The Women’s League of Burma (WLB) is calling on women’s groups from around the world to join them in urging the United Nations Security Council to prosecute Senior General Than Shwe at the International Criminal Court. In light of the recent atrocities committed by Than Shwe and his regime, including the unlawful imprisonment of Nobel Peace Prize winner Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, it is indisputable that now is time for the United Nations to take strong action on Burma.

This statement was circulated among women’s rights activists in the current conditions of a near complete communication shut-down. Therefore, many women’s rights activists [interested in signing] might not have yet seen this statement at this point. Zhila Bani-Yaghoub and her spouse, Bahman Amouiee, are among the undersigned but have since been arrested and are currently among the detainees.

June 19, 2009

In 2002, Mukhtar Mai was gang-raped on orders of a traditional village council as punishment for acts allegedly committed by her younger brother. Instead of suffering in silence, Ms. Mai fought back and testified in a rape case against her attackers and is now a leading Pakistani women's rights activist.

June 10, 2009

On May 7, 2009, Xiomara Duran, a 27-year old transwoman, was wounded by six gunshots fired by an unknown individual on Avenida Libertador in Caracas. Two friends took Xiomara to the Periferico de Catia hospital. On Sunday May 17, she was transferred to the Perez de Leon hospital, where she died the next day. This is the fourth murder to affect the Caracas transgender community in the last six months.

We the undersigned are deeply disturbed by the call on the part of the Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) to have Sisters in Islam (SIS) banned and its members rehabilitated should its activities be determined to be contrary to the Islamic shariah.