The Australian government has been accused of wanting to downgrade United Nations monitoring of human rights in Myanmar, the Sydney Morning Herald reported on March 20.
It said Australia was supporting a move at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva to move Myanmar from an “item 4” state, regarded as having serious human rights issues, to an “item 10” state needing only technical assistance.
The assistance provided to “item 10” states includes help with drafting legislation, the newspaper said.
It quoted Emily Howie, director of advocacy and research at the Melbourne-based Human Rights Law Centre, as saying Australia's position "severely underplays the extent and seriousness of the ongoing human rights abuses" in Myanmar.
"It reduces pressure at a critical time of the democratic transition and diminishes the ability of the international community, including our allies, to push for much needed change," Howie told the SMH. (Courtesy of Frontier Myanmar)
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