By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Reporter, Asia

BEIJING, China– China, the world’s biggest manufacturing powerhouse, has never had a strong reputation for its working conditions. China is able to offer competitive prices because it’s manufacturers cut back on other expenses, like worker’s benefits and quality work spaces.

China’s courier services have recently drawn attention in the international media. The world’s largest market for package delivery employs largely unskilled workers, and the job can be low-paying and difficult. Labor activists and legal experts are concerned that many couriers face harsh working conditions and unmanageable hours of employment. Almost one quarter of Beijing’s couriers work more than 12 hours each day, seven days a week, according to a survey conducted by Beijing Jiaotong University.

Most couriers make between $300 and $600 each month, a salary roughly equal to wages earned in China’s migrant factories. Chinese workers lack the right to organize their own worker’s unions. Instead, collective representation of workers falls under the sole authority of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, an organization of officials appointed by China’s communist party. This poses the concern that individuals have no remedy for grievances like low wages and poor working conditions.

Recently, China has showed some interest in expanding investments in Africa. Currently, China relies on Africa to supply a constant influx of natural resources to sustain its massive manufacturing industry. China, in turn, sells its manufactured products back to African states, builds infrastructure, and provides foreign direct investments. Critics of China’s policies in Africa are concerned that China is establishing itself as a colonial power. Human rights organizations are paying close attention to ensure that China’s labor practices, specifically the sate’s tendency to neglect labor rights, doesn’t carry over into the African labor sector.

For more information, please see:

New York Times – For Couriers, China’s E-Commerce Boom Can Be a Tough Road – 31 January, 2017

World Politics Review – China’s Complicated History With Workers’ Rights – 25 January, 2017

Harvard Political Review – China’s Investment in Africa: The New Colonialism? – 3 February, 2017

Financial Times – China labour unrest spreads to ‘new economy’ – 1 February, 2017 

By: Nicole Hoerold
Impunity Watch Desk Reporter, Asia

NAYPYIDAW, Myanmar- A prominent human rights lawyer was fatally shot outside Yangon International Airport on January 29. U Ko Ni was holding his grandson when he was shot in the head at close range. Mr. Ko Ni served as a legal adviser to Myanmar’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Mr. Ko Ni, a Muslim attorney and a member of the National League for Democracy, was returning home from a government-organized trip to Indonesia, where he attended a panel to discuss democracy and conflict resolution strategies.

UN Special Rapporteur Yanghee Lee, a human rights expert, has strongly condemned the murder of Mr. Ko Ni. A suspect has been taken into custody but a motive has yet to be determined.

Mr. Ko Ni was known for speaking out against the Nationality Law, which stripped the Rohingya, a Muslim minority group, of citizenship.  Tensions have risen between the Myanmar government and Rohingya in recent months. In October 2016, members of a Rohingya insurgent group attacked border control officers, killing nine. The attack led to a drawn out offensive by Myanmar’s government to demilitarize the Rohingya insurgency, an effort which persists today.

Recent concerns arose out of reports claiming that soldiers are engaging in human rights offenses. Human rights groups have received reports of killings of unarmed men, burnings of civilian homes, and even accounts of rape of Rohingya women by Myanmar soldiers. The Myanmar government has denied allegations that its military is committing violent acts against civilians. The government has denied journalists and human rights investigators access to its villages. An estimated 65,000 Rohingya people have fled into Bangladesh, where refugee camps have been established.

Despite the government’s statements, a video surfaced on January 3, 2017, that appears to show Myanmar border police beating unarmed men. Though four officers have been detained by the government, Myanmar’s leader, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has faced much criticism for a failure to respond more vehemently to these incidents and allegations.

For more information, please see:

NY Times – U Ko Ni, a Prominent Muslim Lawyer in Myanmar, Is Fatally Shot – 29 January, 2017

BBC – Myanmar: Leading lawyer Ko Ni assassinated at Yangon airport – 30 January, 2017

JURIST – UN rights expert condemns murder of Muslim lawyer in Myanmar – 30 January, 2017

UN – Note to Correspondents: Statement by Mr. Vijay Nambiar, Special Adviser of the United Nations Secretary- General on Myanmar – 8 December 2016

HRW – Burma: Rohingya Recount Killings, Rape, and Arson – 21 December, 2016

NY Times – ‘There Are No Homes Left’: Rohingya Tell of Rape, Fire, and Death in Myanmar – 10 January, 2017

NY Times – Myanmar Holds Officers After Video Purports to Show Police Beating Rohingya – 3 January, 2017