A/HRC/19/67 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, established pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/58, was most recently extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 16/24. The present report is submitted pursuant to Council resolution 16/24 and General Assembly resolution 65/241, and covers human rights developments in Myanmar since the report of the Special Rapporteur submitted to the Council (A/HRC/16/59) and the Assembly (A/66/365). 2. During the period under review, the Parliament of Myanmar held its third regular session, by-elections were scheduled for 1 April 2012, prisoners of conscience were released following several amnesties, reforms in policies and legislation gained momentum, agreements with armed ethnic groups were signed and the national human rights commission commenced work. The Government also acceded to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. 3. From 31 January to 5 February 2012, the Special Rapporteur conducted his fifth mission to Myanmar and met with the Minister for Home Affairs, the Minister for Defence, the Minister for Border Affairs, the Attorney-General, the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, the Union Election Commission, the Deputy Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Deputy Minister for Information, the Deputy Minister for Education, the Deputy Minister for Labour, the Speaker and several members of the Pyithu Hluttaw (lower house), as well as various peacemaking groups, including the Minister for Rail Transportation and other officials. In additional, he met with Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, members of the national human rights commission, three prisoners of conscience in Insein prison, released prisoners of conscience, representatives of civil society organizations and ethnic parties, the United Nations country team and the diplomatic community. He also travelled to Kayin and Mon States and met with the respective Chief Ministers and representatives of the State Government, as well as ethnic parties in State parliaments. 4. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government of Myanmar for its invitation and the cooperation shown during his visit. He has also engaged with the Government through meetings with its ambassadors in Geneva and New York. 5. The Special Rapporteur also sent several individual and joint communications during the reporting period. These include a joint urgent action letter with the Special Rapporteurs on torture and freedom of opinion and expression regarding a hunger strike by seven female political prisoners in Insein prison on 1 June 2011; a letter to the Government, dated 30 June 2011, requesting an update on the status of the prisoners of conscience mentioned in the previous reports of the Special Rapporteur; a joint urgent action letter, dated 26 July 2011, with the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the special rapporteurs on freedom of opinion and expression, human rights defenders, torture and violence against women on the case of Hnin May Aung serving an 11-year sentence in Monywa Prison; a joint allegation letter, dated 16 September 2011, with the Special Rapporteur on freedom of religion or belief and the Independent Expert on minority issues regarding attempts to destroy a 150-year-old Muslim cemetery; and a joint urgent action letter, dated 28 November 2011, regarding the conditions of detention for Ashin Gambira (see also paragraph 27 below). 6. The Special Rapporteur would like to thank the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), in particular at Headquarters, Bangkok and New York, for assisting him in discharging his mandate. 3