Myanmar: Analysis of the Organisation Registration Law which may be exercised collectively as well as individually. 15 Similarly, the right to participate in public affairs incorporates a right of civil society organisations to undertake advocacy and to engage with their government, while various rights of ethnic, religious and linguistic minorities depend on such minorities being able to form and operate groups which celebrate their culture, religion and language.16 Governments should create an enabling environment for the protection of these rights. Any restriction on freedom of association must comply with a strict three-part test established by human rights law. According to this test, any restriction must: • • • Be prescribed by law: Restrictions must be provided by law and not imposed arbitrarily. The law must be sufficiently precise to guide a person’s conduct. Overly vague or unclear restrictions are not legitimate under international human rights law. Have a legitimate aim: Restrictions must aim to protect national security or public safety, public order, public health or morals or the rights and freedoms of others. Be necessary: Restrictions should be necessary to protect the legitimate aim. This requirement also requires restrictions to be proportionate to the aim pursued.17 Restrictions on freedom of expression must comply with a similar three-part test, except the list of legitimate aims includes the reputations of others and does not include public safety.18 The primary human rights treaty protecting the right to freedom of association is the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). Myanmar has not ratified the ICCPR and accordingly is not legally bound by its provisions.19 However, it has ratified other human rights treaties, some of which protect freedom of association. For example, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities obliges States to promote the participation of persons with disabilities in public affairs, including by “forming and joining organizations of persons with disabilities”.20 The Convention on the Rights of the Child protects the rights of the child to associate, along with an identical test for restrictions as that contained in the ICCPR.21 15 International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), UN General Assembly Resolution 2200A (XXI), 16 December 1966, entered into force 23 March 1976, Article 19. 16 ICCPR, note 15, Articles 25 and 27. 17 The three-part test is found in the ICCPR, note 15, Article 22(2). See also Human Rights Committee, General Comment No. 31 on the nature of the general legal obligation imposed on State Parties to the Covenant, 29 March 2004, para. 6, https://undocs.org/CCPR/C/21/Rev.1/Add.13; and Report of the Special Rapporteur on the rights to freedom of peaceful assembly and of association, 21 May 2012, para. 17, undocs.org/A/HRC/20/27. 18 ICCPR, note 15, Article 19(3). 19 For the status of Myanmar’s ratification of the major human rights treaties, see https://indicators.ohchr.org/. 20 UN General Assembly Resolution 61/106, 13 December 2006, entered into force 3 May 2008, Article 29(b)(ii). 21 UN General Assembly Resolution 44/25, 20 November 1989, entered into force 2 September 1990, Article 15. See also Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, UN General Assembly Resolution 34/180, 18 December 1979, entered into force 2 September 1981, Article 7(c), addressing the right of women to participate in NGOs which are concerned with the public and political life of the country. The Centre for Law and Democracy is a non-profit human rights organisation working internationally to provide legal expertise on foundational rights for democracy. 4