Download this as a PDF» We welcome the recognition that the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law (the PAPP Law) is undemocratic and should again be amended by the government. Unfortunately, the Bill of Amendment of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law (the Amendment
The Law Protecting the Privacy and Security of Citizens was adopted by the National League for Democracy government on 8 March 2017 to enact Article 357 of the Constitution. Article 8(f) Article 8(f) criminalises defamation: “no one shall act in any way to slander or harm
The Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law regulates protest in Myanmar. The Law clearly violates the Myanma people’s rights to freedom of expression and assembly by: Prioritising control over rather than facilitation of protests Requiring protesters to overcome burdensome and bureaucratic hurdles Effectively making spontaneous protests unlawful
Journalists and human rights defenders are regularly attacked for what they say in Myanmar. Reprisal attacks include surveillance, harassment, beatings and killings. Women also face gender-based attacks. Freedom of expression includes a right to protection from violent reprisals and journalists and human rights defenders urgently
Influential people that are intolerant of religious, ethnic, gender and sexual diversity have made hateful speech in Myanmar. Hateful speech has included everything from offensive and discriminatory remarks to incitement to violence and ethnic cleansing. People making hateful speech are unaccountable. The government has not
Myanmar is one of the most corrupt countries in the world with one of the most unaccountable governments. This is partly because the government is very secretive and many public officials believe that the information they keep on budgets, policies, and projects is secret. Myanmar
Myanmar has a number of government-controlled broadcasters on radio and television, including channels run by the Ministry of Information and by the military. The government needs to end all government-controlled broadcasters and create a public service broadcaster. The USDP government proposed a Public Service Media
The Official Secrets Act was created by the British colonial government in 1923 to criminalise the sharing of almost any kind of information held by the government. The government can say any information is an official secret and is likely to hide corruption and wrongdoing
The Electronic Transactions Law was created under the military government to regulate the internet and control internet users using harsh criminal punishments. The Electronic Transactions Law includes illegitimate criminal punishments for freedom of expression which are unacceptable in a democracy. Summary of recommendations The Electronic
The Broadcasting Law was created to open up the government-controlled television and radio sector and allow new private and community channels to apply for licences. Unfortunately the law keeps all undemocratic government-controlled channels and creates a broadcasting regulator that is not independent from government control.