Aung Ko Htwe
Cases- Location of case in SG report
- 2018-080-002
- Relevant SG report
- Year of the report
- 2018
- From Country
- Country Geolocation
Latitude: 21.916221
Longitude: 95.955974
- Country Geolocation (linked Cases)
- Myanmar (Burma)
- From Region
- UN body that raised the case prior to the SG report
- ILO
- Unclear
- Dates of prior UN action
- 7 February 2018; March 2018
- Type of record
- Named individual
- Gender
- Male
- Was the victim a foreign national?
- No
- Was the victim a minor?
- No
- Individual's/organization's activity
a former underage recruit
- Type of rights defended
- Children’s rights
- Economic/social rights
- Was the victim a civil servant, member of the security forces or of the judiciary?
- No
- Reported trigger of reprisal
speaking publicly about his experience to international media. was serving a commuted 10-year prison sentence for allegedly being implicated in a murder with two other child soldiers when he was attempting to flee the army in 2007, a case that had been addressed by the ILO to no avail. A month after his release in July 2017, Mr. Htwe was re-arrested by Myanmar security forces after he gave an interview to Radio Free Asia detailing his forced recruitment into the army as a child, and charged under section 505(b) of the Penal Code for speaking publicly about his experience.
- Engagement with UN body
- ILO
- Other
- Dates of engagement
- 2009; July 2017
- Type of attempted engagement
- Submission of information to UN
- UN raised case of person/organization
- Dates of mentioned reprisals
- 18 August 2017; 28 March 2018
- Location of mentioned reprisals
- Dagon Seikkan Township
- Reprisal information
charged under section 505B of the Penal Code for speaking publicly about his experience to international media, was also denied bail and his trial continues. subsequent detention of Aung Ko Htwe, who enjoys continued protection under the Supplementary Understanding, and appeals for the charges against him to be dropped.
- Types of reprisals suffered
- Charge/Investigation/Prosecution: Conviction
- Alleged/likely perpetrators
- State actors
- Was the reprisal based on new legislation?
- No
- Does the report make general comment about country’s environment for engagement with UN?
- Yes
- Further case development
The ILO remains concerned about the subsequent detention of Aung Ko Htwe, who enjoys continued protection under the Supplementary Understanding, and appeals for the charges against him to be dropped.
on 28 March 2018, the Dagon Seikkan Township Court sentenced Mr. Aung Ko Htwe to two years in prison with hard labor, despite his status as a complainant with ILO.
- Government response dates
- 9 October 2017
- Government response content
On 9 October 2017, the Government responded to the ILO in relation to this case, indicating that it had previously taken necessary actions for the closure of Aung Ko Htwe’s case.
- Is the country cited for a "pattern of reprisal" in the context of this case?
- No
- Is a pattern of reprisals mentioned otherwise in the context of this case?
- No
- Does the report cite "self-censorship" as an issue in the context of this case?
- No
- How many times has the case been followed up in subsequent SG reports?
- 2
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 0
- 2019
- Follow up information provided in SG report 0
The 2018 report of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/39/41, para. 60 and Annex I, paras. 80–82) noted that the Governing Body of ILO remained concerned about cases of apparent reprisal against complainants in forced labour cases, including that of Mr. Aung Ko Htwe (see GB.332/INS/8, para. 16), 145 which were also raised by the Special Rapporteur (see A/HRC/37/70, para. 15). Mr. Aung Ko Htwe had been forcibly recruited into the army in 2005 at age 14 and should receive continued protection as a complainant with ILO, according to the 2007 agreement between the ILO and Myanmar.” 146 However, on 28 March 2018, the Dagon Seikkan Township Court sentenced him to two years in prison with hard labor. 78. It was reported that on 30 October 2018 Mr. Aung Ko Htwe was tried and acquitted of “causing destruction of the whole or any part of the Union Seal” by Yangon’s Botataung Township Court for his conduct during the trial when he allegedly stepped on a copy of Myanmar’s Constitution. In December 2018, three special procedures mandate holders raised concerns about Mr. Aung Ko Htwe’s trial (MMR 6/2018). On 4 and 25 March 2019, the Government responded, addressing his charges and trial. 147 At the time of writing, Mr. Aung Ko Htwe remains in Yangon’s Insein prison, where he has been since his arrest on 18 August 2017.
- Followup Trends 0
- Significant positive and negative developments
- Did the government respond? 0
- Yes
- Was this case followed up by a UN body? 0
- UN Special Procedures: Thematic
- Unclear
- In which SG report was this case followed up on? 1
- 2020
- Follow up information provided in SG report 1
The case of Mr. Aung Ko Htwe was included in the 2019 (A/HRC/42/30, Annex II, paras. 77–78) and 2018 reports of the Secretary-General (A/HRC/39/41, para. 60 and Annex I, paras. 80–82). The Governing Body of the International Labour Organization had raised concerns about the apparent reprisals against complainants in forced labour cases, such as that of Mr. Aung Ko Htwe (see GB.332/INS/8, para. 16), 60 which was also addressed by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar (see A/HRC/37/70, para. 15). 61 94. In March 2020, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar reported that she had sent a list of questions to the Government, to which she had not received a response (A/HRC/43/59, para. 2). The questions included a request to provide information about ongoing cases such as that of Ms. Nay Zar Tun, including the status of proceedings and whether the defendants have legal representation (A/HRC/43/59, Annex II, para. 11(a)). Ms. Nay Zar Tun, along with two other individuals, was reportedly jailed and faced two charges for defamation in Yangon related to her campaigning efforts for the release of her brother, Mr. Aung Ko Htwe, who was sentenced in March 2018 to two years in prison with hard labour. It was reported to OHCHR that Mr. Aung Ko Htwe was released in September 2019. Ms. Nay Zar Tun was released on 9 April 2020, followed by the other two individuals.
- Followup Trends 1
- Improvement
- Did the government respond? 1
- No