8/3/2019 1 2011 Eno Letter to Icrc for Mahn Nyein

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Mr. Yves Daccord 10 Konrads Court, Truganina

Director-General Melbourne, Victoria 3029 

International Committee of the Red Cross AUSTRALIA 19 Avenue de la Paix CH 1202, Geneva Tel: +61 3 93699220; Mob: +61 413693311 

Swiss Confederation Email: wildbee7@myacn.net.au

1st October, 2011

Dear Mr Daccord,

I am writing to you as President of the Ethnic Nationalities Organisation: Burma and Northeast India, an organisation that

represents and works on behalf of the many ethnic communities from Burma who live in Australia. On behalf of theEthnic Nationalities Organisation (ENO), I would like to raise the concern felt amongst the communities we representregarding the reported arrest and detention by the Burmese government of Mr Mahn Nyein Maung, a leading member of 

the Karen National Union (KNU) and a Central Committee Member of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC).

It is the belief of Ethnic Nationalities Organisation that Mr Mahn Nyein Maung is entitled to ‘Prisoner of War’ status

under Part I Article 4 (2) of the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949

(Geneva Convention III), to which the country of Burma is a party.

The Ethnic Nationalities Organisation calls upon the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) to undertake the

following courses of action in relation to the detention of Mr Mahn Nyein Maung:

1.  Call upon the government of Burma to confirm its detention of Mr Mahn Nyein Maung.

2.  Call upon the government of Burma to provide details concerning the location of Mr Mahn Nyein Maung’sdetention and the conditions under which he is being held.

3.  Demand that the government of Burma as a party to the Geneva Convention Relative to the Treatment of 

Prisoners of War of August 12, 1949 (Geneva Convention III) recognise and treat Mr Mahn Nyein Maung as a

‘Prisoner of War’ with all the rights and protections due to this status. 

4.  Request immediate access by representatives of the ICRC to confirm that the detention of Mr Mahn Nyein

Maung conforms to basic standards of human rights and international law concerning prisoners of war.

Given that the government of Burma and its security forces are routinely accused of human rights abuses including

torture and extra-judicial killings, the Ethnic Nationalities Organisation believes that it is essential that the International

Committee of the Red Cross commit to undertaking these actions.

The Ethnic Nationalities Organisation also believes that the detention of Mr Mahn Nyein Maung provides an importantopportunity for the International Committee of the Red Cross to demonstrate its relevance to the peoples and

organisations that are party to the civil war in Burma. A failure by the International Committee of the Red Cross to act inthis matter would be a dramatic and very public failure to undertake one of the organisations most basic reasons for

existence, namely ensuring the humane treatment of prisoners of war and detainees.

It is the hope and expectation of the Ethnic Nationalities Organisation that the International Committee of the Red Cross

will not fail to fulfil the purpose of its existence and act to ensure that Mr Mahn Nyein Maung is treated humanely andaccording to international law.

Yours sincerely,

Saw A Ganemy Kunoo

President

Ethnic Nationalities Organisation

Burma and Northeast India 

Ethnic Nationalities Organisation 

Burma and Northeast India Incorporated in Victoria * * *  ABN: 63509847755