Key Findings: 1. The construction of the Thailand- financed segment of the Asian Highway between Thin Gan Nyi Naung and Kawkareik violated the right to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) of local communities, who have been negatively impacted by the road project. • Contrary to the principle of FPIC, affected villagers were not properly informed or consulted prior to the commencement of development activities, only learning about the project once construction had begun. • At least 17 households were forcibly dispossessed of their land and property due to an order issued by the Karen state government, which failed to provide adequate compensation to displaced villagers. • There is no publicly accessible evidence of project proponents conducting either an initial environmental examination (IEE) or environmental impact assessment (EIA) in advance of implementation. • Villagers were not compensated for environmental damage to their farmlands as a result of the project. • Rice production along the affected section of the highway has been reduced due to excessive water on one side of the road and insufficient water on the other side as a result of improper installation of drainage pipes. • Project affected persons were coerced into accepting inadequate compensation for their losses. • The Ministry of Construction did not consult or negotiate with project affected persons on compensation, as amounts were pre-determined and not subject to reconsideration. • No grievance redress mechanism was established to facilitate mitigation of negative impacts to project affected persons and ensure that their rights are protected. • There is no resettlement plan for those who were displaced from their land due to the project. • There is no system in place to provide replacement land for farmers whose livelihoods have been disrupted due to road construction. • There have been no consultation or arrangements to relocate project affected persons whose homes were destroyed by the project...... 2. The ADB and Burma/Myanmar Ministry of Construction (MoC) appear poised to repeat these mistakes in relation to a planned upgrade of a stretch of the AH1 between Kawkareik and Eindu, despite assurances otherwise. • Villagers have not been properly informed or consulted about the project, with consultations taking place from December 2nd to December 5th, 2015 in only six out of 16 total affected villages. In these meetings, ADB indicated that compensation would be provided as money in envelopes and given to the affected villagers, but at the time, did not specify who would distribute it. • ADB also indicated that it would not deal directly with compensation and resettlement • From June 17th to June 19th, 2015, inadequate consultations took place in three villages ? Lonenyaw, Nga Taing, and Wei Kayin. • The number of people who will lose their land due to a government-demarcated right of way is unknown since ADB excluded the right of way from its resettlement plan. • Without proper oversight, the ADB has entrusted the MoC to carry out sensitive resettlement and compensation activities in accordance with its Safeguard Policies. • Compensation procedures have not been disclosed to project affected persons despite a number of plans and strategies issued by ADB in relation to the project since 2015...... 3. With a full peace agreement still pending, road construction projects have increased tensions between different actors competing for control of the highway area. If the project continues before political agreements to create a decentralized federal union are finalized, and a benefit-sharing scheme for the Asian Highway in Karen State is not established, the potential for armed confl ict to break out will continue to exist. • NEDA, ADB and MoC have not adequately considered or addressed the risks to the wider peace process when pushing through the Asian Highway project. • Past and continue skirmishes between the DKBA and the BGF/Myanmar Army over control of the AH1 has endangered villagers, forcing them to flee their villages and disrupting their livelihoods. To date, some still have not been able to return. • Recent outbreaks of violence and ongoing risk of new clashes continues to drive villagers away and prevent them from returning home.