Myanmar: Analysis of the Organisation Registration Law of the 2014 NGO Law did not align with international standards since they contained unnecessarily burdensome requirements but, given Myanmar’s history, it represented a major positive legal development. The 2014 NGO Law remained in force until its repeal by the 2022 NGO Law. Myanmar also still retains the colonial Unlawful Associations Act. This 1908 Law prohibits “unlawful associations”, defined as those which encourage or aid persons to commit violence, or any organisation declared unlawful by the President. The President has the discretion to outlaw any organisation simply by notice in the official legal gazette.10 People who join, manage, assist, attend meetings of or solicit donations for such associations may face prison sentences of up to five years. 11 Because authorities have unconstrained power to label organisations as unlawful, and given imprecision in the definition of crimes, the Unlawful Associations Act is prone to abuse against ordinary people who are not engaged in violent activity or to harass civil society operating in ethnic areas for alleged ties to ethnic armed groups. The military also has a long history of using the Unlawful Associations Act to target journalists, charity workers and activists, and has brought numerous charges under this Act since the 2021 coup.12 1.2. Relevant International Human Rights Law and Standards International human rights law protects the right to freedom of association. Everyone has the right to associate with other people, including to create groups to pursue common goals or to advocate on matters of public interest. The right protects the ability of people to form organisations and for such organisations to carry out activities.13 Organisations should also be able, if they wish, to register with the State in order to obtain legal status.14 Other fundamental human rights are also impacted by undue restrictions on civil society. The freedom of organisations to publish statements and reports or otherwise advocate and speak freely on matters of public interest is an exercise of the right to freedom of expression, 10 Unlawful Associations Act, India Act XIV, 1908, sections 15-16, https://bit.ly/3JRi5Oy. Ibid., section 17. 12 See, for example, Human Rights Watch, Myanmar: Elected Lawmaker Group Declared Illegal, 25 March 2021, https://bit.ly/3HKNj70; Burma News International, “Junta charges four Maungdaw Men under Unlawful Associations Act”, 20 October 2022, https://bit.ly/3la5SKe; Committee to Protect Journalists, “Myanmar Sentences Former BBC Media Action Reporter to 3 Years in Prison”, 16 September 2022, https://bit.ly/3YwgHF1; and Nyein Swe, “Kachin Religious Leader Charged under Unlawful Association Law”, 3 January 2023, Myanmar Now, https://bit.ly/40EN8Tt. 13 Human Rights Committee, Kungurov v. Uzbekistan, Communication No. 1478/2006, 15 September 2011, para. 8.2, undocs.org/CCPR/C/102/D/1478/2006. 14 African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Guidelines on Freedom of Association and Assembly in Africa, adopted at the 60th Ordinary Session, 8-22 May 2017, para. 12, https://bit.ly/3HIMxaO; and European Court of Human Rights, Sidiropoulos and Others v. Greece, Application No. 26695/95, 10 July 1998, para. 40, https://hudoc.echr.coe.int/fre?i=001-58205. 11 The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 3