September 6, 2001

Madam President/Mr. President,

My name's Naw Chai Mei Hua. I'm a Karen ethnic woman from Burma, a country ruled by a series of military regime since 1962. Today, I'm here for the people of Burma. I'm here to talk of the multiple discrimination I've faced because I am a woman, of an ethnic origin and a refugee. The root cause of this multiple discrimination is half-a-century long civil war resulted from ethno-political conflict and militarization in Burma.

In Burma, the military dominates every aspect of life --- political, civil, social, economic and even cultural; creating a highly militarized society; dividing the society as members and non-members of military. The non-members are discriminated against by the members, and never have access to the privileges such membership offers. We ethnic women, who are always non-members, face multiple discrimination because of gender and ethnicity.

Discrimination is exacerbated in ethnic lands due to the war raging against the ethnic nationalities by the Burmese ruling authority, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC). The soldiers commit sexual violence against ethnic women with impunity, the most obvious form of discrimination.

The ethnic persecution, a form of racism, xenophobia and related intolerance has led us to flee Burma. Some have become refugees and some undocumented migrant workers in the neighbouring countries. Again we face more discrimination because we are non-nationals.

Madam President/Mr. President,
The root cause of multiple discrimination faced by people like me is the Burmese ruling authority. It is vital to bring about a genuine and meaningful political change in Burma. Over 50,000 IDPs, refugees and migrants on the Thai-Burma and Burma-Indian borders have signed the petition to call upon the WCAR to address the consequences of racial discrimination and related human rights violations committed by the ruling authorities in Burma.

Madam President/Mr. President,

• We demand that the Burmese ruling authority eliminates the multiple discrimination against ethnic nationalities of Burma, and to stop all human rights violations.

• We also request the United Nations to encourage the Burmese ruling authority to negotiate a nationwide cease-fire, and to enter into genuine dialogue with all political actors in Burma.
  
  
• Particularly, we request the ASEAN, China, India, and Japan to review their policy towards Burma and to take a leading role for the development of national reconciliation process and meaningful political change in Burma.

Thank you.