A/HRC/25/64 I. Introduction 1. The mandate of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar was established pursuant to Commission on Human Rights resolution 1992/58 and was recently extended by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 22/14. The present report, submitted pursuant to Council resolution 22/14 and General Assembly resolution 68/242, covers human rights developments in Myanmar since the reports of the Special Rapporteur to the Council in March 2013 (A/HRC/22/58) and to the Assembly in October 2013 (A/68/397). The present report to the Council is the last by the current mandate holder before the end of his six-year term in May 2014. 2. From 14 to 19 February 2014, the Special Rapporteur conducted his ninth mission to Myanmar. He expresses his thanks to the Government for its cooperation during the visit. He visited Thailand from 10 to 13 February 2014 and also expresses his thanks to the Government of Thailand for its cooperation.1 3. He continued to engage with the Government of Myanmar through its Permanent Representatives in Geneva and New York. He sent nine joint communications between 1 June and 30 November 2013 and, by 31 January 2014, the Government had replied to eight of those communications.2 II. Human rights situation A. Prisoners of conscience 4. The Special Rapporteur highlights the release of prisoners of conscience as one of the most significant achievements of the Government of Myanmar. Since May 2011, there have been 15 presidential amnesties, resulting in the release of over 1,100 prisoners of conscience. The most recent amnesty, announced by the President on 30 December 2013, was aimed at fulfilling his pledge in July 2013 to release all political prisoners by the end of the year. The Special Rapporteur highlights that about 33 prisoners of conscience remain in detention, including Tun Aung, Kyaw Hla Aung and three international non-governmental organization (NGO) workers in Rakhine State. In Sittwe prison, he met with a Rohingya prisoner of conscience, Than Shwe, who had been detained because he had reportedly tried to meet with the Special Rapporteur during his visit to Buthidaung in August 2013. Furthermore, people are still being arrested and imprisoned for their peaceful political activities in Myanmar. 5. The Special Rapporteur notes that the presidential pardon of 30 December 2013 included those convicted and being prosecuted under the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Act, the Unlawful Associations Act, articles 122, 124 (a) and 505 of the Penal Code, the Law to Safeguard the State from the Danger of Subversive Elements and the Emergency Provisions Act of 1950. However, the Special Rapporteur highlights that those 1 2 For details of the ninth mission, see: www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=14263&LangID=E. Links to the communications referred to herein are contained in the communications reports of special procedures mandate holders submitted to the Human Rights Council at its twenty-fourth (A/HRC/24/21) and twenty-fifth (A/HRC/25/74) sessions. 3