Opening Up Remedies in Myanmar

This briefing paper calls on the soon-to-be-established NLD-led Burmese government to seriously consider taking steps to deal with Myanmar’s troubled past as a way to help end the cycle of violence and human rights violations in the conflict-torn country. It points to practical steps that the government and civil society groups could take to address the past, including truth telling and providing reparations to victims, and dispels many common misunderstandings about transitional justice, that it only amounts to revenge and criminal trials. It argues that providing remedies for past violations would clearly demonstrate that the government stands on the side of the victims, not of the abusers.