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

I seek leave to amend general business notice of motion No. 750 standing in my name today, relating to human rights and electoral conditions in Burma.

Leave granted.

I move the motion as amended:

That the Senate:

(a)

notes that:

(i)

the 5 March 2010 report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar documents ‘a pattern of gross and systematic violation of human rights which has been in place for many years and still continues’,

(ii)

the Special Rapporteur states that ‘the possibility exists that some of these human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of the Statute of the International Criminal Court’,

(iii)

the Special Rapporteur recommends that ‘UN institutions may consider the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specific fact finding mandate to address the question of international crimes’,

(iv)

on 9 March 2010 Burma announced the election laws for the forthcoming election based on the 2008 constitution that:

(a)

excludes persons serving prison terms and public servants from standing for election,

(b)

may prevent the National League for Democracy (NLD), headed by Aung San Suu Kyi, and winners of the country’s last election, from registering if Aung San Suu Kyi remains a party member, and

(c)

annuls the results of the 1990 election, which saw the NLD win more than 80 per cent of the vote, and

(v)

on 10 March 2010 the United States of America (US) Assistant Secretary of State, Mr Kurt Campbell, said that the election laws were ‘disappointing and regrettable’, and the US State Department spokesperson, Dr Philip Crowley, said ‘given the tenor of the election laws that they put forward, there’s no hope that this election will be credible’; and

I seek leave to make a very brief statement as to the intent of the motion and the amendment.