U Kyaw Hla Aung, born Muhammad Kasim in Sittwe, was a Rohingya lawyer and civil rights defender who was arrested multiple times and spent years in prison under Myanmar's military regime. After qualifying as a lawyer in 1982 he defended Rohingya farmers and landowners, co-founded the National Democratic Party for Human Rights, and later worked to improve access to healthcare and education for Rohingya in the camps, becoming a respected leader in the Thet Kae Pyin internment camp near Sittwe. In 2018 he became the first Rohingya to win the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity.
Sources
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A steadfast defender of Rohingya rights
U Kyaw Hla Aung was a pioneering Rohingya lawyer and civil rights defender, widely recognized as one of the most courageous advocates for Rohingya rights. Born as Muhammad Kasim on 16 August 1940 in Sittwe (Akyab), Rakhine State, Myanmar, he witnessed early on the systemic injustice faced by his community.
After working as a court clerk and stenographer, he trained as a lawyer and graduated in 1982. Motivated by the ongoing discrimination against Rohingya, he used his legal knowledge to defend vulnerable farmers and landowners. In 1986, he represented Rohingya farmers resisting land confiscation by the government — a courageous act that led to his first imprisonment.
Despite multiple arrests and spending years in prison under Myanmar’s military regime, U Kyaw Hla Aung remained steadfast. He co-founded the National Democratic Party for Human Rights and was a candidate in the 1990 elections, though the government blocked his political participation by arresting him and sentencing him to 14 years in prison.
He continued his activism from inside prison and later in refugee camps, where he worked tirelessly to improve access to healthcare and education for the Rohingya. He became a respected leader in the Thet Kae Pyin internment camp near Sittwe.
In 2018, U Kyaw Hla Aung became the first Rohingya — and one of the very few people from Myanmar — to win the Aurora Prize for Awakening Humanity, an international humanitarian award recognizing his extraordinary courage and dedication.
In 2019, Fortune magazine ranked him 28th in its list of the World's Greatest Leaders, and the Armenian post office honored him with a commemorative stamp.
U Kyaw Hla Aung passed away on 31 July 2021 in Yangon, Myanmar, after years of service to his people.
