A/HRC/42/CRP.5 intended “to maintain the stability and law and order in these areas”. 1051 Directly following the shutdown on 21 June 2019, Telenor Group, one of the mobile operators, published a statement that the Ministry of Transport and Communications had directed all telecommunications companies to “temporarily” suspend internet services, citing “disturbances of peace and use of internet activities to coordinate illegal activities”. 1052 In a later statement, the Government stated that the shutdown was imposed to “reduce racial hatred”, purportedly to stem Bamar-Rakhine hate speech brewing on social media.1053 456. At the outset of the shutdown, the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Transport and Communications, U Soe Thein, stated that the directive did not specify when access to the internet would be restored in the ten townships.1054 On 9 July 2019, the President’s Office indicated that there would be no timeframe for the end of the shutdown. 1055 Rakhine State parliament passed a resolution to restore the internet in Rakhine State on 24 June 20191056 and Rakhine law-maker Daw Khin Saw Way submitted a proposal to the lower house parliament in Naypyitaw to the same effect on 17 July 2019. The proposal was rejected on 18 July 2019 by the Speaker of the Parliament.1057 Then on 31 August 2019 access was restored in five of the nine affected townships.1058 There has been no indication when it will be restored in the remaining four townships. (a) Impact of the shutdown on documenting and reporting on human rights abuses 457. The Government’s internet shutdown has created an information vacuum in a region where, as documented by the Mission, the Tatmadaw has committed gross violations of international human rights law and serious violations of international humanitarian law. The internet is essential for documenting and sharing information on Tatmadaw violations and violations by the AA. Without internet access, people revert to telephone calls and text messages, which operate at heightened risk of surveillance and arrest. The Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Expression has noted the pattern of repression and Statesanctioned violence in the wake of network disruptions.1059 458. Human rights monitors have observed the impact of the shutdown on their work. As one monitor observed: “This shutdown leaves us behind in the darkness. Our monitors on the ground are delayed and hindered in their work. It is paralyzing our work.” 1060 A researcher documenting human rights abuses in Rakhine State further elaborated: Journalists and both local and international media outlets have found it really difficult to get and send information including photos and video footages from the affected conflict areas that has contributed to significant delays in reporting of the 1051 1052 1053 1054 1055 1056 1057 1058 1059 1060 128 https://www.bnionline.net/mm/news-66228. Telenor Group, “Internet Services Restored in Five Townships in Myanmar,” (Media Statement, 1 September 2019). https://burma.irrawaddy.com/news/2019/06/24/195854.html. Free Expression Myanmar, Internet Shutdown in Rakhine and Chin States, (24 June 2019); http://7daydaily.com/story/159228. Myat Thura, “Official: No time limit for Rakhine internet cut” (The Myanmar Times, 9 July 2019). Rakhine State News (the official Facebook page of the Rakhine State Parliament), "Urgent motion passed to call for the restoration of internet connection in 8 conflict-torn townships in Rakhine State as soon as possible" (26 June 2019), available at: https://www.facebook.com/rakhinestatenews/posts/1324070034397506/; Min Aung Khine, “Lawmakers Submit Urgent Proposal to Resume Internet Services in N. Rakhine” (The Irrawaddy, 25 June 2019). Myat Thura, “Parliament speaker rejects motion to restore Rakhine internet access” (Myanmar Times, 19 July 2019). Telenor Group, “Internet Services Restored in Five Townships in Myanmar, 01 September 2019” (Media Statement, 1 September 2019); Al Jazeera, “Myanmar partially lifts internet blackout in Rakhine, Chin states” (1 September 2019). A/HRC/35/22, para 12. LI-221.