A/HRC/19/67 unions and providing the right to strike. ILO provided assistance in drafting the Law. While welcoming this development, the Special Rapporteur notes that, under section 38 of the Law, workers in the public sector must provide notice to strike (including date, place, number of participants, manner and time) 14 days in advance; under section 39 of the Law, workers in the private sector must provide notice three days in advance. Section 50 of the Law prohibits demonstrations within 500 yards of hospitals, schools, religious buildings, airports, railways, bus terminals, ports or diplomatic missions and military or police installations. He also notes reports that applications to form unions were recently rejected by the Ministry of Labour on the grounds that the President had yet to sign a notification required for the Law to enter into force and a Chief Registrar had not been appointed. The Special Rapporteur was informed by the Deputy Minister for Labour that the necessary implementing regulations and procedures had been sent to the Cabinet. These required approval by Parliament and the President before the Law entered into force. He was also informed that training workshops were being organized on the Law and on freedom of association more generally. The Special Rapporteur encourages the Government to seek training and other technical assistance from the international community, in particular ILO, to ensure that implementation of the law is consistent with the right to freedom of association and international labour standards. 39. On 2 December, the President formally approved the Peaceful Demonstration and Gathering Law, which would allow peaceful protests subject to certain conditions. While considering the Law a generally positive development, the Special Rapporteur notes that such conditions may result in disproportionate restrictions; for instance, the Law requires information on the time, place and reason for the demonstration to be provided to the authorities in advance, as well as details about speakers and the slogans that will be used. The Law also prohibits protests at factories, hospitals and Government offices, and provides for a penalty of a year of imprisonment if a protest is staged without permission. It remains unclear how this Law will be applied in the future. 40. The right to freedom of opinion and expression is linked to the role of the media. The 10-point reform agenda outlined by the President to Parliament included amending some journalism laws in accordance with the Constitution. Measures have been introduced to lift or relax restrictions on the media and the Internet. Censorship rules for a number of publications and journals have been eased. There has also been greater access for foreign journalists. In September 2011, the Government lifted a ban on some foreign news websites. In October, the Director of the Press Scrutiny and Registration Division, the Government censorship body, publicly stated that media censorship was not consistent with democratic values and should be abolished “in the near future”. The Special Rapporteur believes that these positive developments should not be based on the mere discretion of the authorities but rather on a democratic institutional approach that allows transparency, predictability and continuity to the reforms. 41. At the same time, the Special Rapporteur continues to receive reports of restrictions on the media; for example, some statements made by Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, and reports of protests by monks in Mandalay and farmers protesting in Yangon were blocked from publication. Also, there are reports that news editors were prevented from publishing issues deemed sensitive to the stability of the State, including reports of campaign irregularities by the Union Solidarity and Development Party and allegations of abuse committed by the military in ethnic conflict areas. 42. The Special Rapporteur also notes that restrictions remain under such legislation as the Television and Video Law (1985), the Motion Picture Law (1996), the Computer Science and Development Law (1996) and the Printers and Publishers Registration Act (1962), as well as under notifications, such as No. 46, prohibiting the publication and distribution of material that is contrary to the Three National Causes (non-disintegration 10