Myanmar: Analysis of the Organisation Registration Law This is clear from the powers granted to these entities under the NGO Law. The relevant registration board, government entity assigned to an organisation and GAD all may inspect an organisation, review documents and make enquiries of it. NGOs which fail to permit such inspections may face administrative sanctions. 110 These inspection powers appear to be generally available, rather than linked to a specific administrative proceeding. NGOs must also obtain approval for several basic operational decisions. If a registered organisation dissolves, changes its name or address, opens a branch office within Myanmar or changes an executive member, it must seek approval for this change from its registration board within seven days of the decision.111 No procedures are delineated for the registration board to approve this change, apparently leaving this to the discretion of the registration board. NGOs must similarly obtain approval to change their objectives or activities, a highly intrusive requirement discussed in greater depth in section 7 of this Analysis. 6.2. Assessment against International Standards States should avoid “frequent, onerous and bureaucratic reporting requirements” which “unduly obstruct” the work of NGOs.112 Any reporting and audit requirements should not be so burdensome that they fetter the ability of organisations to function and carry out their activities.113 The NGO Law, by contrast, requires quarterly activity reports. This is unnecessarily frequent and does not serve a legitimate regulatory purpose. The fact that they must be submitted to GAD township administrators instead of the registration board also adds unnecessary complexity; States should not require reporting to multiple government bodies.114 A requirement to submit annual financial statements can be consistent with human rights standards but requiring a full audit by a registered accountant is a potentially prohibitively onerous requirement for smaller organisations. The NGO Law has more relaxed requirements for organisations registered at the district and township level, which will cover many small NGOs, but those registered at other boards may still struggle with this requirement. Preferably, full audits should only be required of organisations of a certain size. Authorities should not be able to engage in extensive oversight and monitoring of NGOs absent specific justification for this. Broad discretion to monitor the activities of organisations 110 NGO Law, sections 28(h) and 46. NGO Law, section 28(j). 112 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on assembly and association, 24 April 2013, para. 38, undocs.org/A/HRC/23/39. 113 Human Rights Council Resolution 22/6, para. 9(a); and Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa, note 14, para. 35. 114 Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa, note 14, para. 36(a). 111 The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 25