The Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Persecution of Rohingyas since 1978

The Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Systematic Persecution

of
Rohingyas since 1978
26 May 2015
ONE DAY PROGRAM
Venues:
The Norwegian Nobel Institute & Voksenaasen Conference Center
Oslo, Norway

Registration and tea/coffee, The Norwegian Nobel Institute, 0800-0900 hrs

MORNING SESSIONS (to be webcast live)

(0900 1200 hrs)
Venue: The Norwegian Nobel Institute

All morning sessions are open to public and press.

MORNING SESSION I
(0900 0945 hrs)
Interfaith Prayers for Peace & Reconciliation in Rakhine or Arakan
& Observance of a Moment of Silence for victims of past and unfolding
genocides
(0900-0910 hrs)
(co-lead by Burmese Buddhist monks, Burmese Christian leaders, Muslim
Imams and the Bishop Tor B. Jorgensen of Norway)
Live Music by a solo Kurdish Flutist
Session Chair: Imam & Dr Malik Mujahid, Chair, Parliament of the Worlds Religions

Welcome by Imam & Dr Malik Mujahid, Chair, Parliament of the Worlds Religions and
Chair, Justice for All, Chicago, USA: Welcome Remarks (0910 0915 hrs)
A Buddhist Abbot: Racism and Violence Are Not the Buddhist Way (0916-0920 hrs)
Daw Khin Hla, former Rohingya teacher from Myanmar & refugee: No Country for
Rohingyas: A Refugees Appeal to End Myanmars Slow Genocide: (0920-0925 hrs)

Co-organized and/or co-sponsored by

Justice for All, Burma Task Force, USA; Parliament of the Worlds Religions; Refugees International (USA);
International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) Queen Mary University of London; Harvard Global Equality Initiative
(HGEI); Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)

The Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Persecution of Rohingyas since 1978

Opening Keynote Address (0925-0955 hrs, including Q and A)

Kjell Magne Bondevik
Former Prime Minister of Norway
Introduction by se Sand, Norwegian Burma Committee

Morning Session II (0955-1100 hrs)

Calls to End the Slow Genocide of Rohingyas(pre-recorded)

George Soros, Founder/Philanthropist, the Open Society Foundations (0955-1000 hrs)

Tun Dr Mahathir Mohammad, former Prime Minister of Malaysia and President,
Perdana Global Peace Foundation (PGPF) (1000 - 1005 hrs)
Dr Jos Ramos-Horta, Nobel Peace Laureate (1996) and former President and former
Prime Minister, Timor Leste (1006-1011 hrs)
Mairead Maguire, Nobel Peace Laureate (1976) & Irish Peace Activist (1011-1014 hrs)
Amartya Sen, Nobel Laureate in Economics, Burmas Slow Genocide of Rohingyas (Sens
observation, Conference on the Rohingyas, Harvard U,, Nov 2014) (1014-1020 hrs)
Desmond Tutu, Nobel Peace Laureate (1984) & Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town
(1021-1029 hrs)
MUSIC FOR PEACE, FREEDOM, COMPASSION AND RECONCILIATION
(1030 1035 hrs)
By
Renowned Burmese Dissident Musician & Vocalist Mun Awng (or Mun Aung)
With Audun Aagre

A Policy Roundtable (1035-1100, including Q and A)

Myanmar as Norways focus country
Chair: Audun Aagre, Director, Den norske Burmakomit
Morten Hglund, The State Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Norway
&
Ola Elvestuen, MP for the Liberal Party, Norway
Discussant: Professor Kristian Stokke, Sociology & Human Geography, U. Oslo

Refreshments Break (1100 1115 hrs)

Co-organized and/or co-sponsored by

Justice for All, Burma Task Force, USA; Parliament of the Worlds Religions; Refugees International (USA);
International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) Queen Mary University of London; Harvard Global Equality Initiative
(HGEI); Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)

The Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Persecution of Rohingyas since 1978

Morning Session III (1115 1145 hrs including Q and A)

A Human Rights Conversation

with
Tomas Ojea Quintana
Former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human
rights in Myanmar (2008-2014)
Penny Green
Professor of Law and Globalization & Director of International State Crime Initiative
Queen Mary University of London, UK
Moderated by

Maung Zarni
Member, Permanent Peoples Tribunal on Sri Lanka (2013) & Co-author (w A. Cowley)
The Slow Burning Genocide of Myanmars Rohingya
Pacific Rim Law and Policy Journal, University of Washington School of Law (Spring 2014)

Lunch 1230 1330 hrs

Venue: Voksenaasen Conference Center
(All speakers & participants will be bused from the Nobel Institute to Voksenaasen - )

Afternoon Sessions (at Voksenaasen)

Afternoon Plenary I (1330 1430 hrs)
In Their Own Words: An Update on the Plight of the Rohingyas
(8-minutes each & 20 minutes Q and A)
Chair: Maung Zarni

Leading Rohingya Voices (to be announced later)

Co-organized and/or co-sponsored by

Justice for All, Burma Task Force, USA; Parliament of the Worlds Religions; Refugees International (USA);
International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) Queen Mary University of London; Harvard Global Equality Initiative
(HGEI); Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)

The Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Persecution of Rohingyas since 1978

Afternoon Plenary II (1430 1530 hrs)

Rohingya Perspectives and Policy Advocacy from the Diaspora
(10 minutes each & 20 minutes Q and A)
Chair: Marco Mezzera, Senior Advisor, Norwegian Peacebuilding Resource Centre
(NOREF)

Nurul Islam, Rohingya lawyer & Chairman, Arakan Rohingya National Organisation
(ARNO) UK, Analysis of the Rohingya Problem
Dr Ambia Perveen, MD, Rohingya pediatrician & lobby member, European Rohingya
Council (ERC), Germany
Myanmars Decades-long Persecution of the Rohingya: Public Health Implications
Dr Wakar Udin, Director General, Arakan Rohingya Union (ARU) and Professor of
Plant Pathology and Environmental Microbiology, Penn State University, USA
Challenges in international policy advocacy

Tun Khin, President, Burmese Rohingya Organization UK

Is the international community ignoring Myanmars genocide of the Rohingyas?

Refreshments Break (1530 1545 hrs)

Afternoon Plenary III (1545-1640 hrs)

Perspectives from Research & NGO Communities
(10- minutes each with 15 minutes of Q & A)
Chair: Ann Danaiya Usher, Journalist, Development Today, Oslo, Norway

Andrea Gittleman, Program Manager, Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of

Genocide, U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum
"They Want Us All To Go Away": Early Warning Signs of Genocide in Burma
Professor Penny Green, Dr Thomas MacManus and Alicia de la Cour Venning
International State Crime Initiative, Queen Mary University of London
Findings from the recent fieldwork on the Rohingya persecution
Matthew Smith, Executive Director, Fortify Rights
Myanmars Policies of Persecution: Ethnic Cleansing and Crime against Humanity
Oddny Gumaer, Executive Director, Partners Relief & Development
A humanitarian aid workers view on the ground

Co-organized and/or co-sponsored by

Justice for All, Burma Task Force, USA; Parliament of the Worlds Religions; Refugees International (USA);
International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) Queen Mary University of London; Harvard Global Equality Initiative
(HGEI); Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)

The Oslo Conference to End Myanmars Persecution of Rohingyas since 1978

Plenary IV (1640-1725 hrs)

(10-minutes each with 15 minutes of Q & A)

Policy and Political Perspectives

Chair: Espen Skran, Oslo Center for Peace and Human Rights

Sarnata Reynolds, Senior Adviser on Human Rights, Refugees International, USA

An International Human Rights Perspective on Rohingya Persecution: Challenges and Opportunities
General Azumi (retired), former Chief of Army MALAYSIA, Former UN Peacekeeper
and current Trustee of the Perdana Global Peace Foundation, MALAYSIA
Rohingya Persecutuion: A Policy and Leadership Challenge to the Region (of Southeast Asia)
Dr Gianni Tognani, The Secretary General, Permanent Peoples Tribunal, Rome, Italy
Extra-UN Tribunal Approaches to Dealing with Mass Atrocities

SPECIAL CLOSING SESSION (1725 1730 hrs)

Words of Solidarity and Compassion
Sharing a Painful Experience of Eelam Tamils
Mr.Sivapalan Kasinathar
Tamil Exile and Human Rights Lawyer, Oslo, Norway

Co-organized and/or co-sponsored by

Justice for All, Burma Task Force, USA; Parliament of the Worlds Religions; Refugees International (USA);
International State Crime Initiative (ISCI) Queen Mary University of London; Harvard Global Equality Initiative
(HGEI); Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI)