FOR SECRETARIAT USE ONLY A/HRC/34/L.8 Item 4 Received from (main sponsors): Malta (on behalf of the European Union) Date and time: 16/03/2017, 11:10 Initials: MR Page 1 of 5 34th session of the Human Rights Council Item 4 Draft resolution 20170316 Situation of human rights in Myanmar The Human Rights Council, Guided by the Charter of the United Nations, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and the International Covenants on Human Rights, and reaffirming all relevant General Assembly and Human Rights Council resolutions on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, the most recent being Human Rights Council resolutions 31/24 of 24 March 2016 and 29/21 of 3 July 2015, and General Assembly resolution 70/233 of 23 December 2015, Welcoming the work and the reports of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, including the report presented to the 34th session of the Human Rights Council [A/HRC/34/67], and the cooperation by the Government of Myanmar with the Special Rapporteur, including the facilitation of her visits to some parts of the country on 20 June to 1st July 2016, and most recently on 9 to 21 January 2017, Recalling the General Observations of Myanmar on the report of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar to the 34th Session of the Human Rights Council [A/HRC/34/67/Add.1], Recalling the report of the High Commissioner for Human Rights [A/HRC/32/18] on the Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar and its recommendations and the Flash Report of the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, following its mission to Bangladesh, entitled Interviews with Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar since 9 October 2016 of 3 February 2017 and Stressing that States have the primary responsibility for the promotion and protection of human rights, 1. Welcomes the positive developments in Myanmar towards political and economic reform, democratization, national reconciliation, good governance and the rule of law, and the efforts made to promote and protect human rights and combat corruption, and encourages the Government to take further steps to address outstanding concerns; 2. Also welcomes the formation of a democratically elected government, while calling upon all actors to consolidate the democratic transition with full respect for the rule of law and human rights by bringing all national institutions, including the military, under civilian control, and to ensure the inclusion of all ethnic and religious minorities in the political process; 3. Welcomes the announcement of the Government of Myanmar to make peace and national reconciliation its top priority and the holding of the 21st Century Panglong Union Peace Conference from 31 August to 4 September 2016, while calling for further steps including enhanced efforts to reach out to those ethnic armed groups that have not yet signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement, and an immediate cessation of fighting and hostilities and of all violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law in northern Myanmar and the provision of immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access, including to areas controlled by ethnic armed groups, in particular in Kachin and Shan states, as well as the pursuit of an inclusive and comprehensive national political dialogue ensuring full and effective participation of women and youth, as well as civil society, with the objective of achieving lasting peace; 4. Recognizes the initial steps taken by the Government of Myanmar to address the underlying causes of the situation in Rakhine State, including by setting up a Central Committee for the Implementation of Peace, Stability and Development in Rakhine State, and an Advisory Commission on Rakhine State led by former UN Secretary General Kofi Annan, and commencing work on a long-term Socio-Economic Development Plan for Rakhine State, and looks forward to the implementation of the recommendations of the Advisory Commission in full consultation with all the communities concerned; 5. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar to continue efforts to eliminate statelessness and the systematic and institutionalized discrimination against members of ethnic, and religious minorities, including the root causes of discrimination, in particular relating to the Rohingya minority, inter alia by reviewing the 1982 Citizenship Law, which has led to deprival of human rights, by ensuring equal access to full citizenship, through a transparent, voluntary and accessible procedure, and to all civil and political rights, allowing for self-identification, amending or repealing all discriminatory legislation and policies, including discriminatory provisions of the set of ‘Protection of Race and Religion Laws’ covering religious conversion, interfaith marriage, monogamy and population control enacted in 2015, lifting local orders restricting rights to freedom of movement and access to civil registration, health and education services and to improve the squalid living conditions within the camps; 6. Also calls upon the Government of Myanmar to take further measures for a voluntary and sustainable return, of all refugees and internally displaced persons and others who have left Myanmar, including from the Rohingya minority, to Rakhine State in safety, security and dignity, and in accordance with international law; 7. While condemning attacks against border guard posts on 9 October 2016 in northern Rakhine State, recalls its deep concern over the serious subsequent further deterioration of the security, human rights and humanitarian situation in Rakhine State, which has forced tens of thousands of Rohingya minority to seek refuge in Bangladesh or elsewhere in Rakhine, urges the Government of Myanmar to lift the curfew order in Rakhine State and to promote the freedom of movement and safety and security of all persons, to allow and facilitate immediate, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need of assistance throughout the country to enable without delay the full resumption of aid programs, to allow independent observers and media access and to safeguard those who report abuses; 8. Notes that the Government of Myanmar considers the allegations contained in the Flash Report of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights of 3 February 2017 entitled Interviews with Rohingyas fleeing from Myanmar since 9 October 2016 as very serious in nature; 9. Notes that the Government of Myanmar established an Investigation Commission led by the Vice President U Myint Swe, and encourages the publication of a credible report on the findings of the Investigation Commission without delay; 10. Decides to dispatch urgently an independent international Fact Finding Mission to be appointed by the President of the Human Rights Council to establish the facts and circumstances of the alleged recent human rights violations by military and security forces, and abuses, in Myanmar, in particular in Rakhine State, including but not limited to arbitrary detention, torture and inhumane treatment, rape and other forms of sexual violence, extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary killings, enforced disappearances, forced displacement, unlawful destruction of property, with a view to ensure full accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims, and requests the Fact Finding Mission to present an oral update at the 36th session of the Human Rights Council, and a full report at the 37th session of the Human Rights Council; 11. Encourages the Government of Myanmar to fully cooperate with the Fact Finding Mission, including by making available the findings of the domestic investigations and other relevant information, and stresses the need for the Fact Finding Mission to be granted full, unrestricted and unmonitored access to all areas and interlocutors; 12. Stresses the need for the Fact Finding Mission to be equipped with all the necessary resources and expertise to carry out its mandate, including forensic expertise and expertise in sexual and gender-based violence; 13. Strongly encourages the Government of Myanmar to take the necessary measures to address discrimination and prejudice against women, children, and members of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities across the country, and to take further action to publicly condemn and speak out against any advocacy of national, racial, or religious hatred that constitutes incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence, and to adopt measures to criminalise incitement to imminent violence based on nationality, race, or religion or belief, while upholding freedom of expression, and to further increase efforts to promote tolerance and peaceful coexistence in all sectors of society in line with HRC Resolution 16/18 and the Rabat Plan of Action by, inter alia, further facilitating interfaith and intercommunal dialogue; 14. Noting with concern that charges for criminal defamation have increasingly been used to target journalists, politicians, students, and social media users, for their peaceful expression, online as well as offline, in particular through Section 66(d) of the Telecommunications Act, the Electronic Transactions Law, and provisions of the Penal Code including Section 505(b), and that the Unlawful Associations Act and Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Processions Law continues to be abused to arbitrarily arrest and detain individuals for the exercise of their rights to freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and association, including on the basis of their ethnicity or political beliefs and calls for open and participatory legislative processes to reform these laws in line with the Government of Myanmar's international human rights law obligations; 15. Welcomes the early release of political prisoners in accordance with its obligation to ensure that no one remains in prison owing to his or her political or religious beliefs, including those recently detained or convicted, human rights defenders and students while calling upon the Government of Myanmar to fulfil its commitment to unconditionally release all remaining political prisoners and to provide for the full rehabilitation of former political prisoners, as well as to amend restrictive laws and to end remaining curbs on exercising the rights to the freedoms of expression, association and peaceful assembly, which are essential to ensure a safe and enabling environment, notably for civil society, journalists, human rights defenders, lawyers, environmental and land rights activists, and civilians, and expresses concern over reports of the arrest of individuals in relation to the exercise of these rights; 16. Emphasizes that no-one should face reprisals, monitoring, surveillance, threats, harassment or intimidation, for cooperating with UN Special Procedures, including the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar, the United Nations or any investigative mechanism, and calls upon the Government of Myanmar to take appropriate measures to prevent such acts and to combat impunity by investigating promptly and effectively all allegations of intimidation and reprisal in order to bring perpetrators to justice and to provide victims with appropriate remedies; 17. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar to ensure prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations in the killings of constitutional legal expert and senior National League for Democracy advisor Ko Ni in January 2017, land and environmental activist Naw Chit Pan Daing in November 2016 and journalist Soe Moe Tun in December 2016 as well as other cases, and for those responsible to be held accountable; 18. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar to take further steps to reform the constitution as well as strengthen democratic institutions, good governance and the rule of law to respect and promote universal human rights and fundamental freedoms, in line with international norms and standards and stresses the need for an independent, impartial and effective judiciary and an independent and self-governing legal profession, and to ensure full compliance with obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as applicable; 19. Welcomes steps taken by the Government of Myanmar to end the recruitment of child soldiers and the release of 800 child soldiers and, abhorring their use in Myanmar, and urges the Government to further consolidate progress towards a complete cessation of all recruitment and use of child soldiers; identification of all children remaining in the ranks of government forces and their immediate release;  an end to the arrest, harassment and imprisonment of children accused of desertion; continued efforts to bring perpetrators of child recruitment to justice as well as criminalizing the recruitment of child soldiers, increasing transparency, including through expanding access to birth registration services to children, including those vulnerable to recruitment, and ensuring rehabilitation and reintegration of former child soldiers; 20. Also welcomes steps taken by the Government of Myanmar to ratify and accede to international human rights conventions, and encourages the Government of Myanmar to actively consider the ratification of additional international human rights conventions and the optional protocols thereto, and calls for the full implementation of its obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law, as well as of other relevant agreements; 21. Also welcomes the ongoing negotiations between the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Government, and recalls the commitment of the Government to open a country office of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, with a full mandate and in accordance with the mandate of the High Commissioner; 22. Calls upon the Government of Myanmar and its institutions to step up efforts to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights and the rule of law, advance democratization and inclusive economic and social development towards the achievement of Sustainable Development Goals, including by reforming the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission in accordance with the Paris Principles, and calls upon the international community to support Myanmar in this regard; 23. Encourages all business enterprises, including transnational corporations and domestic enterprises, to support and respect human rights in accordance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and calls upon the Government of Myanmar to fulfil its duty to protect human rights, and calls on home States of business companies operating in Myanmar to set out clearly the expectation that all business enterprises domiciled in their territory and/or jurisdiction respect human rights throughout their operations; 24. Welcomes the enhanced cooperation of the Government of Myanmar with the International Labour Organization, encourages the implementation of the Supplementary Understanding for the elimination of the use of forced labour with a complaint mechanism that is operational, as well as a swift revision of the Memorandum of Understanding as the basis for a revitalized and strengthened Action Plan, and invites further cooperation with the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights and with all United Nations special procedures in this regard; 25. Decides to extend the mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the Situation of human rights in Myanmar for a further period of one year, requests the Special Rapporteur to present an oral progress report at the 35th session of the Human Rights Council, and to submit a report to the General Assembly Third Committee at its 72nd session and to the Human Rights Council at its 37th session in accordance with its annual programme of work, and invites the Special Rapporteur to continue to monitor the situation of human rights and to measure progress in the implementation of the recommendations made by the Special Rapporteur; 26. Welcomes the ongoing cooperation with the Special Rapporteur, and calls upon the Government of Myanmar to continue its cooperation with the Special Rapporteur in the exercise of the mandate, including by facilitating further visits and granting unrestricted access throughout the country and to further work with the Special Rapporteur to develop a work plan and timeframe for the swift implementation of benchmarks for progress and priority areas for technical assistance and capacity-building identified in her report [A/HRC/34/67]; 27. Requests that the United Nations Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights provide the Special Rapporteur and the Fact Finding Mission with the assistance, resources and expertise necessary to enable them to discharge their mandates fully.