To ICT and Telecommunications Companies Considering Investment in Burma • Assess human rights risks raised by potential business activity, including risk posed to the rights of freedom of expression, access to information, and privacy. • Develop strategies to mitigate the risk of abuses linked to business operations, including by incorporating human rights safeguards into operating licenses or other agreements. • Adopt human rights policies outlining how the company will resist government requests for censorship, illegal surveillance, or network shutdowns, including procedures for how to narrow requests that may be disproportionate or challenge requests not supported by law. • Ensure transparency by publishing terms of operating agreements and information on consortiums formed to operate in Burma, and by reporting on the number of government requests received for censorship and surveillance and how the company responded. • Vet potential business partners to ensure they are not implicated in human rights abuses or corruption, and secure a commitment to human rights policies from partners. • Conduct due diligence to address human rights concerns that may arise from land acquisitions and security arrangements, and disclose plans for consultation for impacted residents, resettlement, and compensation. • Commit to independent and transparent third-party monitoring to ensure compliance with human rights standards, including by joining a multi-stakeholder initiative like the Global Network Initiative. To the Governments of the United Kingdom, Norway, Sweden, South Africa, and Other Home Governments of International Telecommunications Firms Bidding for a License in Burma • Regulate the human rights conduct of companies subject to national jurisdiction operating abroad in Burma, such as requiring companies to respect human rights and undertake human rights due diligence activity to prevent rights abuses and remedy them if they arise. 5 HUMAN RIGHTS WATCH | MAY 2013