Description:
Executive Summary:-
Background:
• In June 2012, Perseus Strategies and New Perimeter,
in partnership with the Jacob Blaustein Institute for
the Advancement of Human Rights, initiated a broad
rule of law assessment of Myanmar
• Upon completion of this assessment, New Perimeter
and Perseus Strategies will launch a program
where potentially thousands of pro bono hours from
the global law firm DLA Piper will be invested into
a focused project to advance law reform efforts
in Myanmar...
Current situation:
• On November 7, 2010, Myanmar held its first
election in 20 years – much of the reaction to
the reforms instituted by President Thein Sein,
inaugurated in March 2011, reflects the hope that
the country can break free of its authoritarian past
that involves widespread human-rights abuses
• Following by-elections in April 2012, Aung
San Suu Kyi has joined the government as
an elected MP, along with several dozen
representatives of the National League for
Democracy and ethnic political parties
• Major reform efforts have been initiated by the
government across an array of areas, which has
reinforced these hopes, but there remains a large
gap between public perception and the reality of
the impact of reform efforts on the ground
• There is a strong consensus across the political
spectrum that advancing the rule of law and law
reform efforts are a top priority, but the government,
opposition, and other parties have different views
as to the sequencing of specific efforts...
Key findings:
• President Thein Sein and his allies in the
government are making genuine reforms;
however, many government institutions
are quite fragile and the role of the military
remains opaque
• For these changes to be permanent and
irreversible, constitutional reform is important,
but it is unclear if the government will undertake
such efforts in the near term
• Law reform is being implemented from the
top‑down, but these efforts must be driven into
government bureaucracies and down to the
local level, and coupled with major grassroots
efforts to educate people about their rights
• The judicial system is in need of large‑scale
reform – corruption is a serious issue and
decisions are sometimes made by the
executive branch
• The parliament will be a significant player in law
reform efforts, but requires major investment to build
its capacity so its contributions can be meaningful
• Myanmar requires unprecedented effort to create
a criminal defense and legal aid system,
reconstitute the Bar Association, and rebuild
the legal education system
• The Myanmar National Human Rights
Commission has potential, but should be
reconstituted by the parliament as an independent
government agency, in accordance with the
Paris Principles
• The government has signed several new treaties,
but reform efforts could also be advanced
through the signing and ratification of the
Int?l Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR),
Int?l Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural
Rights (ICESCR), and Convention Against Torture
and Other Cruel, Inhuman, and Degrading
Treatment (CAT), which the government has
indicated its intention to do.
Source/publisher:
DLA-Piper (New Perimeter), Perseus Strategies, Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
Date of Publication:
2013-03-00
Date of entry:
2013-03-14
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
1.28 MB