Karen Women Organisation Advocacy, Creating Peace, Organizing and Information Gathering, Resource Centers, Violence Against Women and Safe Houses

Uncertain Future!

From Karen Women’s Organization and Karen News

The IDPs return home with dignity and safety? “We do not dare to go back because of the landmines that are planted in the fields where we make our living. If we go back, we could lose our limbs at any moment.” Currently, the Burma Army’s operations in Mutraw District violates the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement and has recently displaced more than 2,000 villagers from their homes. These displaced villagers, feel unsafe, have received threats, concerns and repression to return to their abandoned villages. They feel there is no guarantee for their safety and security and many political problems are unresolved. The displaced Karen people in Ei Tu Hta IDP camp are now facing a massive humanitarian crisis.

Please watch this video produced by KWO and Karen News about the current crisis

Uncertain Future!

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Karen Women Organisation Advocacy, Organizing and Information Gathering

Karen Civil Society Organizations have lost trust in the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) negotiations as a Gateway to Political Dialogue

Karen Civil Society Organizations have lost trust in the NCA Negotiations as a Gateway to Political Dialogue English Version

Karen Civil Society Organizations have lost trust in the NCA Negotiations as a Gateway to Political Dialogue Burmese Version

Karen Women Organisation Education, Organizing and Information Gathering, Women's Empowerment Training

KWO Begins Work on New Training Center in Karen State – By Women For Women

KWO is celebrating meeting our fundraising goal of $4600(USD) to build a new women’s training center in Karen State.  This is our first successful crowd funding effort.

Work on the new center has already begun. KWO staff and leaders made 1400 clay bricks which are now drying and awaiting the next phase of building.

This campaign is an exciting collaboration between 3 community organisations based in Thailand and working in SE Asia, Karen Women’s Organisation, Pun Pun Centre for Sustainable Development and the International Women’s Partnership for Peace and Justice  The aim is to build a training centre for Karen women from Burma. But the aim goes way beyond that since Karen women will be building their very own adobe building for their own training centre and at the same time learning the skills to go on to build with adobe in their own communities.

THANKS to everyone who contributed!

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Karen Women Organisation Advocacy, Organizing and Information Gathering, Uncategorized

KWO Secretary Naw K’nyaw Paw Speaks at UN Security Council Side Event about Sexual Violence

 

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 Statement by Naw K’nyaw Paw

at the Side Event to the

Open Debate of the United Nations Security Council

on

Conflict-Related Sexual Violence

 New York, April 24, 2014

 Ms Naw K’nyaw Paw Nimrod, Secretary of the Karen Women’s Organization and Member of the Executive Committee of the Women’s League for Burma

Your Excellency Madame Zainab Bangura, UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict,Your Excellency Ambassador David Donoghue, Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations, Excellencies, Ladies and Gentlemen,

First, I would like to thank Ambassador Donoghue and the wonderful staff of the Permanent Mission of Ireland who made possible that I can be in New York today. I also want to thank the Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Conflict Zainab Bangura and her staff for their outstanding work on fighting sexual violence in conflict. Finally, I want to thank all the Continue reading “KWO Secretary Naw K’nyaw Paw Speaks at UN Security Council Side Event about Sexual Violence” →

Karen Women Organisation Advocacy, Organizing and Information Gathering

Harvard Legal Clinic Calls for Military Reforms to End Unlawful Attacks on Civilians

Policy Memorandum: Preventing Indiscriminate Attacks and Wilful Killings of Civilians by the Myanmar Military, launched Monday by the Harvard Law School International Human Rights Clinic at a press conference in Yangon.

The documents are online here: http://hrp.law.harvard.edu/arms-and-armed-conflict/clinic-calls-on-myanmar-military-to-reform-policies-to-prevent-unlawful-attacks-on-civilians/  

2014.03.24 - IHRC Policy Memo Press Release (FINAL)-page-001

 

2014.03.24 - IHRC Policy Memo Press Release (FINAL)-page-002

Karen Women Organisation Advocacy, Organizing and Information Gathering, Violence Against Women and Safe Houses

Karen Women’s Organisation condemns Burmese Army Attacks on Kachin Villagers

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This past Tuesday, 22 October, the Burmese Army brutally attacked 2 villages in Southern Kachin State.  This is in direct violation of the agreement signed by the Government and the Kachin National Organisation just 12 days previously.  The attack was launched by 7 Burmese army battalions.  These attacks affected several camps where approximately 2400 Internally Displaced People (IDP’S) have been living and are now threatened yet again.

“Local witnesses stated that 60mm heavy artillery shells landed near the school in the IDP camp. Burmese soldiers looted IDPs’ belongings and arrested eight villagers from Kong Ja Village and two from Mung Ding Pa village, including a child aged about 12. These inhumane actions forced many of the refugees to flee for their lives. Some elderly and infirm people and children and have taken refuge in the Mung Ding Pa village church.” (Kachin National Organisation, press release 23 October 2013)

The Karen Women’s Organisation strongly condemns this attack on innocent people and the looting of supplies and belongings of those who have the least in our community. There have been reports of rape and other human rights violations.  Women have always suffered as victims of war and this terrible attack is yet another instance of the abuse the women of Burma have suffered at the hands of the military.

The International community should intervene to stop this and other human rights violations by the Burmese army and its government. We question the Burmese commitment to true peace when these actions are allowed to occur. We, like all ethnic peoples of Burma, stand with the Kachin people against these violations of all our rights.