A/HRC/25/64 removed. However, the Special Rapporteur is concerned by updates received just prior to publication of the present report that some parliamentarians were trying to reinsert those provisions, and urges the parliament to ensure that the law meets international standards. E. Human rights concerns in the context of development 27. The Special Rapporteur reiterates the importance of establishing a system of individual titling and tenure rights for smallholders to protect people against land appropriation and forced evictions, as the process of economic development proceeds. He met with residents of a village in northern Yangon who had recently been forcibly evicted and their homes demolished after being told they were living in a military zone. Forced evictions constitute a gross violation of a range of human rights related to housing, health, education, livelihoods and security of person. Furthermore, a collective or communal tenure system for land, fisheries and forests should be put in place to protect the access of local communities to common goods and ensure that the land can be converted to new uses only with their free, prior and informed consent. Amendments to the Farmland Law and the Vacant, Fallow and Virgin Land Law are also required (see A/68/397, para. 29). The Special Rapporteur stresses that issues relating to land rights will be one of the primary challenges for the Government over the years to come, which can only be addressed by respecting human rights standards and principles. 28. The Special Rapporteur is concerned that, due to the absence of an independent judiciary and the rule of law, people are currently not able to challenge decisions on evictions or claim their rights to just compensation in a court of law. Furthermore, those trying to claim their rights by peacefully protesting forced evictions and land confiscations are being subjected to excessive use of force by the police, arbitrary arrest and detention and criminal prosecution. For example, in August 2013, 10 protestors were reportedly arrested by police while peacefully protesting with about 50 local villagers against the Letpadaung copper mine project in Monywa, and subsequently charged under article 18 of the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act. Nine of the protestors were reportedly released after having signed a declaration that they would not protest again. The remaining protestor, Naw Ohn Hla, was convicted by Monywa Court on 29 August 2013 under article 505 (b) of the Penal Code and sentenced to two years of imprisonment. She was subsequently released on 25 November 2013 following the 15 November presidential amnesty. 29. During the Special Rapporteur’s visit to the copper mines of Monywa in the Sagaing Region, he met with local residents and listened to their grievances over the Letpadaung copper mine, including with regard to forced relocation, loss of livelihoods (in particular farmers who had lost the land they had worked for generations) and health problems related to the proximity of the project. He also met with two monks who had been left badly scarred following the use of incendiary devices by police in their attempt to clear a protest site in November 2012. He is concerned that many of the recommendations from the parliamentary commission set up to help address local grievances have not been implemented, and urges the Government to address that. 30. In Monywa, he met with youths from a local school in Kangone village, who described the detrimental effect on their health that they believed the sulphuric acid plant in nearby Mogyoe had caused. To help address those concerns, he urges the publication of the environmental and social impact assessment of the Letpadaung copper mine and prompt follow-up to the recommendations. Furthermore, he urges the Government to make environmental and social impact assessments a legal requirement for all large-scale development projects in Myanmar. 8