Thursday, August 26, 2010

We need you to call the ambassadors again as soon as possible.



Dear Friends of Burma,

Thank you to all of those who called the European Union (EU) Ambassadors to the UN and Washington, DC. We need more calls! If you are not able to call, click here to send an email!

Right now, the EU is drafting a resolution on Burma that it will introduce at the UN General Assembly meeting (UNGA) which will begin on the 3rd week of September. We need your help to make sure this resolution calls for an establishment of a Commission of Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity in Burma. We need you to call the ambassadors again as soon as possible.

This is long over due. There have already been 19 UN General Assembly resolutions on Burma since 1991, but none have mentioned the Commission of Inquiry and none have taken serious action. Following UN Special Rapporteur Tomas Quintana's call for the investigation this March, some of the UN's most powerful players, including the US and UK, have endorsed his recommendation. Support for the Commission of Inquiry is the highest it has even been. But this is not enough, we need the EU, a major sponsor of the draft resolution on Burma, to include the call for the Commission of Inquiry in this UNGA resolution.

Below, we have included instructions on how to call or email.

Aung Din, Jennifer, Myra, Mike, and Nadi



Instructions:

1) Dial one of the numbers below and ask to speak to the corresponding ambassador (if you are not able to call, please email or fax).

Hi, may I speak to Ambassador XXX, I would like to ask him to support a Commission of Inquiry into Crimes Against Humanity and War Crimes in Burma.

Ambassador's Contacts

(1) His Excellency Mr. Pedro Serrano, Ambassador, Acting Head of the Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations Tel. (212) 371 3804
Fax (212) 758 2718
Email: delegation-new-york@ec.europa.eu


(2) His Excellency Ambassador João Vale de Almeida, European Union Ambassador and Head of the EU Delegation to the United States
Telephone: (202) 862-9500; Fax: (202) 429-1766

2) It is likely that they will ask you to leave a message with his assistant.

Hi Ambassador XXXX. As you may know, the United States has already pledged its support for a UN-led Commission of Inquiry into crimes against humanity in Burma. This is a much needed step as the military regime in Burma has been brutally suppressing ethnic minorities and human rights defenders for more than four decades. Recently, the level of violence has been on the rise. Since 1996, the regime has burned down over 3,500 villages, and instances of rape and forced labor by the military are well documented. That is why I urge the EU to join the United States, the United Kingdom, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Australia in calling for this important measure towards accountability and justice in Burma.

* We know that the EU is writing a draft resolution on Burma that it will submit at the upcoming UNGA 65th session. We want the EU to make sure that its draft resolution includes a call to Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon to set up a Commission of Inquiry.

* We believe that this is the right moment to take this action to pressure the regime to stop its sham election and to start negotiations with the democratic opposition led by Aung San Suu Kyi for real and sustainable national reconciliation and democratization.

3) You may want to leave your number in case they would like to call you back.

If you have any further questions about why you should support a Commission of Inquiry in Burma, feel free to call me at XXXXX

4) Thank them for taking the message!

5) Email mikejen@uscampaignforburma.org to let us know how the call went.

Support 1991 Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi and the struggle for freedom and democracy in Burma:

Become a member of the U.S. Campaign for Burma.

Or, make a tax-deductible donation today.


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