ALTSEAN-Burma & ICAR Partner to Support the Development of a National Action Plan on
Business & Human Rights in Burma/Myanmar

Joint press release

The International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN-Burma) have partnered to support the development of a National Action Plan (NAP) on business and human rights in Burma/Myanmar.

This initiative is a follow-up project to ICAR’s seminal report with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) on NAPs, entitled National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights: A Toolkit for the Development, Implementation, and Review of State Commitment to Business and Human Rights Frameworks, launched in June 2014. In equal measure, the project builds on ALTSEAN-Burma’s business and human rights work in Burma/Myanmar. Since its founding in 1996, ALTSEAN-Burma has contributed significantly to transforming the movement for human rights and democracy in Burma/Myanmar. ALTSEAN-Burma has focused much of its strategic advocacy on special economic zones in the region, their relation to human rights, and their contribution to displacement. In its nearly 20 years of operation, ALTSEAN-Burma has built powerful connections with civil society groups within Burma/Myanmar and has trained several Members of the newly elected Parliament. The first phase of this year-long project will focus on activating and building the capacity of key partners in Burma/Myanmar on business and human rights issues, frameworks, and tools. This will be achieved through the hosting of civil society workshops across the country. The second phase of the project will support national efforts in Burma/Myanmar to develop and complete a National Baseline Assessment (NBA) of current implementation of business and human rights frameworks in Burma/Myanmar. Utilizing the data gathered through the completion of the NBA, the project will then develop key recommendations and priority areas in relation to the content of a prospective NAP in Burma/Myanmar and the process to be followed in its development.

Press contacts
For more information on the project, please contact Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN-Burma Coordinator, at debbie.stot@gmail.com or Sophia Lin, ICAR’s Legal and Policy Associate, at sophia@icar.ngo

Ms. Debbie Stothard (English) – Tel: +66818509008 (Bangkok)