A/HRC/34/67 I. Introduction 1. The present report is submitted by the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, Yanghee Lee, to the Human Rights Council pursuant to its resolution 31/24, further to her reports to the Council in March 2016 (A/HRC/31/71) and to the General Assembly in August 2016 (A/71/361). In the present report, the Special Rapporteur addresses the human rights challenges facing the new Government, which assumed power in March 2016, and acknowledges the progress it has made. 2. The Special Rapporteur conducted her fifth official visit to Myanmar from 9 to 20 January 2017.1 While she requested 14 days, the Government allowed for only a 12-day visit, during which she travelled to parts of Kachin, Mon and Rakhine States, as well as to Yangon and Nay Pyi Taw. The Special Rapporteur expresses appreciation for the Government’s cooperation, particularly in respecting her request to meet community members in villages and in camps for internally displaced persons in Rakhine State without close monitoring of state government officials and security personnel. However, she regrets the repeated short-notice responses to her requests to visit specific locations. That was a recurring pattern, with last-minute denials resulting in rearrangement of her programme also at the last minute, thus preventing full optimization of the limited time. 3. From the meetings and conversations held by the Special Rapporteur with the State Counsellor, various government officials and parliamentarians, she acknowledges the genuine commitment and dedication of the Government in its efforts to improve the lives of all in Myanmar. However, that commitment has yet to be fully translated into real actions that are felt on the ground, as evidenced by the feelings of hopelessness that ordinary people have begun to express. Development of joint benchmarks 4. As mandated by the Human Rights Council in its resolution 31/24, the Special Rapporteur has drafted proposed joint benchmarks for progress (see annex). The draft joint benchmarks were sent to the Government three weeks before her January 2017 visit and were also attached to discussion points sent in advance of her meetings in Nay Pyi Taw. She notes that only two ministries chose to discuss the proposals substantively. She hopes to discuss the proposed benchmarks, and those that may arise from the present report, ahead of her forthcoming country visit in order to agree on joint benchmarks upon which progress can be measured. Also in line with the resolution, the Special Rapporteur sought to identify priority areas for technical assistance and capacity-building; a non-exhaustive list of some areas suggested by interlocutors is included in the recommendations in the present report. II. Situation of human rights A. Rule of law 1. Legislative and constitutional reform 5. The Special Rapporteur welcomes the efforts that have been made to repeal or amend legislation that contains provisions that are incompatible with fundamental rights, recalling that she listed many such laws previously (see A/HRC/31/71, annex). She particularly welcomes the repeal in May 2016 of the State Protection Act (1975) and in October 2016 of the Emergency Provisions Act (1950) and the amendments in November 2016 to the Ward or Village Tract Administration Law (2012), removing the compulsory reporting requirement for overnight guests. She also welcomes the removal of the requirement to seek permission for demonstrations, and several other problematic provisions following amendments to the Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful Procession Law 1 2 The list of meetings is contained in the annex to the Special Rapporteur’s end-of-mission statement. Available at www.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=21107&LangID=E.