Myanmar - January 2023

The military junta declared a new, strict ‘electoral law’ on 20 January. The new ‘law’ replaces legislation from 2010 and increases the number and necessary distribution of members and founding thresholds for parties who would attempt to compete in the ‘general elections’ which the junta plans to organize in August 2023. The United Nations Human Rights Council has previously declared the election to be a sham, and an attempt by the junta “to advance its false claim to legitimacy.” The new ‘law’ effectively prevents the National League for Democracy and new opposition parties from participating, while allowing the military-backed Union Solidarity and Development Party to be the only party able to meet all the requirements. Parties that do not register within 60 days will lose their legal status under the law. 

Sources: Associated Press, Al Jazeera, Reuters, Radio Free Asia, United Nations Human Rights Council

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) recorded an "alarming rise" in Rohingya deaths at sea in 2022, with at least 348 reported missing or dead. Over 3500 Rohingya fled across the Andaman Sea or Bay of Bengal last year, mostly from Myanmar or Bangladesh, up from 700 in 2021. UNHCR has called for a full regional response and investigation into why Rohingya are fleeing. A January Human Rights Watch report further alleges Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh are subject to extortion, harassment, and wrongful arrest by police. Myanmar is currently on trial for genocide at the International Court of Justice over the military crackdown in 2017 that saw over a million (mostly Muslim Rohingya) flee to Bangladesh.

Sources: The UN Refugee Agency, Human Rights Watch, Al Jazeera