Freedom of Expression During Myanmar’s Revolution: The Gap Between Legal Provisions and Practice residing in the Federal Union shall have the right to preserve, protect and promote the languages and literature of their respective ethnic groups.”7 This observation was also reflected in the focus group discussions (FGDs), where participants noted that the focus was primarily on collective rights, with no explicit reference to freedom of expression as an individual right. “When the Federal Charter was first being developed, the thinking was largely grounded in collective group identities. Rather than starting from specific rights related to farmers, youth, women, or the media, the focus was placed on collective groups more broadly, and on how to mobilise and bring together as many groups as possible,” said a participant of the FGD8 who was involved in the drafting process of the Federal Charter. That’s why the Federal Democracy Charter recognises freedom of expression as a human right at the conceptual level, but does not yet clearly articulate specific guarantees or conditions in line with international standards. 5.1.3 General Alignment with International Standards but Lack of Clarity in Articulating Rights The Federal Democracy Charter states that it will follow international standards and cooperate with international organisations. However, its references to international standards remain general, and it does not clearly specify the circumstances under which freedom of expression and other human rights can be restricted. This lack of clarity may allow for variation in implementation, depending on the views of authorities and security conditions. 7 Federal Democracy Charter - Part 1 - Chapter (4) - Part (3) - Fundamental Policies for Building Federal Democracy Union 8 A participant of FGD who involved in the development of Federal Democracy Charter by National Unity Consultative Council 15