Introduction Online platforms became a new avenue for people to express themselves politically. Unprepared and uncomfortable with online criticism directed at public officials, the NLD-Tatmadaw hybrid regime resorted to the Telecommunications Law and the country’s Penal Code to silence critics, journalists and human rights defenders, or to impose outright internet shutdowns. These restrictions on internet usage and persecution of users has created a precedent for post-coup internet shutdowns and criminalisation of online activism, which are contrary to all international standards on freedom of expression and internet freedoms. 6 1d. Implementation of Recommendations Under Human Rights Mechanisms Internet freedoms and guarantees on freedom of expression are stipulated under Article 19 of the ICCPR as “everyone shall have the right to freedom of expression; this right shall include freedom to seek, receive and impart information and ideas of all kinds, regardless of frontiers, either orally, in writing or in print, in the form of art, or through any other media of his choice” (OHCHR, 1966). As stated in the General Comment No. 34, rights provision under paragraph 2 of the Article 19 protect all forms of expression and the means of their dissemination, including audio-visual, as well as electronic and internet-based modes of expression. In this section, Myanmar’s internet freedoms are assessed via its adherence to international human rights standards emanating from customary international law and its obligations under the treaties to which it is a party. Myanmar’s implementation of recommendations under various UN human rights mechanisms is discussed, including those based on the country’s UPR cycles in 2010, 2015 and 2020 and the reports of the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. At the regional and national levels, the significance of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Human Rights Declaration, the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights, and the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) are also briefly considered. In 2019, a motion from the NLD to sign the ICCPR was rejected by military members of parliament. While Myanmar is not a signatory to the ICCPR, its provisions on freedom of expression and the rights to privacy under the Constitution, which are essential to the realisation of internet freedoms, reflect the guarantees of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR). The UDHR is widely regarded as customary international law, and Myanmar remains obligated to respect and comply with the UDHR as the country voted in favour of its adoption in 1948. The UDHR guarantees the right to freedom of expression in Article 19: “Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opinions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and regardless of frontiers.” ASEAN has affirmed the commitment of its Member States to uphold all civil and political rights in the UDHR. Myanmar is therefore legally required to uphold the right to freedom of association.7 Additionally, the obligation to respect, protect and fulfill the right to internet freedoms is encompassed in different ways in Myanmar’s existing treaty obligations, including under the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), and the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Internet freedoms are in many cases a prerequisite—or at a minimum, significantly impacted by—many of the rights articulated in the ICESCR, such as the right to education, the right to take part in cultural life, and the right to work. 03 6 These standards are well treated in the authoritative General Comment Number 24 of the Human Rights Committee: https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/gc34.pdf 7 International standards for the freedom of expression are articulated by the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), the UN Special Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and other authoritative sources. Joint Declaration which is available here: https://r2pasiapacific.org/files/6545/Joint_Declaration_SEA_RegionHall_Myanmar_2021.pdf