A/HRC/42/50 State, effectively preventing reporting on the conflict. Collectively, these measures have resulted in a heightened reluctance to report on the Tatmadaw, or the conflict more generally, for fear of reprisals. This has a chilling effect on the media. 70. On 20 June 2019, the Myanmar Ministry of Transport and Communications instructed mobile telephone operators in Myanmar to suspend Internet access in nine townships in Rakhine and Chin States. The shutdown created an information blackout in an area where, as documented by the mission, the Tatmadaw has been committing serious violations. The Internet is essential for documenting and sharing information, including on human rights violations and abuses. Without Internet access, people revert to non-Internet-based forms of communication, such as telephone calls and text messages, heightening the risk of surveillance and arrest. On 9 July 2019, the Office of the President indicated that there would be no time frame for the end of the shutdown. 71. The mission found similar incidents of restrictions on freedom of expression in the context of reporting on Tatmadaw operations in northern Myanmar. In December 2018, three activists were imprisoned in Kachin State for “defamation” of the Tatmadaw under section 505 of the Penal Code. They were released in April 2019, following international pressure. 72. The mission found that hate speech directed at ethnic Rakhine has increased considerably on social media, as has hate speech against ethnic Bamar by Rakhine supporters. Hate speech against the Rohingya also continues to be disseminated on social media platforms. Facebook is the leading platform for hate speech in Myanmar. In August 2018, Facebook removed the pages of 20 individuals and organizations, including that of the Commander in Chief. However, unofficial pages, with virtual identities, supporting the Tatmadaw remain active. In February 2019, Facebook shut down the official pages of the Arakan Army, the Kachin Independence Army, the Myanmar Democratic Alliance Army and the Ta’ang National Liberation Army, which were identified as “dangerous organizations”, in an effort to “reduce the likelihood that Facebook will be used to facilitate offline harm”. The ethnic armed organizations have also set up new pages with virtual identities and continue to post on Facebook. 73. The combination of restrictions on freedom of expression with respect to reporting on the Tatmadaw and the proliferation of hate speech against ethnic Rakhine and other ethnic groups feeds a one-sided narrative that provides fertile ground for incitement to violence. The mission raised these issues with Facebook, which responded positively to removing content amounting to hate speech. However, much more is required, especially in preventing and removing hate speech far more quickly and in addressing the spread of removed content that has been reposted prior to removal. 74. The Government has the obligation and the ability to ensure protection of fundamental freedoms. The release of Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo in May 2019 demonstrated the influence of international pressure on the Government in exercising its responsibility. 75. The responsibility for tackling hate speech lies both with the Government and with Facebook and other social media outlets. In May 2019, Ashin Wirathu, a radical monk who leads the Ma Ba Tha movement, was charged with sedition following what were considered to be “defamatory remarks” against State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi. The mission documented a consistent pattern of incendiary hate speech by Ashin Wirathu against the Rohingya community since 2012. However, he has not faced legal repercussions for his speech, nor has its relationship to the violence against the Rohingya been investigated. VII. Situation of the Rohingya 76. Some 600,000 Rohingya are estimated to remain in Rakhine State. They continue to be subjected to discriminatory policies and practices, including segregation and severe restrictions on their movements; deprivation of citizenship; denial of economic, social and cultural rights; physical assaults constituting torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment; arbitrary arrest; and, in some areas, hostility from members of ethnic Rakhine communities that the mission found also to constitute persecution and other 12