public and meaningful consultations on the Master Plans leaving sufficient time for
stakeholders to comment. (See Chapter 2 on ICT Government Institutions, Policies &
Legal Frameworks for further information).
Undertake ongoing identification, prevention and mitigation of the potential
longer-term and cumulative human rights, environmental and social impacts
when developing new strategic directions for the ICT sector. This could apply to further
development of ICT parks, increased manufacturing, or developing outsourcing
services. The aim should be to avoid and reduce the potential longer-term and
cumulative negative impacts. (See Chapter 5 on Cumulative Impacts for further
information). The government should also consider and plan for the predictable
environmental impacts of the sector, in particular e-waste generated by the disposal
of ICT equipment.
Complete the transformations at the Ministry of Communications and Information
Technology (MCIT) to establish the Post & Telecommunications Department (PTD) as
an independent ICT regulator and Myanmar Post and Telecommunication (MPT) as
a privatised telecommunications operator and Internet service provider (ISP).
2. Improve ICT-specific legal and regulatory reforms to
ensure appropriate safeguards around Government
activities and a coherent framework for responsible
business conduct in the ICT sector.
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: State Regulatory and Policy Functions
3. In meeting their duty to protect, States should:
a) Enforce laws that are aimed at, or have the effect of, requiring business enterprises to respect
human rights, and periodically to assess the adequacy of such laws and address any gaps;
b) Ensure that other laws and policies governing the creation and ongoing operation of business
enterprises, such as corporate law, do not constrain but enable business respect for human rights;
c) Provide effective guidance to business enterprises on how to respect human rights throughout their
operations;
d) Encourage, and where appropriate require, business enterprises to communicate how they address
their human rights impacts.
UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights: Ensuring Policy Coherence
8. States should ensure that governmental departments, agencies and other State-based institutions that
shape business practices are aware of and observe the State’s human rights obligations when fulfilling their
respective mandates, including by providing them with relevant information, training and support.
Myanmar has embarked on an ambitious programme of legal and regulatory reforms
across the board, including changes specifically focused on the ICT sector. An
appropriate legal framework can protect the rights of the population and encourage
responsible business conduct. (See Chapter 2 on ICT Government Institutions, Policies &
Legal Frameworks for further information).
Key Points for Implementation
Ensure forthcoming regulations under the Telecommunications Law, Computer
Science Development Law and Electronic Transactions Law confirm that criminal
penalties cannot be applied for legitimate expression.
The regulations should also clarify the procedures and safeguards for blocking or
filtering content in line with international human rights standards. Any takedown
requests should target specific pieces of content, rather than access to whole domains.
RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE GOVERNMENT OF MYANMAR
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