4 4.9 Myanmar Good Practice Examples:  The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business convened a stakeholder     consultation at the request of an ICT company operating in the sector to discuss potential human rights risks for their forthcoming operations. 627 From 4 November to 2 December 2013, MCIT issued a call for public comments on “Proposed Rules for Telecommunications Sector Relating to Licensing, Access and Interconnection, Spectrum, Numbering, and Competition”. Responses by 21 organisations 628 (including private sector companies, civil society organisations, and foreign governments) were posted online at www.myanmarpublicconsultation.com. This may have been the first online consultation by the Myanmar Government. Unfortunately the website is now defunct and the consultation documents and responses are no longer publicly available. On 21 May 2015 one of the telecoms operators held its first public sustainability seminar in Yangon, outlining human rights risks and ongoing compliance initiatives. The event was held with two-way translation. In March 2015, MCIT held a public forum in Yangon, focused on the health impacts on Myanmar mobile networks, with the support of the mobile industry association and one of the network providers. Research was presented focusing on international protection limits compared to radiation levels at base stations in Yangon and Mandalay. Findings showed that EMF radiation levels were far below acceptable limits set by the World Health Organisation (WHO). MCIT also produced an information brochure, including information on EMF radiation and international standards in Burmese. While the session and production of the brochure are positive steps, plans around translating the brochure into ethnic languages are unclear. This is especially important given the current geographic focus of the national telecommunications rollout. It is also unclear whose responsibility it is to distribute the brochure. One company has reported that their Code of Conduct covers human rights and also has a Myanmar-specific statement on human rights due diligence requirements. They have established a community outreach program with State Liaison Officers to act as a link between ethnic groups and the company, and a local hotline to which people may report grievances related to sustainability issues. 629 627 MCRB, “MCRB facilitates discussion between Ericsson and civil society groups” (25 July 2014). Companies that responded were Aether Company, Apollo Towers Myanmar Ltd, AVP Viom Networks, Digicel Myanmar Tower Company, Ericsson, Frontiir, GSMA, KDDI, LIRNEasia, Pan Asia Majestic Eagle Ltd, Ooredoo, Orange, Redlink, SingTel, SK Telecom, Telenor, VDB Loi, YTP. Others responding were MIDO and the US Government. See MCRB’s submission: MCRB “Proposed Rules for the Telecommunications Sector” (4 December 2013). 628 629 See further: Telenor, “Response by Telenor: Myanmar Foreign Investment Tracking Project", Business & Human Rights Resource Centre (last accessed September 2015). 248 PAGE CHAPTER 4.9: STAKEHOLDER ENGAGEMENT & GRIEVANCE MECHANISMS