Human Rights Documentation Unit

The Human Rights Documentation Unit (HRDU) is the research and documentation division of the National Coalition Government of the Union of Burma (NCGUB). HRDU was formed to document the human rights situation confronting the many and varied peoples of Burma, and to defend and promote those internationally recognised human rights that are inherent and inalienable for all persons irrespective of race, colour, creed, ethnicity or religion. To this end, HRDU has published the Burma Human Rights Yearbook annually since 1994 to comprehensively document the systematic and egregious nature of the human rights abuses being perpetrated in Burma.

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook represents a catalogue of human rights abuses that have been perpetrated against the civilian population of Burma by Burma's military regime, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), and their various allied ceasefire armies and is the single largest and most comprehensive report systematically produced on the human rights situation in Burma by any organization focussing on these issues.

The 'Yearbook' compiles a wealth of information contained within thousands of reports, news articles, statements, resolutions and briefing papers produced locally and internationally by a wide variety of sources. The Yearbook aims to draw all of this information together into a single volume, allowing its readers to easily make comparisons between Burma’s various States and Divisions, to highlight the trends and illustrate the differences. As a comprehensive resource and advocacy tool, the Burma Human Rights Yearbook is unparalleled, and to date, with 14 successive editions, represents an unbroken historical record of the human rights situation in Burma spanning the past 14 years. Few organizations can boast to have such a comprehensive body of work.

The Burma Human Rights Yearbook is composed of numerous thematic chapters which allow the reader to focus on their specific areas of interest. The next installment of the Burma Human Rights Yearbook, the 2008 edition, will comprise 21 such thematic chapters. These will include:

1. Arbitrary Detention and Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances 2. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment 3. Extra-judicial, Summary or Arbitrary Executions 4. Arms Proliferation and Landmines 5. Production and Trade of Illicit Drugs 6. Trafficking and Smuggling 7. Forced Labour and Forced Conscription 8. Deprivation of Livelihood 9. Environmental Degradation 10. Cyclone Nargis – From natural disaster to human catastrophe 11. Right to Health 12. Freedom of Belief and Religion 13. Freedom of Opinion, Expression and the Press 14. Freedom of Assembly, Association and Movement 15. Right to Education 16. Rights of the Child 17. Rights of Women 18. Ethnic Minority Rights 19. Internal Displacement and Forced Relocation 20. The Situation of Refugees 21. The Situation of Migrant Workers