There have been continuing reports of the Burmese military government’s human rights abuses against the ethnic Chin population, in Burma’s western Chin state. Human rights groups such as Human Rights Watch have also called upon the Indian and Mizoram state governments to extend protection to Chin who have fled to India in order to escape abuses and repression in Burma.

Reports have detailed a range of human rights abuses routinely carried out by the Burmese army and government officials. These include forced labour, arbitrary arrests, torture, and religious repression. Chin people who have escaped to India remain at risk of discrimination and abuse by local Mizo groups in the Indian state of Mizoram. Local authorities in India have been known to force the Chin back across the border into Burma.

Burma’s military government regularly arrests and imprisons ethnic Chin in order to stifle political dissent and create a culture of intimidation. The Army has also been responsible for placing restrictions on many aspects of Chin life, including curtailing their freedom of movement, confiscating money, food and property and exacting forced labour. Chin farmers and their families are regularly required to leave their fields to carry goods for the Army, build roads, construct army barracks, sentry posts and other military buildings. This undermines the ability of the Chin people to survive in one of Burma’s poorest states, especially in areas suffering foods shortages due to a massive rat infestation. The aid restrictions put in place by the Burmese government also prevent humanitarian agencies from effectively providing relief to populations at risk.

Tens of thousands of Chin have fled Burma, many crossing the border to Mizoram state in India with no documents. India has violated its international law obligations by returning the Chin to Burma and forcibly evicting them.  Under international law it is forbidden to return people to a country where their lives or freedoms could be threatened, or where they could be at risk of persecution.