Advocacy & Lobbying

At the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), our vision is to achieve national reconciliation and bring Burma towards a free, federal democracy where no political prisoner remains behind bars and where civil and political rights are fully protected. There can be no national reconciliation as long as political prisoners continue to be unjustly detained.

To work towards this vision, AAPP uses its verified documentation, research and reports to enhance understandings of political prisoners and human rights violations in Burma among mandates of the United Nations, foreign governments, regional bodies, international NGOs, and global media. It remains AAPP’s long-term ambition to ensure that all advocacy and lobbying to key domestic and international stakeholders is credible and evidence based.

As an advisory to various domestic and international stakeholders, AAPP provides suggested actions in light of changing political conditions and organizes report launches, makes in-person advocacy trips and facilitates meetings to advocate and lobby to key stakeholders and engages in dialogue with diplomats and UN bodies on Human Rights Council resolutions.

Our advocacy and lobbying calls for international action to facilitate:
– The immediate and unconditional release of all political prisoners including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, for their rehabilitation and freedom of movement, to facilitate the path to a federal democracy;
– Targeted sanctions on the military regime, its individuals and their cronies;
– A repeal of repressive laws and an end to judicial weaponization;
– Independent monitoring of detention facilities and humane prison conditions;
– Justice sector reform to uphold the rule of law in a future federal democratic Burma.

Our advocacy centres around the voices of survivors and families, ensuring their experiences guide international action. Through its advocacy, AAPP works to ensure that political prisoners are never forgotten, that impunity is challenged, and that Myanmar’s path toward freedom and justice remains visible to the world.