Business and human rights training in Myanmar
The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) conducted a three day training session start October on business and human rights for the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) in Yangon.
The 27 participants from the MNHRC were introduced to the three pillars of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights - the Government's duty to protect, business's responsibility to respect human rights, and the need for both stakeholders to provide effective remedy to the victims of human rights abuses by business. They discussed the role of a National Human Rights Institution in relation to business and human rights.
Dr Daw Than Nwe, one of the eleven members of the Commission, and with responsibility for the business/human rights portfolio, commented: “The training session has enabled our staff to understand how our mandate applies to the business sector, and what the main international standards are. We hope to use what we have learned to draw up an action plan on business and human rights for the Commission”.
The workshop focused in particular on labour issues, the impact of extractive industries on human rights and on land, all of particular relevance in Myanmar.
“We heard from participants that half of the complaints the Commission receives relate to land disputes, often involving both private and public actors. We hope that this training programme can support the Commission to step up its efforts to work systematically and strategically with other actors, and help them use international standards as a reference point”, said Elin Wrzoncki of DIHR.
We heard from participants that half of the complaints the Commission receives relate to land disputes, often involving both private and public actors. We hope that this training programme can support the Commission to step up its efforts to work systematically and strategically with other actors, and help them use international standards as a reference point.
This project was part of DIHR's blended learning programme for National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs), such as the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission, to assist them in understanding and operationalising their mandate to work on business and human rights. The Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) was set up in 2011 by Presidential decree, at the start of Myanmar's transition. It was established by law in 2014.