Scott Ludlam (WA, Australian Greens) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That the Senate—

(a)

notes that:

(i)

9 March is an international day of action to raise awareness about the new military offensive against Karen civilians by the Burmese Army in Karen State, eastern Burma,

(ii)

since mid January 2010 more than 2 000 civilians have been forced to flee new attacks in eastern Burma with villagers being shot on sight, more than 70 homes have been destroyed, schools and health clinics burnt down and the blocking of aid to people hiding in the jungle,

(iii)

human rights abuses in Burma are widespread and systematic with the main perpetrator being the Burmese military,

(iv)

gender-based violence, including rape against women and girls, is used as a weapon by the Burmese military,

(v)

in the week beginning 28 February 2010, in New York, an International Tribunal on Crimes against Women in Burma, presided over by two Nobel Peace Prize winners and human rights experts, recommended that the United Nations Security Council refer Burma to the International Criminal Court and that countries in the Asia-Pacific not invest in Burma’s oil and gas industry, and

(vi)

Burma’s oil and gas industry is the regime’s largest source of income and directly contributes to the financial stability of the military regime; and

(b)

calls on the Australian Government to:

(i)

work with other governments to establish a commission of inquiry to investigate crimes against humanity and war crimes being committed in Burma, and

(ii)

ensure that Australian companies with links to Burma’s oil and gas industry are not contributing to the financial stability of the military regime.