Abstract: "For two decades, Myanmar sat at the top of the international human rights agenda. With recent political changes, this may now be a thing of the past, but the bad old days hold important lessons that should not be forgotten. This article draws on interviews conducted mainly inside Myanmar over a period of 15 years to evaluate, contrast and compare the impact of different international human rights policies on the ground. It is argued that while the effects of both Western ostracism and regional business as usual have been largely counterproductive and often harmful to the Myanmar people, principled engagement by the United Nations and other international organisations has shown significant potential to help promote human rights. This is a lesson which may be worth heeding in other repressive states."