Proposed Work Plan                                                                           For

1.          Burma’s 2008 Constitution

2.          Elections in 2010 and the Following Period

3.          The Issue of Impunity in Burma                                                             Submitted by   Burma Constitutional Conference Conducted by Forum of Burmese in Europe (U.K) Held at London South Bank University (Dec 19-20, 2009)  

                                                     Part I: Burma’s 2008 Constitution Strategy Objective Pressure on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) will be imposed until it declares Burma’s 2008 Constitution as null and void. It is reasonable to request the nullification of the 2008 Constitution by the UN Security Council. Precedence for such a move can be found in UNSC Resolution 554 regarding South Africa’s 1983 apartheid-entrenching constitution.[1]

1. Declares that the so-called "new constitution" is contrary to the principles of the Charter of the United Nations, that the results of the referendum of 2 November 1983 are of no validity whatsoever and that the enforcement of the "new constitution" will further aggravate the already explosive situation prevailing inside apartheid South Africa. 2. Strongly rejects and declares as null and void the so-called "new constitution" and the "elections" to be organized in the current month of August for the "coloured" people and people of Asian origin as well as all insidious manoeuvres  by the racist minority regime of South Africa further to entrench white minority rule and apartheid;

                                                                                    (or) The 2008 Constitution must be revised by cancelling                                                                                     (a) the impunity provision[2], and                                                                                                                 (b) other provisions which solidify the rule of the military dictatorship. In order to reject the rule of the military dictatorship to be applied in accordance with the constitution, Burma’s 2008 Constitution must be revised as follows: 1. The limitation clauses (or the exception clauses) in the provisions relevant to three basic freedoms - freedom of expression, association and assembly - shall be limited. 2. The participation of the military in the various levels of the legislative bodies and the executives shall be rejected completely.

3. Appointment and dismissal of the Supreme Court judges shall not be made by the executives (the military); independence of the judiciary shall be instituted; civilian Supreme Court shall be the highest court of the state; and people shall enjoy the right to seek judicial protection at any time, including a state of emergency. 4. The permanent military tribunals, separated from the oversight of civilian justice mechanism, must be terminated. 5. Armed Forces, police, intelligent forces, and other security forces of the state shall be instituted separately and be placed under the direct command of the democratically elected government. 6. The democratically elected government shall protect people against all internal and external dangers. Under the command of the democratically elected government, the Armed Forces shall safeguard the Union against external dangers. 7. All articles in the 2008 constitution shall be scrutinized and those, which contradict the equality principles, shall be revised.                                           Part II:  Election in 2010 and the Following Period Strategy Objective

(1)                       So long as the 2008 Constitution continues to exist, elections in 2010 and the following period will not be adopted as legitimate elections. (2)                       Under any circumstances, awareness on democratic election norms will be promoted.

  Work Plan The following working plan is to be  implemented: (1) Promoting three basic freedoms - freedom of expression, freedom of association and freedom of assembly;                                                                                                   (2) Cancellation of draconian laws; (3) Education on electoral systems; (4) Asking for national and international election observers and that of relevant organizations; (5) Raising awareness on democratic election standards; (6) Implementation of Out-of- Country Voting system for migrant workers, refugee and internally displaced people, and political prisoners; (7)  Seeking way for transforming the ethnic armed organizations in accordance with the constitution and asking for their right to participate in the election.                                           Part III: Impunity Issue of Burma The most problematic and disturbing barrier to genuine democratization in Burma is the existing culture of impunity. Strategy Objective                                                                                                                               The campaign to end impunity in Burma, by the name of ‘Ending impunity Burma Campaign’, is to be implemented world-wide. Pressure on UN Security Council is to be imposed for the formation of an international commission of inquiry. National awareness raising program To end impunity in Burma for the long term, in addition to the abovementioned work plans, the following programs should also be implemented. (1) Institutional reform for Armed Forces, Police, Intelligent Forces, Security forces, and Judiciary shall be implemented; (2) Reparation, including reasonable compensation, shall be provided to the victims; (3) Memorial services shall be done for the victims; Work Plan To deal with the impunity issue of Burma, in line with the strategy objective, the following work plan is to be implemented: (1) Seek cooperation of the international human rights organizations such as the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), the Amnesty International (AI), Human Rights Watch, the

International Committee for the Red Cross (ICRC), the International Commission of Jurist (ICJ), etc; (2) Seek support of the International, regional and national legal institutions such as the International Bar Association, the Lawasia, the UK Bar Association, etc. in order for them to urge the UN Security Council to form an International Commission of Inquiry and send it to Burma; (3) Request the International Labor Organization (ILO) to file a case for Burma in the International Court of Justice (ICJ); (4) Raise impunity and other human rights relating to Burma at the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICMR); (5) Support 442 parliamentarians from 29 countries who urged the UN Security Council to form an International Commission of Inquiry and send it to Burma (Note: other similar calls will also be included here later); (6) Lobby the member states of the UN Security Council; (7) Find information about a citizen or citizens that belong to one of the 110 states that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court if there is evidence brought forward against that citizen which show that that citizen has cooperated with and supported the SPDC which itself has committed international crimes – crimes against humanity, war crimes and violation of Geneva Convention; and they can be sent to the ICC Prosecutor Office. (8) Find information about the multinational corporations that belong to one of the 110 states that have signed and ratified the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court if there is evidence brought forward against that citizen which prove that that citizen has cooperated with and supported the SPDC which itself has committed international crimes  – crimes against humanity, war crimes and violation of Geneva Convention; and implement international campaign against those multinational corporations; (9) Lobby the EU to pay attention to the issue of impunity in Burma, including the implementation of the May 22, 2008 EU Parliament Resolution; (10) Request that the UN Secretary General (UNSG) deals with the issue of impunity in Burma from the aspect of the international human rights laws and humanitarian laws and to implement the Responsibility to Protect in the case of Burma; (11) Request that the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Burma to submit a report asking for an International Commission of Inquiry to be formed by the UN Security Council; (12) Request the political leaders inside Burma to be mindful that, in order to prevent repeated crimes and seek genuine national reconciliation, state institutions should be reformed and the rights of victims of crimes be respected; (13) Encourage the Burmese democratic and ethnic organizations existing in various states across the world to raise the issue of impunity in Burma in their respective states; (14) Send a clear message to the army personnel in Burma that commission of crimes shall   cease, individual accountability for those who committed crimes will be sought, and all orders provided by the Senior General Than Shwe and its elite military leaders to commit crimes against international human rights laws and humanitarian laws must be refused; (15) Systematically uncover the issues of the under age children who are forcefully conscripted by the SPDC army for military service; and, exert efforts to take action on the increasing issues of political prisoners who are systematically tortured, oppressed and killed in the prisons by the government authorities; and, (16) Implement a world-wide letter campaign with the objective that individual citizens, who love human rights, send letters to the UN Security Council in order for that the UNSC forms an International Commission of Inquiry to investigate the international crimes taking place in Burma.        

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[1] UNSC Res 554 (15 November 1983) UN Doc A/RES/38/11. [2] Article 445 of the SPDC’s 2008 Constitution