A/HRC/31/71
She notes, however, the lack of detailed information relating to the jade industry, estimated
to account for up to 48 per cent of the State’s total gross domestic product, 10 including on
beneficial ownership and contract terms. She calls for the release of such information,
which could help to tackle corruption in the sector. The new Government should also
consider reviewing existing legislation and regulations to ensure that they include
transparency requirements and environmental, social and human rights protection.
70.
Private companies have a responsibility not to cause or to contribute to human rights
abuses. The Special Rapporteur therefore welcomes the increasing awareness of human
rights in some companies in Myanmar, and notes that several have now adopted human
rights policies. She encourages all investors and businesses proactively to ensure that they
abide by the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as other relevant
standards, such as the Voluntary Guidelines on the Responsible Governance of Tenure of
Land, Fisheries and Forests in the Context of National Food Security of the Food and
Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. She also encourages the Government to
develop, following consultations with relevant government departments, civil society and
the private sector, a national plan of action on business and human rights.
71.
Drug addiction is an underreported phenomenon, and one of increasing concern,
particularly in conflict-affected Kachin and Shan States. The Special Rapporteur heard
concerns about the increased availability of drugs and the severe impact on the health and
livelihoods of those affected, particularly youth. She therefore welcomes the permission
recently given to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to conduct the
first national drug use survey. She is concerned, however, at new reports of community
“vigilante” groups discriminating against or calling for extreme measures against drug
users, such as public caning. The use of amphetamine-type stimulants in parts of Myanmar
has more than tripled in recent years 11 and treatment options are severely limited. Although
production has stabilized, Myanmar remains the second largest producer of opium in the
world,12 with poverty and continuing conflict driving poppy cultivation. Steps should be
taken to improve the treatment options available for drug users, and efforts to tackle
production should ensure long-term sustainable development for farmers.
G.
Engagement with the international human rights system
72.
The Special Rapporteur welcomes the ratification by Myanmar of several
instruments since 2011, including the Convention on the Rights of Persons with
Disabilities, the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale
of children, child prostitution, and child pornography, and recently the Convention on the
Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons
and on Their Destruction. In 2015, Myanmar also became a signatory to the International
Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the involvement of children in armed conflict.
She urges the new Government to ratify both instruments quickly, and welcomes the
assurances of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that priority will be given to these treaties.
The Special Rapporteur also welcomes the Government’s decision to join the Group of
Friends of the Convention against Torture Initiative and the efforts to have the Convention
translated. She hopes this will be followed by early ratification. She also urges the new
Government to sign and ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights,
10
11
12
16
Global Witness, Jade: Myanmar’s “Big State Secret”, October 2015, p. 6.
UNODC, Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2014, p. 49.
UNODC, Southeast Asia Opium Survey 2015.
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