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Myanmar: International treaty status

On 19/03/2014 in

The following table sets out the status of a range of international treaties in Myanmar as of 15 June 2014.

Ratification accession or succession
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights No signature or ratification
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights  No signature or ratification
Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights aiming at the abolition of the death penalty No signature or ratification
International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights No signature or ratification
Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights No signature or ratification
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment No signature or ratification
Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment No signature or ratification
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance No signature or ratification
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination No signature or ratification
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women 22 July 1997
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women  No signature or ratification
Convention on the Rights of the Child 15 July 1991
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict No signature or ratification
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children Child Prostitution and Child Pornography 16 January 2012
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure No signature or ratification
International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families No signature or ratification
Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities 7 December 2011
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities No signature or ratification
Ratification accession or succession
Geneva Convention I for the Amelioration of the Condition of the Wounded and Sick in Armed Forces in the Field 25 August 1992
Geneva Convention II for the Amelioration of the Condition of Wounded Sick and Shipwrecked Members of Armed Forces at Sea 25 August 1992
Geneva Convention III relative to the Treatment of Prisoners of War 25 August 1992
Geneva Convention IV relative to the Protection of Civilian Persons in Time of War 25 August 1992
Additional Protocol I relating to the Protection of Victims of International Armed Conflicts No signature or ratification
Additional Protocol II relating to the Protection of Victims of Non-International Armed Conflicts No signature or ratification
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court No signature or ratification
Convention against Corruption  20 December 2012

In the course of the Universal Periodic Review of its human rights record in 2011, Myanmar authorities said that the country “is also considering to become party to the Human Rights instruments that it has not yet acceded to, depending on its resources and capacity to fully implement the obligations as a developing country”.[19] Furthermore, it is not yet clear how the government will ensure that provisions of international treaties to which it is a State parts are implemented in practice by administrative, legislative and judicial authorities.

The fact that Myanmar has yet to ratify specific human rights treaties does not necessarily mean that obligations recognised by those treaties do not apply to Myanmar. Some treaty provisions are also rules of customary international law that apply to all states including Myanmar (and some of these are peremptory norms of international law, which apply in all circumstances without exception). In addition, the Constitution of Myanmar contains provisions that set out parallel guarantees to those in some of the above-named treaties. Thus the Myanmar authorities should take note of the authoritative interpretations of human rights law by international bodies set out in General Comments, recommendations, and views as well as judgments of human rights courts, particularly on provisions that reflect customary law or guarantees in the Constitution of Myanmar.

Footnotes    (↵ returns to text)

  1. 19. Human Rights Council, Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Myanmar, Addendum: Views on conclusions and/or recommendations, voluntary commitments and replies presented by the State under review, UN Doc. A/HRC/17/9/Add.1/ (27 May 2011),[expand title=”para. 3″] 3. Although Myanmar has acceded to the two International Human Rights Instruments, it is observing all the core international human rights treaties. Myanmar is also considering to become party to the Human Rights instruments that it has not yet acceded to, depending on its resources and capacity to fully implement the obligations as a developing country.[/expand]↵
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