Description:
"In January 2013, the Burmese government announced plans to liberalize the country?s
telecommunications sector and invited bids for two nationwide telecommunications
licenses. Successful bidders will be allowed to provide a range of services, including mobile
and Internet services. The Burmese government has promised to significantly reduce the
cost of mobile phones and has set an ambitious goal of 50 percent mobile penetration by
2016, a remarkable increase from current penetration estimated at 5-10 percent.
Human Rights Watch has long believed that Internet and mobile technologies have an
enormous potential to advance human rights. Developing Burma?s information and
communications technology (ICT) and telecommunications sectors could enhance
economic growth and civic participation in a country that has been closed for decades.
Email, social media, and cell phones have become essential tools for journalists, human
rights defenders, and civil society groups worldwide because these technologies support
instant communication, access to information, and effective organization on the ground.
However, these benefits may be jeopardized unless governments and corporations
safeguard the ability of people to use new technologies freely and without fear of reprisal.
Improved telecommunications networks can become powerful tools for censorship and
illegal surveillance, absent protections for human rights and other critical measures.
Yet Burma?s democratic reforms remain incomplete and the government and its security
forces continue to commit serious human rights violations. Companies entering Burma face a significant risk of contributing to abuses, particularly in sectors, such as
telecommunications and the Internet, that have been linked with past abuses and where
rights-based reforms to date have been inadequate. Opening up these sectors to
international investment raises the risk that the government may seek to involve
technology companies in illegal surveillance, censorship, and other abuses.
In this report, Human Rights Watch has outlined several steps necessary to promote
adequate human rights protections for Internet and mobile phone users in Burma, and the
actions needed to foster responsible investment in Burma?s telecommunications and
Internet sectors. Telecommunications and ICT companies should not move forward in
Burma until such measures are in place, in view of the human rights risks. The analysis
and recommendations contained in this report are based on research conducted from
February to April 2013. The report?s analysis focuses on laws most relevant to Burma?s
telecommunications and ICT sectors, and does not provide a comprehensive treatment of
Burma?s laws, legal system or constitution...To respect the rights of the people of Burma, international telecommunications and ICT
companies should take meaningful steps at the outset to assess the human rights impact
and address any harm that may result from their operations. They should conduct what is
often referred to as ?human rights due diligence? and adopt robust safeguards to prevent
and address abuses, including with respect to the rights to freedom of expression, access
to information, and privacy..."
Source/publisher:
Human Rights Watch
Date of Publication:
2013-05-19
Date of entry:
2013-05-23
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
294.78 KB