23 III. Human Rights Standards and Legal Analysis International human rights standards protect the right to establish, maintain, and use places of worship without discrimination. Article 18 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights protects freedom to manifest religion in worship and observance. Article 6(a) of the 1981 U.N. Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief specifically protects worship and assembly and the establishment and maintenance of places for those purposes.73 The UDHR and the 1981 Declaration prohibit discrimination based on religion or belief.74 Myanmar is not a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights. The U.N. Human Rights Committee's interpretation of article 18(3) nevertheless provides relevant guidance that restrictions on the manifestation of religion should be prescribed by law, pursue a recognised protective purpose, and be necessary and proportionate.75 Myanmar's 2008 Constitution protects freedom of conscience and the right to profess and practise religion under section 34. Sections 347 and 348 guarantee equality before the law and equal legal protection and prohibit discrimination against citizens on grounds including religion. Section 360 permits regulation of secular activities associated with religious practice and laws for public welfare and reform.76 Restrictions that prevent Muslim communities from repairing, demolishing, or rebuilding mosques without a clear legal basis, or that treat Muslim places of worship less favourably than comparable religious sites without objective and reasonable justification, interfere with freedom of religion or belief and constitute religious discrimination.77 BHRN's findings show that the permit system lacked clear and predictable rules. A November 2025 article on the junta-run Ministry of Information website referred to an order requiring collapsed Christian churches and mosques to be rebuilt only in their original form, but did not identify a statutory basis. A lawyer interviewed by BHRN described the original-design requirement as a local administrative order rather than a law.78 Article 3 of the UDHR recognises the rights to life, liberty, and security of person. The earthquake triggered the collapses. BHRN documented that restrictions prevented some Muslim communities from carrying out repairs sought before the disaster, left known structural risks unresolved, and delayed demolition, stabilisation, repair, and reconstruction afterward. Arbitrary restrictions that 73 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 18. United Nations General Assembly, Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Resolution 36/55, 25 November 1981, art. 6(a). 74 Universal Declaration of Human Rights, art. 2. United Nations General Assembly, Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Resolution 36/55, 25 November 1981, art. 2(2). 75 United Nations Treaty Collection, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, status as at 25 September 2026. U.N. Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 22, Article 18 (Freedom of Thought, Conscience or Religion), CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.4, 30 July 1993, para. 8. 76 Constitution of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (2008), ss. 34, 347, 348 and 360. 77 United Nations General Assembly, Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief, Resolution 36/55, 25 November 1981, arts. 1(3), 2(2), 4 and 6(a). U.N. Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 22, para. 8. U.N. Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 18, Non-discrimination, 10 November 1989, para. 13. 78 Ministry of Information, “Open Letter to CSW’s Founder President Mr Mervyn Thomas who Ignore the Truth and Support Terrorist Acts,” 26 November 2025. BHRN Interview 11, Myanmar, 16 May 2025.