Over the past two years, Article 66(d) has been the tool of choice for those in positions of power who want to punish those who are trying to hold them accountable. The government’s amendment of 66(d) in August 2017 has had no discernible impact on
Freedom of expression creates an economic and policy environment of openness, transparency, government accountability, and responsible legal processes that are vital for doing good business. Without free expression including media freedom, monopolies emerge, employees’ rights are abused, and corruption and malpractice become common. In this
The right to protest includes a number of principles: General international standards on protest principles The right to protest includes the rights to freedom of expression; assembly; association; and public participation. Violations of the right to protest often involve violating the rights to life; freedom
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
FEM’s analysis of the government’s recent reform of the Telecommunications Act, including Article 66(d), has been published in Frontier Myanmar: The 66(d) amendment: tinkering at the edges On August 29, President U Htin Kyaw signed into law long-awaited amendments to the 2013 Telecommunications Law that
FEM welcomes the military’s withdrawal today of criminal complaints against eight journalists, journalist sources and human rights defenders. The criminal provisions in the Penal Code, Telecommunications Law, and Unlawful Association Law, used to charge the eight people are not acceptable under international standards on the
FEM welcomes today’s publication of the final Rakhine Commission Report, led by Kofi Annan, and urges the Myanmar government to implement its recommendations on media, access to information and hate speech without delay. Media access FEM urges the government to implement without delay recommendations no.
The 2017 Global Corruption Barometer gives evidence about corruption in Myanmar. Overall, 60% of people in Myanmar think that corruption has stayed the same or increased since the NLD took power. 38% think the NLD is handling corruption badly or very badly. Participants believed that
As lawyers and legal advocates working on cases relating to the media, internet and freedom of expression in Myanmar, Free Expression Myanmar (FEM), Myanmar Media Legal Network (MMLN), Hygienic Legal Clinic call on Members of Parliament and the Parliamentary Bill Committees to use the opportunity
Supreme Court justices and staff were interested in the experience of the UK government and the investigation into media regulation by the senior judge Leveson.Leveson: Context UK licencing ended in 1695 to promote free media. Only general laws e.g. defamation.Accusation of “Power without responsibility” in phone-hacking