Freedom of Expression During Myanmar’s Revolution: The Gap Between Legal Provisions and Practice 2. Background 2.1 Freedom of Expression in International Human Rights Standards Freedom of expression is the foundation for a democratic society. It is explicitly recognised in Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR)4 and Article 19 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)5. Freedom of expression includes the right to hold opinions and ideas, to seek, receive, and impart information, and to express freely across media, artistic, educational, and digital domains. According to Article 19(3) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), as interpreted by General Comment No. 346, any restriction on freedom of expression must meet the following criteria: (1) it must be provided by law; (2) it must pursue a legitimate reasons such as “(a) to respect the rights or reputation of others, and (b) to protect national security, public order, pulic health or morals”; and (3) it must be necessary and proportionate. However, Myanmar’s current conflict context reveals clear gaps between these international standards and their implementation in practice. In particular, newly enacted interim political arrangements and legal frameworks either fail to recognise freedom of expression or recognise it while restricting it on vague or indeterminate grounds. Moreover, even though some legal provisions do not expressly impose limitations, freedom of expression is restricted in practice through local orders and directives, as well as through fear and rumours spread within communities. 4 https://www.un.org/en/about-us/universal-declaration-of-human-rights https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/international-covenant-civil-and-politic al-rights 6 https://www2.ohchr.org/english/bodies/hrc/docs/gc34.pdf 5 5