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Myanmar Speaker Series: What Does the Latest Peace Conference Mean for Myanmar? An Update
September 23, 2020.
The Government of Myanmar and the Ethnic Armed Organizations are key parties to a formal Peace Process. They have been negotiating ‘basic federal as well as democratic’ principles for the country. In October 2015, all parties agreed that these principles would constitute the Union Accord, the basis to amend all laws–including the 2008 Constitution. Under the current government (2015-2020), no major constitutional change has taken place. The Peace Process remains the most plausible path to amend the constitution, end the armed conflict and lead to a multi-ethnic, federal and democratic Myanmar.
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Myanmar Speaker Series: How can policing improve in ethnic states under the new government of Myanmar?
September 16, 2020.
Myanmar’s challenges regularly make headlines. The efforts to reform the Myanmar Police Force remains a hopeful step forward in the transformation of the country’s security. The 2008 Constitution states that the Commander-in-Chief of Defense Services is the chief of all the armed organizations, and, as a result, the Myanmar Police Force remains under the Home Affairs Ministry, led by a military-appointed minister. Along with the democratic reforms since 2011, the force has moved towards a more decentralized, more gender and ethnic sensitive institution, still struggling to focus on control vs service-orientation. Currently, the police in Myanmar are severely overstretched to meet their mandate. Laws, regulation, strategies and training are outdated; facilities and equipment are old and often in poor condition by Southeast Asian and global standards. More disturbingly, the police are not present in some parts of the country where crime and related public security issues are most challenging. The police are facing increasingly sophisticated ethnic armed groups as well as transnational organized crime involved in drugs and human trafficking. The recent MIPS 2020 Annual Review on Peace and Security has highlighted some of these severe security challenges.
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Myanmar Speaker Series: Women and Conflict in Myanmar Can elections bring a relief?
Myanmar is home to several minority ethnic groups seeking political, economic, cultural, and social recognition. In these pursuits, conflict has erupted and sustained for decades–as one of the world’s longest–manifesting in a variety of forms. Within these conflicts, the gendered impacts are multi-faceted and disproportionately tolling upon women and girls. As Myanmar heads to the polls again this year, violence could again re-emerge, keeping in mind that “Gender inequities exacerbate experiences of conflict, and responses that do not incorporate gender analysis exacerbate inequities”.
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Myanmar Speaker Series: Will 2020 Elections Increase Myanmar’s Decentralization?
June 17, 2020. Dr. Alex Pelletier & Dr. Jacques Bertrand.
Myanmar’s 2008 Constitution established a more decentralized structure, with partially elected sub-national governments with new financial and administrative functions. Since the 2011 transition and the 2015 civilian-led rule, the Myanmar government continues the working with the 2008 Constitution–rather than replacing it—while pledging to decentralize key areas of policy to local and state governments. As the 2020 election looms now in the horizon, it is time to take stock of how decentralization has advanced in the country.
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Myanmar Speaker Series: Will 2020 elections increase Myanmar’s inclusivity ?
What is the role of political representation by ethnic parties in a multi-ethnic state? What is the role of women as part of a society-wide transformation?
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- Cyberspace and Freedom of Expression in Post-Coup MyanmarA team of young researchers, publishing anonymously, carried out a series of focus group discussions and key informant interviews in Aug-Oct 2021, to understand youth conceptions of ‘freedom of expression’ in the online world, and how this was being… Read more: Cyberspace and Freedom of Expression in Post-Coup Myanmar
- Doing Research in Myanmar ReportLinking science with policy is difficult in countries with top universities and well-funded research programs, but what about in developing countries? In this Asia Research News Podcast, we delve into Doing Research in Myanmar: a systematic study of how… Read more: Doing Research in Myanmar Report
- Heroes falling through the cracksMigrant workers are heroes of Myanmar’s economy, but are facing extreme challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic. Myanmar’s Centre for Economic and Social Development recommends policies to address the crisis. Video created in English and Myanmar to promote a CESD… Read more: Heroes falling through the cracks
- IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement – Nyi Nyi KyawNyi Nyi Kyaw is IDRC’s Research Chair on Forced Displacement at The Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) at Chiang Mai University in Thailand. Here he talks about his background and his work on forced displacement.… Read more: IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement – Nyi Nyi Kyaw
- IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement – Paula BanerjeeProfessor Banerjee is IDRC’s Research Chair on Forced Displacement at the Asian Institute of Technology’s Gender and Development Studies (GDS) Program in the School of Environment, Resource, and Development. Here she talks about her background and the research. With… Read more: IDRC Research Chair on Forced Displacement – Paula Banerjee
- Myanmar Speaker Series – Towards Gender Equality: Implications for Myanmar’s 2020 ElectionsOctober 27, 2020. It is now 25 years since the UN World Conference on Women was held in Beijing (1995). This meeting of global leaders spurred an unprecedented push for gender equality in a number of areas. Specifically, the… Read more: Myanmar Speaker Series – Towards Gender Equality: Implications for Myanmar’s 2020 Elections