 Extend an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of opinion and expression, and to the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, to carry out a fact-finding visit to Myanmar. They should be granted free and unimpeded access to all parts of the country, and freedom to meet with a wide range of stakeholders, including political detainees and prisoners, their families and representatives, in addition to government officials, law enforcement officers and judicial officials.  Facilitate the establishment of an Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) country office in Myanmar, able to operate throughout the country with a full promotion and protection mandate. RECOMMENDATIONS RELATING TO A PRISONERS OF CONSCIENCE COMMITTEE To address the long term, systemic changes necessary to end the cycle of arbitrary arrests and imprisonment on politically motivated grounds, the Government of Myanmar should re-establish the Prisoner of Conscience Affairs Committee or establish a new Committee, ensuring it has a mandate to:  Review the cases of all those charged or deprived of their liberty simply for the peaceful exercise of their human rights, with a view to securing their release and the charges against them being dropped.  Review the cases of all those outside the above category, who have been subjected to politically motivated prosecutions and unfair trials, and determine whether the individual should be released or given a prompt and fair retrial which complies with international fair trial standards.  Review all laws used to charge and detain prisoners of conscience, and recommend to Parliament the repeal of such laws or their amendment to bring them in line with international human rights law and standards.  Formulate and present recommendations to the relevant authorities aimed at ending the abuse of the criminal law to fabricate criminal charges against individuals for politically motivated reasons.  Ensure that all conditions attached to the release of prisoners of conscience are lifted. To ensure the Committee operates independently, effectively and transparently the Government of Myanmar should:  Ensure the Committee broadly shares with the public its mandate, its terms of reference, and operational procedures, and publishes regular activity reports.  Ensure the Committee is properly resourced, receives appropriate support and co-operation from government offices, and is given access to prisons, prison records, and prisoners, and the authority to question relevant state officials.  Invite a sufficient number of members to join the Committee, who are selected according to objective and relevant criteria, including their independence and expertise in human rights issues, so as to ensure that the Committee overall has adequate gender and ethnic representation, as well as expertise on gender issues and children’s rights. The Committee should comprise a wide range of members, including former prisoners of conscience, political prisoners and their representatives.  Ensure resources are provided to build the human rights capacity of Committee members and seek technical assistance and advice from external experts in this regard.  Ensure the Committee’s programme of work is developed in consultation with former prisoners of conscience, political prisoners their families and representatives, and takes in to account the different experiences of women and men. NEW EXPRESSION MEETS OLD REPRESSION ENDING THE CYCLE OF POLITICAL ARRESTS AND IMPRISONMENT IN MYANMAR Amnesty International 51