Well done, Drug Policy Action Group. I hope this sign on letter with almost a hundred organizations on it will produce results. And that you have a back up plan if it doesn't.
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1tK7uc6SQf9MWb-bxLgCYt-99nt4MqFLT/view
and in the Burmese language https://drive.google.com/file/d/1TAzaqzOb9ueZET88vkffHFarVKU8ZroP/view
Jamie
++++++++++++++++++
JOINT CALL FOR ACTION
Protecting public health and safety from COVID-19: the urgent need to enhance
measures in Myanmar prisons and detention facilities to prevent outbreaks
As COVID-19 has already caused more than 70,000 deaths worldwide,1 the Myanmar Authorities
have to prepare for the worst. While the number of confirmed cases in the country is still low -
21 people had tested positive by the 6th of April 20202 - other Southeast Asian nations such as
Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia, and Indonesia have already reported thousands of cases
each.3
Detention conditions are known to greatly exacerbate the risks of contagious diseases: the World
Health Organization (WHO) considers that prisoners are 100 times more likely to contract
Tuberculosis (TB) than the civilian population, and are disproportionately affected by
malnutrition, HIV and hepatitis.4 The rapid spread of COVID-19 prompted the WHO to warn
Governments about the especially acute risks posed by potential outbreaks in prisons and other
detention facilities.5 Their recommendations are especially relevant for Myanmar, as the
country’s prisons operate at an average 140% of their maximum occupancy capacity and are
therefore seriously overcrowded.6
Potential outbreaks of COVID-19 in Myanmar prisons directly threaten the health of thousands
of inmates, prison personnel and their respective families. These could also result in deadly
spillover of the virus into neighbouring communities. Moreover, the greater vulnerability of
prisoners to infection could rapidly lead to mounting tensions, unrest and security concerns
within prisons.
Earlier this month, riots prompted by COVID-19 fears erupted in prisons in Italy, Colombia and
India, resulting in dozens of deaths, injuries and escapes.7 In an unprecedented move aimed at
reducing prison overcrowding and preventing COVID-19 outbreaks in detention facilities,
Australia, the USA, France, the UK, Ireland, Iran, Bahrain, Afghanistan, India and Indonesia all
announced the early release of large numbers of prisoners considered to pose a low risk for public
safety.8
Myanmar prison authorities have started to take preventive measures such as the provision of
hand soap and basins for visitors.9 The procurement of infection control equipment is reportedly
also under way. While these are positive steps, it is urgent that the Myanmar Government and
relevant Departments and Authorities adopt a more comprehensive plan to prevent and
mitigate COVID-19 outbreaks in the country’s detention facilities. These include prisons, but
also labour camps, police stations, juvenile camps and closed drug treatment and rehabilitation
centres, including those in conflict-affected areas.
YANGON, 6 APRIL 2020
The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) requested earlier this month, among
other measures, a mass amnesty for prisoners meeting specific criteria.10 Signatories of this
declaration join their call for action. A set of key recommendations and priority interventions is
proposed below. These, however, should not be considered exhaustive.
1. Release prisoners who represent a low risk for public safety to reduce overcrowding:
the release of prisoners should follow a systematic, open and transparent process, in
order to ensure all prisoners are treated equally and to prevent potential unrest among
prisoners. An assessment should be urgently undertaken by prison authorities across the
country to identify prisoners who should be released as a matter of priority. The
signatories of this call propose the use of the following criteria:
• Prisoners above 50 years of age, as well as those with underlying medical
conditions (e.g. people with TB, HIV, cancer, diabetes or chronic liver, kidneys,
heart and respiratory conditions including asthma),11 minors under the age of 18
and pregnant women;
• People in pre-trial detention, who represent at least 10% of the overall prison
population in the country;12
• People detained for bailable offences, regardless of their ability to pay for the bail;
• People convicted for non-violent offences, whose release does not compromise
public safety. More specifically, all people convicted on the basis of the following
acts and provisions should be covered as a matter of priority:
- Former Section 15 and existing Sections 16 and 21 of the amended 1993
Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances Law;
- Section 3 and 7 of the 1949 Suppression of Prostitution Act;
- Section 377 of the Penal Code;
- Section 35 (C) and (D) of the 1945 Police Act;
- Section 30 (C) and (D) of the 1899 Rangoon Police Act.
It is essential that released prisoners are provided with adequate information on how and
where to access medical care and other social support services upon their release,
especially those with specific medical and social needs (e.g. people living with HIV, people
who use drugs, people in need of shelter and accommodation etc.).
Finally, it should be noted that the Government of Myanmar has adopted several
resolutions and guidance documents, at both national and international levels, that
promote alternatives to imprisonment.13 In that regard, the release of people convicted
for low-level drug offences is consistent with recommendations contained in the National
Drug Control Policy adopted by the Central Committee for Drug Abuse Control (CCDAC)
in February 2018.14
2. Suspend all arrests and new admissions into prisons for non-violent offences, including
but not limited to offences listed above (see prior section). New admissions pose a
significant risk of importing positive cases into prison environments, where transmission
can rapidly spiral out of control. Clear directives and instructions should be adopted by
the Police, the General Administration Department (GAD) and the Judiciary, and should
be sent to all their offices across the country, ensuring they are clearly understood and
strictly observed.
3. Enhance preventive measures inside prisons to reduce the risks of transmission among
and between inmates and prison personnel, including but not limited to:15
• Improved hygiene conditions (e.g. disinfection of facilities, increased numbers of
basins, showers and toilets, as well as access points, and free provision of soap bars
for prisoners, reinforced waste management procedures etc.);
• Establishment of stricter protocols (e.g. systematic temperature checks and
administration of questionnaires for staff and visitors to detect possible symptoms
and risk factors; immediate access to testing for suspected cases; preparation of
medical isolation wards for infected patients; enforcement of two-week
quarantine in separate cells for new entrants etc.);
• Distribution of protective gear (e.g. face masks) and hand sanitiser to prison
personnel and prisoners;
• Education of prisoners and personnel on COVID-19 routes of transmission,
symptoms and preventive measures, including correct hand-washing procedures;
• Distribution of food and fruit packages to improve prisoners’ nutritional status.
It is essential that health education materials and messages are supported by concrete
actions to enable prisoners to practice preventive measures: recommendations to wash
hands regularly or maintain a minimum distance with other inmates are meaningless if
these are not supported by the installation of additional hand basins, the provision of
soap bars and the drastic reduction of the number of inmates living inside facilities.
It is equally important that preventive measures which are likely to entail restrictions for
prisoners, notably reduced access to visits, are balanced against the obligation for prison
authorities to enable them to maintain relationships with their families and/or legal
assistants. There are safe, cheap and easy-to-implement ways to reduce risks of
transmission during visits, such as the installation of glass windows and intercoms or the
use of phones and simple camera devices in visiting rooms to temporarily replace physical
visits with phone and video calls. Finally, the basic rights of prisoners should be
guaranteed at all times, and measures such as the placement of infected people in
isolation should always be limited in scope and duration to what is strictly necessary and
proportionate.
4. Enhance access to medical services for prisoners and prison personnel: Authorities have
the obligation to provide prisoners with a level of care and access to health care
equivalent to that of people living in the community.16 In practice, this means not only
ensuring prisoners’ access to protective gear, water-points and soap and the ability to
maintain minimum levels of social distance inside prisons (by reducing the number of
prisoners in each cell / room) but also their access to medical consultations with health
professionals and medical treatment when required. The provision of essential
medications, for instance for HIV and TB, should be maintained and in no way
discontinued or interrupted. In addition, prison personnel should be guaranteed access
to free and timely medical care.
It is essential that health care and services remain entirely free and that prisoners do not
have to pay for these. Patients exhibiting only mild symptoms may otherwise abstain from
seeking medical care and could easily go unnoticed by prison Authorities, thus placing
other inmates and prison personnel at high risk of transmission.
The implementation of a comprehensive plan in Myanmar prisons and detention centres will
require the urgent mobilisation of additional resources. While direct contributions from the State
to prison authorities remain necessary, foreign aid and donor agencies should also provide
dedicated funding to support this effort.
Successive Governments have made extensive use of Presidential Pardons. Under the current
circumstances, the traditional new year Amnesty is, more than ever, crucially important. The risks
of COVID-19 outbreaks in Myanmar prisons are real. These are a direct threat not only for
prisoners and prison personnel, but also for Myanmar communities at large.
We call upon the Myanmar Government and relevant Departments and Authorities to adopt
immediate additional measures to prevent COVID-19 outbreaks in the country’s prisons,
including the release of all prisoners with underlying medical conditions as well as those
detained for non-violent offences.
The current document is the result of a collective process initiated by Civil Society Organisations.
The signatories of this call express their gratitude to experts from UNAIDS, WHO and other
organisations who contributed to its elaboration and provided technical guidance and inputs.
Co-signatories:
1. Drug Policy Advocacy Group (DPAG)
2. Metta Development Foundation
3. Mahamate (Alliance) Myanmar
4. Myanmar Opium Farmers Forum (MOFF)
5. Pa-O Youth Organization (PYO)
6. Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
7. Open Myanmar Initiative (OMI)
8. ေတာ္၀င္ခေရကြန္ရက္ (SWiM Network)
9. Aye Myanmar Association (AMA)
10. Myanmar Positive Woman Network (MPWN)
11. ျမန္မာလူငယ္ၾကယ္ပြင့္မ်ားကြန္ရက္ (MYS)
12. Myanmar Interfaith Network on AIDS (MINA)
13. Myanmar Positive Group (MPG)
14. National Drug Users Network – Myanmar (NDNM)
15. Kings N Queens LGBT organization
16. Lotus
17. ဇီ၀ဇိုးငွက္မ်ား (SWIFTS)
18. Nature Community-Based People Who Use Drugs Rehab Network
19. OASIS
20. Golden Eagle (Kachin)
21. Shining Star (Myitkyina)
22. Flying Bird (Myitkyina)
23. Cycle of Love (Myitkyina)
24. Hepatitis-C Support Group (Myitkyina)
25. New Star (Moegaung)
26. Methadone Support Group (Moegaung)
27. Methadone Support Group (Namati)
28. Pure Balance Mind (Hopin)
29. Women Advisory Group (Kachin)
30. Local AIDS Committee (Putao)
31. Local AIDS Committee (Mohnyin)
32. Local AIDS Committee (Washawng)
33. Future Light (Monywa)
34. Heal the World
35. Pa-O Farmer Development Union (PFDU)
36. Pekhon Farmers Network (PKFN)
37. Karenni Legal and Human Rights Center (KnLHRC)
38. Mon Region Land Policy Affairs Committee (MRLPAC)
39. Ta’ang Students and Youth Union (TSYU)
40. Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
41. Southern Youth Development Organization (SYDO)
42. ေျမယာနွင့္ပတ္၀န္းက်င္ထိန္းသိမ္းေရးအဖြဲ႔ (Kutkai)
43. Action Group for Farmer Affair (Bago)
44. Action Group for Farmer Affair (Sagaing)
45. Mon Youth Network (Ye)
46. Mon Area Community Development Organization
47. Farmer Union (Labutta)
48. Land in Our Hand (LIOH)
49. Lahu Development Network (LDN)
50. Mon State Community Association
51. Mon Youth Educator Organization
52. Kyun Ta Htaung Myae Foundation
53. Than Lwin Thitsar
54. Mon JAG
55. Lobbyist Advocator Initiator Negotiator (Kayah)
56. ကယားလိဖုလူငယ္
57. Kachin State Women Union
58. Htoi Gender and Development Foundation
59. Pinnya Tagar Academy
60. Uok Tone Development Organization
61. Shan Women Development Network
62. Lisu Civil Society Organization
63. Pyoe Development Organization
64. Namkyoe Parahita Foundation
65. Kachin State Farmers Association
66. Lawng Byit Hkawng Development Organization
67. Loi Yang Bum Community Development Organization
68. Nam Shani Social Development Organization
69. Alinn Bhamaw Local Development Organization
70. Daifin Social Service
71. Waimaw CSOs Network
72. Down Peace Organization
73. Paung Si Aya Parahita Foundation
74. Farmer Network Monyin
75. Ahr Man Thit Bhamaw
76. Pan Pyoe Lett
77. Htoi San Local Development Organization
78. Lann Pya Kye Mansi
79. Evergreen Organization (Momawk)
80. Minggalar Foundation
81. Township Leading Group (Waimaw)
82. Myit Phya Aya Association
83. Transparency and Accountability Network in Kachin State
84. Community Health And Development
85. Kachin State Women Network
86. Grip Hand Organization
87. Machyang Baw Social Development Organization
88. Kachin Conservation Network Group
89. Paung Ku
90. Asia Catalyst
91. Médecins du Monde (MdM)
92. Transnational Institute (TNI)
Contact:
Drug Policy Advocacy Group – Myanmar (DPAG)
Dr. Nang Pann Ei Kham
coord.dpag@gmail.com
Ph: 09 5021153 / 09 799852080
ENDNOTES
1 As of 3 April 2020. See live evolution on: https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html
2 Ibid
3 Ibid
4 https://www.who.int/tb/areas-of-work/population-groups/prisons-facts/en/
5 http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/prisons-andhealth/
news/news/2020/3/preventing-covid-19-outbreak-in-prisons-a-challenging-but-essential-task-forauthorities
6 See 2018 report by Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP): https://aappb.org/wpcontent/
uploads/2018/12/nee-urgent-reform-eng.pdf
Also see: https://www.prisonstudies.org/country/myanmar-formerly-burma
7 https://time.com/5801183/italian-inmates-escape-coronavirus-riots/
https://edition.cnn.com/2020/03/23/americas/colombia-prison-riots/index.html
https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/kolkata/riot-erupts-in-dum-dum-jail-undertrial-killed-infiring/
articleshow/74753923.cms
8 https://www.theguardian.com/australia-news/2020/mar/24/hundreds-of-nsw-prisoners-could-be-releasedearly-
under-covid-19-emergency-powers
https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-51947802
http://www.leparisien.fr/paris-75/avec-le-coronavirus-les-prisons-franciliennes-se-vident-25-03-2020-
8288019.php
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-52071852
https://www.iprt.ie/latest-news/irish-prison-service-and-covid-19/
https://www.nbcnews.com/news/world/coronavirus-prompts-prisoner-releases-around-world-n1169426
https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/23/bahrains-prison-release-positive-insufficient
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/03/26/afghanistan-to-release-up-to-10000-prisoners-to-slowcoronavirus-
spread.html
https://www.thestar.com.my/news/regional/2020/03/27/india039s-maharashtra-frees-11000-prisoners-tocontrol-
covid-19
https://www.thejakartapost.com/news/2020/04/01/covid-19-indonesia-releases-more-than-5500-inmates-plansto-
free-50000.html
9 https://frontiermyanmar.net/en/overcrowded-prisons-battle-covid-19-with-ginger-water-handbasins-asauthorities-
consider-early?fbclid=IwAR3cPpD5V_6YRtsqJlg1owI1zLIjPUO3kX6WtVg5bQb7ud17uzMYHLmkf7w
10 https://aappb.org/2020/03/statement-on-prevention-against-covid-19-virus-in-prisons-labor-camps-andcustodies/
11 See notably recommendations of CDC: https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/need-extraprecautions/
people-at-higher-risk.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Fcoronavirus%2F2019-
ncov%2Fspecific-groups%2Fhigh-risk-complications.html
12 See AAPP report: https://aappb.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/nee-urgent-reform-eng.pdf
13 National Drug Control Policy:
https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/2018/02/Myanmar_Drug_Control_Policy.pdf
National Strategic Plan on HIV IV, 2021-2025
Resolution 58/5 of the Commission on Narcotic Drugs (CND):
https://www.unodc.org/documents/commissions/CND/CND_Sessions/CND_58/2015_Resolutions/Resolution_58_
5.pdf
2016 UNGASS Outcome document: https://www.unodc.org/documents/postungass2016/outcome/V1603301-
E.pdf
14 See: https://www.unodc.org/documents/southeastasiaandpacific/2018/02/Myanmar_Drug_Control_Policy.pdf
15 For more detailed information see: http://www.euro.who.int/en/health-topics/health-determinants/prisonsand-
health/publications/2020/preparedness,-prevention-and-control-of-covid-19-in-prisons-and-other-places-ofdetention-
2020
16 See: http://www.euro.who.int/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/249188/Prisons-and-Health.pdf
