessment. He is now proposing a
five-person team to conduct a 3-5 week assessment looking at
human rights issues including rape, child soldiers, and the
treatment of civilians in areas of conflict. He does not
know how the regime will react to this latest proposal but
said he does not plan to continue making proposals and
counter-proposals. If the regime refuses to accept this
proposal or if they delay, he said, he would go ahead with an
assessment and published report based on information he has
gathered along the Thai border. He assumes that this would
upset the GOB, but asserted that they would have only
themselves to blame for not being responsive to his proposals
to assess conditions from inside Burma.


5. (C) Pinheiro told the Ambassadors that if his proposal
for an assessment team is accepted, he hoped the
international community would provide funding for it. COM
Martinez and others assured Pinheiro that funding for the
assessment would not be a problem. The Australian Ambassador
said he had been encouraging SPDC officials to agree to the
assessment and told them that his government would provide
funding.

Ambassadors' Feedback


6. (C) COM Martinez urged Pinheiro to press the regime to be
more transparent in actions it takes on human rights. As an
example, she cited the March 16 release of 45 prisoners, some
of them political prisoners, which local diplomats learned
about only from rumors and press reports from foreign
sources. Similarly, the SPDC announced the release of 115
prisoners last November but never provided a list of names of
those released. She said that, as a result, there has never
been a full accounting of who was actually released in spite
of efforts by several Embassies and the local press to sort
it out. Pinheiro said he shared the COM's frustration,
agreeing that the regime does not provide information in an
open or transparent manner even when it appears to be in its
best interests to do so. For example, the SPDC told him that
the 45 prisoners released on March 16 included 15 elderly
people, 15 women, and 15 political prisoners, but did not
provide him with a list of names. Now, he has learned that
there may have only been a handful of political prisoners in
the group. (Note: The NLD says only three of its members
were released. We have no information on other political
prisoners among those released. End Note.) He added that
whether it was a handful or fifteen, the regime's failure to
release any political prisoners since his last visit was
inexcusable and he intends to push hard for the unconditional
release of all political prisoners.


7. (C) The COM also urged Pinheiro to emphasize to the SPDC
the need to show their commitment to improving the human
rights situation by committing fiscal resources to the
process. Setting up committees and organizations to mount
public information campaigns was pointless if there were no
fiscal resources to carry out investigations or assist
victims, and the SPDC needs to know that the international
community is not fooled by these tactics.


8. (C) The British Ambassador thanked Pinheiro for his
December report, noting that with the way small segments of
his report were misrepresented by regime-backed press he may
want to be more careful of his wording in this report.
Pinheiro said he believed his December report was accurate
and that the executive summary, in particular, was a
"devastating" criticism of the regime's failures. He said he
could not be responsible for how various periodicals "spun"
his statements. The British Ambassador added that if he
comments again on the need for greater humanitarian
assistance by the West, he should balance this with some
information on the constraints and harassment that NGOs face
in Burma, SPDC efforts to block assistance, and the need for
humanitarian assistance to focus on progress on human rights.
Pinheiro said he agreed on all points and, specifically, he
planned to include more on the constraints on NGOs in this
report.


9. (C) The Japanese Ambassador stated that there is no
question as to whether the SPDC is right or wrong; they are
clearly wrong. The key question now is how to persuade them
to make improvements. He argued against continued sanctions
and tough rhetoric and encouraged engagement as a means to
effective positive change. The Australian Ambassador noted
that engagement has been the policy of his country for more
than one year and, so far at least, it has been a one-way
street. He cautioned that it has to be a two-way street for
any progress to occur; the regime has to be willing to
change.


10. (C) The French argued for continued sanctions and
claimed that the regime does respond to this kind of
pressure. The German Ambassador drew the conversation back
to practical measures for improving human rights in Burma,
recommending that Pinheiro work with his UN colleagues to
make human rights reporting part of every UN officer's
responsibilities. The Australian Ambassador recommended that
Pinheiro's report should be a little harsher than the last on
forced labor and child soldiers, both of which he believes to
be widespread problems, and more balanced in its discussion
of religious freedom. The Ambassador said that while
religious activities are restricted, most religious leaders
have found ways around the restrictions and are quite active.
Pinheiro thanked the Ambassadors for their views and
promised an outbrief on the results of his visit on March 26.
Privately - "Very Frustrated"


11. (C) In a private meeting following the briefing,
Pinheiro confided in COM Martinez that he is very frustrated
with the regime's lack of progress on human rights. Pinheiro
said he has tried to provide openings for the regime to
demonstrate some improvements on human rights but they
continue to deny basic freedoms across the board. He is
questioning whether there is really an interest in the higher
echelons of the regime for any improvement in human rights.
He is not particularly hopeful that the SPDC will accept his
proposal for a human rights assessment team. If they do not,
and he publishes a report based on information gathered along
the Thai border, he anticipates that his relations with the
regime will deteriorate. He would prefer to maintain an open
dialogue, he said, but without any positive action by the
regime he must report what he finds.
Martinez