A/HRC/42/50 vulnerability of internally displaced persons, with an acute impact on women and children, who are exposed to landmines, arbitrary arrests and sexual violence while looking for food or farming their land in conflict-affected areas. 63. The mission received reports that, despite the unilateral ceasefire and government efforts to close internally displaced person camps in northern Myanmar, very few internally displaced persons have returned to their land. Information received by the mission indicates that fear of renewed hostilities, lack of guarantees of non-recurrence, landmine contamination and the lack of infrastructure and services are among the key impediments to safe and voluntary returns. In northern Myanmar, civilians remain trapped by fighting between the Tatmadaw and the ethnic armed organizations on the one hand, and the continued fighting among the organizations on the other. 64. Amendments to the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Management Act that came into force in September 2018 have exacerbated pre-existing tensions relating to land tenure in ethnic areas. The mission received information that farmers in ethnic rural areas, where most fallow and virgin lands are located, had limited awareness of the amendments made in 2018 to the law, and many of those who did know about them perceived them as illegitimate. The amended law disproportionately disadvantages internally displaced persons in northern Myanmar by concentrating ethnic communities that rely on communal usage of land. Residents in camps for internally displaced persons, especially those residing in areas controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization/Kachin Independence Army, told the mission that they feared being arrested if they left to register their lands with the authorities. The mission recalls that lack of access to land and livelihoods has long been considered one of the drivers of the country’s ethnic conflicts. D. Kayin State and ethnic Karen communities 65. The Tatmadaw has been responsible for a long legacy of severe and regular violence against civilians, including sexual and gender based violence in its hostilities with the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA). Since the signing of the 2012 ceasefires, the levels of violence and abuse greatly declined in Karen communities. Since early 2018, however, Tatmadaw encroachment on territory controlled by the Karen National Union, which the latter considers to be a breach of the National Ceasefire Agreement, has resulted in military skirmishes that have seriously affected civilians. 66. The mission collected preliminary information on allegations of the Tatmadaw firing on and shelling villages, destroying property, injuring civilians and committing violent acts in connection with road construction. Further investigation is required to determine the existence and extent of any international human rights violations and abuses, as well as compliance with applicable international humanitarian law. VI. Situation of fundamental freedoms 67. In the context of the mission’s mandate to address conflict-related human rights issues, journalists and activists who investigate and report on the Tatmadaw’s operations and violations of international human rights law and international humanitarian law continue to face criminal charges, threats and intimidation because of their work. The mission found that the Tatmadaw has become increasingly intolerant of criticism, resorting to more punitive legal measures against those reporting on their operations. In this the Tatmadaw has the active support of the civilian side of the Government. 68. To silence its critics, the Tatmadaw has made frequent use of criminal defamation under section 505 (b) of the Myanmar Penal Code and of section 17 (1) and (2) of the Unlawful Associations Act, which provides for at least five years of imprisonment for any person who manages, promotes or assists an unlawful association. 69. In the context of reporting on the conflict between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army, editors and publishers of three publications have been subject to criminal charges under these laws. In addition, the Government has restricted journalists’ access to Rakhine 11