ABSTRACT

Violence against Muslim minority communities in Myanmar has brought the issue of human rights to international and domestic attention. Burmese democratic leaders, activists and Buddhist monks have attracted sharp international criticism for their seemingly neglectful responses to widespread human rights violations. Yet little attention has been directed towards understanding how these leaders make sense of “human rights.” This article argues that the shift in international attention from the problem of military authoritarianism to the marginalisation of religious minorities precipitated new ways in which human rights has been given meaning by Burmese Buddhist political and religious leaders. Examining their use of human rights language through interviews conducted between 2016 and 2017, we highlight contrasting responses to “human rights.” Some respondents rejected human rights language outright, while others imparted the phrase with their own meaning, presenting a variety of hybridised visions of human rights that sometimes supported, rather than opposed, the exclusion of Muslim minorities. Finally, others strategically avoided human rights language as they sought to promote human rights aims amidst popular rejection of the discourse. These findings highlight the importance, for actors seeking to promote human rights in Myanmar, of sensitivity towards divergent meanings of human rights.

摘要

缅甸针对穆斯林少数群体的暴力行为使人权问题引起了国际和国内的关注。缅甸民主领袖、活动人士和佛教僧侣因对普遍侵犯人权的行为似乎疏忽大意而招致国际尖锐批评。然而，很少有人关注理解这些领导人如何理解“人权”。本文认为，国际注意力从军事威权主义问题转向宗教少数群体的边缘化，促成了缅甸佛教政治和宗教领袖赋予人权意义的新方式。通过 2016 年至 2017 年间进行的采访，我们检查了他们对人权语言的使用，我们强调了对“人权”的对比反应。” 一些受访者直接拒绝了人权语言，而另一些人则赋予了这句话自己的意思，提出了各种混合的人权愿景，有时支持而不是反对排斥穆斯林少数民族。最后，其他人策略性地回避了人权语言，因为他们试图在普遍拒绝该话语的情况下促进人权目标。这些发现强调了对于寻求在缅甸促进人权的行为者而言，对不同的人权含义保持敏感的重要性。其他人策略性地避免使用人权语言，因为他们在普遍拒绝该言论的情况下寻求促进人权目标。这些发现强调了对于寻求在缅甸促进人权的行为者而言，对不同的人权含义保持敏感的重要性。其他人策略性地避免使用人权语言，因为他们在普遍拒绝该言论的情况下寻求促进人权目标。这些发现强调了对于寻求在缅甸促进人权的行为者而言，对不同的人权含义保持敏感的重要性。