A/HRC/22/58 organizers should instead be required only to notify authorities of plans to organize an assembly so that the State is able to facilitate the exercise of the right to freedom of peaceful assembly, and ensure the protection of participants, public order, public safety and the rights and freedoms of others. 30. The Special Rapporteur also has concerns over the police handling of protests. On 29 November, police attempted to clear the main protest site near the Monywa (Letpadaung Taung) copper mine, resulting in 73 people, including 67 monks, being injured, with around 30 persons suffering burn injuries. During his latest visit, the Special Rapporteur met with participants in the protests, who described how incendiary devices had been used to disperse crowds, resulting in serious injuries. In his meeting with the Home Affairs Minister, the Minister denied that any incendiary devices had been used. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the establishment by the Government on 1 December 2012 of a commission chaired by Aung San Suu Kyi to look into the Monywa copper mine protests, and hopes that the report will help to clarify whether excessive force was used and will recommend measures to bring any perpetrators to justice. 31. The Special Rapporteur also received reports that, on 23 November 2012, the four miners from Moehti Moemi gold mine in Yemathin township (referred to above) were assaulted and arrested by security forces while peacefully marching together with around 70 fellow protestors to Nay Pyi Taw to protest the closure of their mine. Allegedly, around 100 police officers armed with sticks charged the group and beat the peaceful demonstrators before arresting the four miners. 32. To help address this issue, the Special Rapporteur recommends that the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act, its associated by-law, and police regulations, be amended to include provisions on the necessary and proportionate use of force in controlling public assemblies, as laid out by the United Nations Basic Principles on the Use of Force and Firearms by Law Enforcement Officials. Law enforcement officials should be held liable by an independent and democratic oversight body, and by a court of law, for the unjustified or disproportionate use of force or for failing to intervene when necessary to prevent a violation of a person’s rights. Furthermore, he recommends more guidance and capacity development for law enforcement officials in dealing with crowd control in accordance with international standards. In this regard, he welcomes the openness shown by the Home Affairs Minister during their meeting to engage with the international community in ensuring that law enforcement personnel are abiding by international standards. E. Economic, social and cultural rights 33. The Special Rapporteur notes progress in the Government’s efforts to promote socio-economic development and economic growth. The National Economic and Social Advisory Council, established in June 2012, has drafted a framework for further socioeconomic reforms, which is to be approved by the national planning commission shortly. President Thein Sein has publicly committed to halve the rate of poverty and hunger by 2015 and to use the more than $6 billion in debt relief recently granted to Myanmar for poverty alleviation, and the construction of schools, hospitals and power generation. The Special Rapporteur highlights the importance of focussing on the right to education in the country’s democratic transition, and refers to his previous analysis and recommendations on this right (A/HRC/16/59). 34. The Special Rapporteur highlights that now is the time to put in place a human rights based approach to development to ensure that the flow of investment and opening of businesses is directed towards ensuring the realization of the human rights of the people of Myanmar. In addition to ensuring the effective implementation of core international human 8

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