A/HRC/16/59 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar was established pursuant to resolution 1992/58 of the Commission on Human Rights. This mandate was most recently extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 13/25. The current Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Tomás Ojea Quintana (Argentina), officially assumed the function on 1 May 2008. 2. The present report is submitted pursuant to Human Rights Council resolution 13/25 and covers human rights developments in Myanmar since the Special Rapporteur’s third report to the Human Rights Council (A/HRC/13/48) in March 2010 and his report to the General Assembly (A/65/368) in October 2010. 3. Myanmar undertook national elections for the first time in over two decades on 7 November 2010. One week later, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was released unconditionally upon the end of her house arrest term. The new national parliament began meeting on 31 January 2011. Amidst much uncertainty, there appears to be some cautious optimism that positive change may be possible. Among those changes that the people of Myanmar dare to hope for is the realization of their economic, social and cultural rights. For this reason, the Special Rapporteur begins to address in the present report the subject of economic, social and cultural rights, starting with the right to education. 4. On 12 November 2010, the Special Rapporteur wrote to the ambassador of Myanmar to the United Nations in Geneva requesting a mission in December 2010. He wrote again on 1 December inquiring about the status of his request and further offering his availability for a visit in early January 2011. On 17 December, the Permanent Mission of the Union of Myanmar to the United Nations Office and other International Organizations in Geneva replied that “the information received from the authorities concerned of the Union of Myanmar [is] that due to authorities’ preoccupation with post-election preparations for transformation process, the relevant authorities of Myanmar are not in position to reply to Mr. Quintana’s request at present”. 5. The Special Rapporteur regrets that he has not been invited to visit Myanmar since February 2010. He hopes that the new Government will honour its commitments to cooperate with the United Nations, including his mandate, and that he will be invited to visit Myanmar as soon as possible. The Special Rapporteur considers it particularly important to be able to engage with the authorities and other stakeholders at this critical time in Myanmar as the new Government undertakes efforts at national reconciliation and building a functioning democracy. 6. The Special Rapporteur met with the country’s ambassadors to the United Nations in Geneva and New York and to the European Union in Brussels on 19 October 2010 in New York for a productive discussion on various issues. He has continued to highlight specific issues through written communications and public statements, including a joint statement made on 12 November 2010 with the Chair-Rapporteur of the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention, the Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, calling for the unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi at the end of her sentence of house arrest, and his statement of 13 December 2010 urging the Government to release the remaining prisoners of conscience on the one-month anniversary of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s release. 7. In this dynamic period in Myanmar’s history, there are many uncertainties that give cause for hope and optimism for changes that will bring real improvement to the lives of the people of Myanmar. While looking forward, it is necessary to assess events as they are 3