A/HRC/43/59 it. Mandatory registration makes it possible to track and locate registered individuals without proportionate and necessary justification. It also has the potential to be used for surveillance, censorship, targeting political opponents and suppressing freedom of expression. This poses serious risks to security, safety, privacy and other rights. Furthermore, the Special Rapporteur has been alerted to Government plans to establish a national database for storing biometric information of registered SIM card users, which will seriously increase the risk of surveillance and security breaches, and further infringe on the population’s rights. 29. The Special Rapporteur is further concerned over Government plans to introduce digital identification cards as part of a system that will include biometric information. There are serious risks relating to how such information will be used and stored, particularly in the absence of data protection laws. Additionally, these plans raise serious concerns about the rights and safety of marginalized groups in Myanmar, including, but not limited to, the Rohingya. The Special Rapporteur urgently calls on the Government to suspend these plans until the necessary legal framework for data protection has been adopted through an extensive, inclusive and consultative process. More broadly, the rule of law, an independent judiciary and reform of the Citizenship Law are all needed to ensure that the collection and storage of personal data are consistent with human rights protection. Companies involved in the development of digital governance systems must be alert to the potentially serious risks posed to human rights and exercise heightened due diligence, which should include declining sales of their services if the risks are found to be too high. 3. Natural resource extraction 30. Throughout her mandate, the Special Rapporteur has reported on natural resource extraction in Myanmar in relation to human rights and impacts on the environment, conflict dynamics and communities. The Special Rapporteur notes that regulating natural resource extraction in conflict-affected areas remains particularly problematic and poses serious governance challenges. Parties to armed conflicts have interests in the extraction of the country’s natural wealth, which adds to the complexity of peace negotiations. 31. The Special Rapporteur continues to receive reports of human rights abuses because of irresponsible mining across the country. Survivors of a landslide that took place in Paung Township, Mon State, in August 2019, which reportedly killed more than 70 people, claim the disaster was caused by irresponsible sand mining. There has yet to be an investigation into this serious incident, despite calls in November 2019 from a Mon State parliamentarian. In December 2019 subsistence farmers in Tachileik District, eastern Shan, were forced to relocate as a result of the environmental impact of gold mining in the area. Mining waste was dumped by companies, reportedly operating without permits, into nearby streams and rivers and flowed into their paddy fields. The farmers have not received compensation, and their right to an adequate standard of living has been severely impacted. 32. The governance framework in Myanmar still does not support responsible mining. The complexity and lack of clarity and consistency between relevant policies, laws and regulations create legal uncertainty. Furthermore, the Government has limited resources and technical capacity, particularly at the state and regional government level, to enforce the environmental and social regulations that do exist. Companies are taking advantage of this situation and must be held to international standards. The Special Rapporteur urges the Government to ensure that continued reform of the extraction sector remains high on its agenda. She calls on the Government to prioritize effective implementation of the Environmental Impact Assessment Procedure, making it a consistent, transparent and enforceable requirement. The right to a healthy environment, which brings together environmental dimensions of fundamental rights that enable a life of dignity, must be protected from the impacts of natural resource extraction. 33. The Special Rapporteur once again commends the country’s continued participation in the Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, which is a positive means of increasing transparency and accountability in the sector. This will support greater realization of rights, including the rights to information and access to remedy. She welcomes recent Government initiatives to increase disclosure of information on beneficial owners and “politically exposed persons” in the extractive industries, described by the Initiative as someone who is 7