Telenor’s Exit from Myanmar - A Cautionary Tale for the Just Transition

On the day of publication, SOMO's joint complaint regarding Telenor's exit from Myanmar was officially accepted by the Norwegian National Contact Point. This article is part of a series focused on "responsible exits" and how the human rights...

Migrant Worker Updates from the Gulf and South East Asia

IHRB's Migrant Workers Programme staff members provide updates from Qatar, Thailand and Myanmar on sector-wide progress. For more information on the work and upcoming events of IHRB and the Leadership Group for Responsible Recruitment, visit our...

Shifting Sands in Myanmar

Some of the poorest people in Southeast Asia are those that test their luck drilling for oil in the sand and mangrove swamps of the Rakhine State in Myanmar (Burma). There is no mechanical drill, everything is done by hand. To reach a depth of 100m...

The Challenge of Criminalising Hate Speech

This commentary was originally published in the Myanmar Times. 

Since Myanmar’s landmark election in November 2015, the National League for Democracy government has publicly condemned the use of so-called hate speech on several occasions and...

Five Years On - Translating the UN Guiding Principles into Myanmar

On June 16th 2011, the UN Human Rights Council unanimously endorsed the UN Guiding Principles on Business & Human Rights. The Guiding Principles were unprecedented on many levels, including by reaffirming and clarifying state duties to protect...

On International Human Rights Defenders’ Day

International human rights defenders’ day, which we observe today, is a moment of sobering reflection. Peaceful, non-violent human rights defenders are being prosecuted, convicted, and jailed in some cases, and intimidated, tortured, and sometimes...

New reports under the US State Department’s Burma reporting requirements underline the importance of thorough due diligence

Coca Cola’s third report under the US Reporting Requirements for Burma confirms them once again as far ahead of their US and international peers in disclosure of the human rights and business integrity challenges they face in Myanmar. 

It provides...

ICTs and Elections: Tackling Network Shutdowns, Hate Speech and Surveillance in Myanmar

Myanmar will hold its much-anticipated general election on November 8th 2015. The Internet will play an important role in these elections.

The country’s ICT sector is developing at speed and there are many ways companies could have a positive...

What Have We Achieved So Far? Reflections on 2nd anniversary of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business

2015 is a big year for Myanmar, with Parliamentary elections due in November after which the next President will be chosen. Experts suggest we can expect the election process to be generally free and fair, albeit under the Constitution Daw Aung San...

Rights, Safety at Risk Without Lawful Interception Rules

This piece was originally published in The Myanmar Times.

Myanmar is among the fastest-growing telecommunications markets in the world. However, a key part of Myanmar’s telecommunications legal framework has yet to be finalised: rules governing the...

The Challenges and Opportunities of Myanmar’s New ICT Networks

The speed at which Information Communications Technology (ICT) develops is apparent in most countries in the world, but none more so than Myanmar in 2014. The mobile and internet infrastructure is being modernised and expanded rapidly from a...

“Bittersweet Harvest” in Cambodia – A cautionary tale for Myanmar

In June of this year the European Union (EU) reinstated Myanmar’s access to the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which provides for duty and quota-free exports to EU countries under the “Everything But Arms” programme, raising hopes for...