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Myanmar
During General Ne Wins rule, the state placed stricter By 2000, civil society organizations proliferated
restrictions on religious groups, including limiting their in both ethnic areas and central Burma, as it was
called then, due to the deteriorating socioeconomic general large-scale development, among many other
conditions and the lack of basic services provided by issues. These networks typically are based or have a
the state. Theseorganizations included the religious, presence in Yangon but are also active at the village or
educational, and social welfare organizations, and townshiplevel.
civilsociety groups focusing on environmental issues
and community development.8 Evidence of greater freedom of expression is the
civilsociety response to significant investment projects
After Cyclone Nargis devastatingly struck the and major rights-based issues, including around natural
southernportion of the country in 2008, and more resources, the environment, press freedom, cultural
recently with the change in government and democratic heritage, and landownership.
reforms, civilsociety experienced a profound evolution
in structure, resources, stakeholders, and modalities. The presence of international NGOs represents another
New networks are now forming, and existing networks huge shift. While international NGOs based in Europe,
are expanding. There are increased local, national, North America, and Australia advocated successfully
and international partnerships; civil society and through the 1990s and 2000s for their governments to
government are beginning to interact more openly and impose economic sanctions on Myanmar in response to
constructively, and legal frameworks for participation the countrys human rights record, as political conditions
are in some areas liberalizing. have changed, these NGOs have adapted their advocacy
strategies, increasingly working inside the country and
Since the 2010 elections, political space has continued with local civil society groups across a range of issues.
to open around the country, especially in urban areas,
with additional resources and stakeholders helping Within this dynamic civil society environment,
networks and coalitions form and flourish, and the the rapidinflux of development actors looking for
government increasingly accepting a role for civil localpartners and qualified staff is straining the
society.9 Civil society is becoming more active, engaging resources and absorptive capacity, especially among
local, national, and international communities as well as Yangon-based NGOs.
the Myanmar government.
Even though legal and practical challenges remain,
A rise in independent media and investigative reports, clearly the space and scope for civil society activity is
protests, and public awareness events by civil society increasing in Myanmar today.
is leading to increased transparency, awareness, and
engagement in civic life in Myanmar.
GovernmentCivil Society Relations
Still, legal and practical restrictions remain in many
areas, where authorities continue to view civil society While the Government of Myanmar remains highly
activity with suspicion. In a number of cases, farmers, centralized, the landscape for civil societygovernment
activists, and journalists have been charged, convicted, relations is rapidly changing. Civil society stakeholders
and imprisoned for taking part in peaceful protests or are increasingly working with, influencing, and
exposing government activities.10 coordinating activities with the government at the
village, village tract (urban ward), township, state,
Many development-oriented civil society organizations region, and national levels.
continue to implement programs that are focused on
service delivery. A limited number of these programs At the local level, this includes increased cooperation
are carried out in partnership with the government. with township, village tract, and ward officials;
Large international NGOs and a limited number of currently, village tract and ward communities elect
local development NGOs have registered with the their Township Development Committee, which
government or have a memorandum of understanding decides what development projects to pursue for the
with one or more ministry. Increasingly, a number of communitys benefit. Since the governments reforms,
local and international NGOs enter into memorandums there has been a push for villages to draft development
of understanding with government ministries, primarily plans, but there has been limited implementation so far.
around development work and social welfare related to
agriculture, health, and education. At the state and region levels, civil society is
beginning to engage authorities on policies and
Strong networks of local organizations with ties to around specific development projects and doing so
regional and international actors are active in natural on its own terms (rather than following government
resource governance, HIV prevention, preservation agendas). Thefirstina series of state- and region-
of historical sites, rule of law and legal accountability, level PeoplesForums was conducted in Mon State in
monitoring international financial institutions and June2014; 75civil society organizations discussed and
promoting labor and land rights, fisheries protection, presented a list of recommendations to the central and
peace building, technology and clean energy, and state governments on such issues as democratization,
political reforms, the peace process, human rights, government prioritized ceasefire agreements and a
and socioeconomic development. Similar forums are peace process. In August 2014, the government and
envisioned in all states and regions in the comingyears.11 most ethnic armed groups reached bilateral ceasefires
and are working toward a unified, nationwide ceasefire
At the national level, government is increasingly agreement. The negotiations have reached agreement
accepting civil society inputs to policy formation. on the majority of issues. Significant challenges remain,
Civil society groups were consulted on the drafting but some version of a nationwide ceasefire appears
of the Association Registration Law; trade union possible in the next year.
representatives were informally included in discussions
on the Factory Act, the Social Security Act, and the Historically, there was little role for civil society in
Health and Safety Act; and the Interim Press Council ceasefire agreements or peace negotiations, with
has been drafting bylaws for the Media Law, which the government and the ethnic armed organizations
Parliament passed and the President signed in 2014. dominating the process.14 With the political environment
changing, civil society is taking on a more active role in
Other examples of the growing opportunities promoting the peace process, even in specific elements
for civilsociety in national governance include of the individual ceasefires. Civilsociety organizations
participation in development sector working groups, are conducting peace-related trainings, organizing public
the National Strategic Planning of the National consultations on the peace process, and participating in
AIDS Programme, and in the Extractive Industry ceasefire monitoring. Civil society leaders participate
Transparency Initiatives Multi-Stakeholder Group. as members in the Nationwide Ceasefire Coordination
Team, providing support and input from the community
As the opportunities for and activities of civil society level. Local and international NGOs increasingly work
grow, some national and local authorities are becoming with ethnic organizations to support dialogue between
accustomed to increased civil society participation the non-state armed groups and the government and
and are beginning to recognize the valuable role these facilitate public consultations to increase civil society
stakeholders have; however, change is uneven between participation in the peace process.15
and within the national, state, region, and township
administrations, which are managed by many officials Nonetheless, critical challenges continue to inhibit
from the former military administration. full civil society participation in the peace process.
These include the legacy of military rule, which has
Some national ministries and departments, notably influenced civil societys willingness to engage directly
the Ministry of Health and the Department of Rural in political arenas; there is a lack of communication and
Development of the Ministry of Livestock, Fisheries coordination between non-state armed organizations
and Rural Development, have been actively engaged in and civil society; there is tremendous mistrust among
working with and soliciting civil society participation all the stakeholders; and there remains an absence of a
in their activities, including HIV prevention and formal role for civilsociety.16
community-driven development projects funded by the
Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the World Bank. On this important last issue, there is disagreement on
the role of civil society organizations in the political
Despite the increasing civil society participation in dialogue, which is expected to be clarified following the
important policy areas, certain issues remain off- planned national ceasefire. The Myanmar governments
limits, or at least risky to civil society participation, Union Peace-making Work Committee has proposed
includingproposals to amend the 2008 Constitution allowing civil society participation in the political
and formal inclusion of civil society representation in dialogue, while some ethnic armed groups prefer
the ongoing peace negotiations with non-state ethnic that civil society join only as observers; they do not
armed groups.12 believe civil society should have equal decision-making
power. These groups worry that the government will
Apart from the groups dedicated to policy advocacy with try to use the civil society to expand their influence
the government, many civil society organizations take in the dialogue. Additionally, some political parties
pragmatic positions, especially at the local level, and have expressed concern that if civil society groups are
are not overtly politicalpreferring to accept the status allowed into the peace process, there will be too many
quoin exchange for room to pursue their activities.13 parties to make reaching agreement possible.
Civil Society and the Peace Process The Legal Framework for Civil Society
inMyanmar
Important progress has been made to advance the
Myanmar has experienced long-standing armed ruleof law and support the development of an
conflict between the government and non-state ethnic activeand independent civil society in Myanmar, but
armed organizations. After the 2010 elections, the new challenges remain.
Positive changes include the ending of prepublication Law, drafted by the Interim Press Council.24 However,
media censorship; adoption of new laws and policies civil society has expressed concerns regarding a
on freedom of the press, on association, and on the number of journalists who have since been charged
registration of civil society organizations; and laws and sentenced to prison for exposing allegations of
and procedures governing environmental and social corruption or challenging powerful interests.25
protections and land rights.
Other areas of concern are the judiciary, which remains
However, the former UN Special Rapporteur on the controlled by the executive branch of government,26
situation of human rights in Myanmar, human rights and ongoing allegations of corruption within the
groups, and civil society have raised concerns that legalsystem.27
some new laws are used to deprive citizens of their
fundamental rights17 and may be insufficient to protect
them against mass land grabs by the military and
Umbrella and Coordinating Bodies
companies.18
Local and international NGOs and some community-
There have been reported cases of protesters and people based organizations have formed or joined thematic or
assembling to demand an end to land grabbing and other issue-based coalitions, umbrella groups, and networks.
perceived abuses who were arrested, charged, detained, Prominent among them are the following:
and convicted under laws existing atthetime.19
Local Resource Center (LRC) was formed in 2008
Local and international groups have called on the by local and international NGOs to support the
government to amend or rescind many of these laws, increased coordination of their emergency relief and
including Section 505(b) of the Penal Code, Section18 humanitarian assistance after Cyclone Nargis struck
of the 2011 Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful the southern portion of the country. The LRC, with
Procession Law, the 1908 Unlawful Associations Act, a head office in Yangon and regional coordination
and the 1988 Law Relating to Forming of Organizations. offices in Lashio, Mandalay, and Mawlamyine, is now
The government is considering amending and repealing the coordinating body for more than 600 civil society
many of these laws and has made important progress in organizations, with links to over 30 civil society
these efforts over the past several years. networks. The LRCfocuses on the development of
indigenous organizations by promoting institutional
In 2014, the Right to Peaceful Assembly and Peaceful development through capacity building and information
Procession Law was amended, leading to a relaxing of the sharing. The LRCcreates opportunities for civil society
prior-permission requirement and to a reduction in the organizations to engage and collaborate together with
maximum sentence for violations of the law.20 Authorities other public and private stakeholders. Through broad-
maintain the right to deny or not issue protest permits if based dialogue and research-based advocacy, the LRC
they believe the protest could affect the country, race or works toward establishing a more enabling policy
religious relations, human dignity, or moral principles; environment for civil society engagement and a vibrant
and all protest chants continue to require approval.21 collective culture among organizations in Myanmar.
In 2014 and after considerable civil society For more details, see www.lrcmyanmar.org
consultation, Parliament passed an Association
RegistrationLaw and signed into law by the President Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and
that clarifies NGOrequirements for registration with Accountability (MATA) is a nationwide network
the government, including voluntary registration that advocates for transparency and accountability
procedures for local and international NGOs and no of government, elected representatives, companies,
restrictions or criminalpunishments for organizations donors, and civil society; and promotes the freedom
that choose not to register.22 of public participation and scrutiny of Myanmars
legal frameworks and guidelines relating to resources.
Laws drafted with the assistance of the International MATAnominates and provides financial assistance to
Labour Organization and approved since 2011 and civil society representatives to the Multi-Stakeholder
2012 have dramatically expanded rights to freedom of Group of Myanmars Extractive Industry Transparency
association and collective bargaining for workers in Initiative (EITI).28 MATAestablished an innovative and
Myanmar. The Labour Organization Law (2012) and unique, bottom-up, inclusive participatory decision-
Labour Dispute Settlement Law (2012) allow workers making process where working groups from the state
the right to free association, to create trade unions and region level are selected; from those working
(workers and employers organizations), and to strike. groups, five representatives are selected to join the
national EITI working group; one representative from
Pre-censorship was abolished in 2012, and in 2014 two the five is selected as the focal person for each state or
new media laws were passed: a government-drafted region who then becomes a member of the Civil Society
Printers and Publishers Enterprise Law23 and a Media EITI Steering Committee.
For more details, see www.facebook.com/pages/ develop complementary strategies, and serves as a
Myanmar-Alliance-for-Transparency-and- platform for joint advocacy initiatives. The INGO
Accountability MATA/672103292860036 Forum works to deepen the understanding of causes
and effects of humanitarian and development problems
Gender Equality Network (GEN), formerly the through coordinated information sharing and by
Womens Protection Technical Working Group, was exploring opportunities to strengthen policies and
setup in 2008 to focus on multisector and cross-cutting best practices through constructive engagement with
issues faced by women in Cyclone Nargis-affected national and international decision makers.
areas. GEN is an interagency network, comprising
approximately 60 local and international NGOs, For more details, see http://ingoforummyanmar.org/
civilsociety networks, and technical resource persons
specializing in the development and implementation IFI Watch Myanmar is an organization working
of enabling systems, structures, and practices for the to ensure democratic space for civil society and
advancement of women, gender equality, and the communities in the activities of international financial
realization of womens rights in Myanmar. institutions (IFI) by facilitating dialogue among IFIs,
the government, and local communities. Participants
For more details, see http://tinyurl.com/kvq529p belong to ethnic groups and represent civil society
organizations, with activities in every state and region.
Womens Organizations Network (Myanmar), or
WON, is a network of 27 womens community-based For more details, see www.facebook.com/
organizations. Its website states it is the first womens IFIWatchMyanmar/info
organization network in the country, formed in the
aftermath of the Cyclone Nargis disaster in 2008 to Myanmar Positive Group National PLHIV Network
facilitate the exchange of information and experiences (MPG) was founded in 2005 with support from the
and to promote mutual learning and cooperation among United Nations Development Programme and the
women-led groups. WON is striving to improve the International HIV/AIDS Alliance. The MPG works
socioeconomic conditions of people in general and to to build capacity, networking, and self-help groups
empower and to promote the role of women in society. among people living with HIV, based on the Greater
Involvement of People Living with HIV/AIDS policy.
For more details, see www.facebook.com/WONMM Inits early days, the MPG networked with 47 self-help
groups across the country; as of 2012, that number had
Womens League of Burma (WLB) is an umbrella grown to 214 groups. The MPG also networks with the
organization comprising 13 womens organizations of Asia-Pacific Network of People Living with HIV/AIDS
different ethnic, religious, and cultural backgrounds (APN+) and the Global Network of People Living with
that came together in 1999 to increase the participation HIV/AIDS (GPN+).
of women in the struggle for democracy and human
rights, promote womens participation in the national For more details, see www.mpgnationalnetwork.org
peace and reconciliation process, and to enhance
the role of the women of Burma at the national and Food Security Working Group (FSWG) provides
international levels. a forum for networking, capacity building, and
knowledge sharing for organizations and individuals
For more details, see www.womenofburma.org working on food security and livelihood-related issues.
Established in 2002, the FSWG links with other NGOs,
Myanmar NGO Network (MNN) operates to increase resource centers, universities, government ministries,
coordination and cooperation among NGOs, including and departments at the national level and also with
increased exchange of information, experiences, international networks, such as the INGO network and
and ideas; and to effectively communicate with the Greater Mekong Community Forestry network.
UnitedNations agencies, international organizations, The FSWG consists of 80 local and international NGOs,
and the Government of Myanmar. The MNN provides community-based organizations, and individuals.
local NGOs with information, technologies, and Ithosts the Land Core Group, a network of organizations
assistance that will help them build up their capacities. and individuals working on land policy issues,
As of January 2013, the MNN had 110 members. particularly those that support smallholder farmers.
For more details, see www.myanmarngonetwork.org For more details, see www.myanmarfswg.org
INGO Forum was created in 2007 to offer international Myanmar Lawyers Network and Myanmar Legal
NGOs an independent forum (separate from United Aid Network (MLAW) are among several domestic
Nations-led groups). With 75 members, the INGO coordinating entities that have developed or expanded
Forum supports dialogue among international NGO in the past several years. The legal networks are
decision makers on operational matters, helps to increasingly taking pro bono rights-based cases, are
active in the development of emerging bar associations, their growing demand for skilled and trained staff. Asthe
are establishing legal aid centers, and are increasing Transnational Institutes report on Myanmars civil
local lawyers participation in international and regional society in 2011 explained, participants initially consisted
bodies, such as the Mekong Legal Network. of local staff from the international NGOs. Eventually,
staff from local NGOs received relevant training. Lessan
For more details, see www.m-law.org organizational development initiative, the Capacity
Building Initiative fills an important skill development
Paung Ku (Bridge), a civil society initiative established role for civilsociety in Myanmar.29
by a consortium of international and local NGOs and
now operating as an independent local NGO, works Another prominent initiative is Paung Ku, which
to strengthen local community and civil society as previously described is a national group started
organization capacity throughout the country, focusing by a consortium of international NGOs to assist a
on high-profile development projects and key issues range of smaller organizations on training, advocacy,
relating to land, conflict and development and religious coordination, and small grants. It also takes a critical role
tolerance. Paung Ku has been critical in linking in helping international NGOs work with civilsociety.
international and local groups and directing support to
local civil society groups. Also previously described, the Local Resource Center
is a prominent civil society network established
For more details, see www.facebook.com/PaungKu by international and local NGOs, which trains and
coordinates local NGO capacity building and advocacy
Civil Society Directories around the country through its four offices.
In 2008, ADB launched Strategy 2020, which articulates the organizations future direction and vision until 2020.b Above all,
Strategy2020 presents three complementary strategic agendas to guide ADB operations: inclusive economic growth, environmentally
sustainable growth, and regional integration. These agendas reflect the recognition that it is not only the pace of growth but also the
pattern of growth matters in reducing poverty in the region. In this new strategic context, partnerships with a range of organizations,
including CSOs, will become central to planning, financing, implementing, and evaluating ADB projects.
a
ADB. 2012. Strengthening Participation for Development Results. Manila.
b
ADB. 2008. Strategy 2020: The Long-Term Strategic Framework of the Asian Development Bank, 20082020. Manila.
Yangon Office
Union Business Center
Room 0310, 3rd Floor
Nat Mauk Road, Bo Cho Quarter
Bahan Township, Yangon, Myanmar
Tel +95 1860 3433, 3435, 3455, ext. 40364038
In this publication, $ refers to US dollars. Fax +95 1860 3439
Asian Development Bank Publication Stock No. ARM147009-2 February 2015 www.adb.org/countries/myanmar