Myanmar media lawyers discuss broadcasting regulation and the Right to Information

In late May, the Center for Law and Democracy and International Media Support (IMS) hosted workshops with two of their partners – the Myanmar Media Lawyers’ Network (MMLN) and Pyi Gyi Khin (PGK) – to discuss current freedom of expression law reform issues in Myanmar, focusing on the regulation of broadcasting, public service broadcasting and the right to information (RTI).

“Civil society has become increasingly engaged around key freedom of expression issues in Myanmar,” said Toby Mendel, Executive Director of CLD. “It is a privilege for us to be able to work with organisations like MMLN and PGK to promote democratic reform.”

The new Myanmar government has been reviewing the Broadcasting Law, which focuses on private broadcasters, and discussing the content of the By-Law which is needed to implement the Law. CLD participated in a dialogue on these issues hosted by the Ministry of Information in the capital, Nay Pyi Taw, last week. A workshop with MMLN focused on Regulation of Broadcasting – Private and Public. At the workshop, MMLN agreed to become more engaged in the Broadcast Law reform and implementation process.

A second workshop with PGK focused on the development of RTI legislation. The discussion started out by analysing the draft RTI law released by the Ministry of Information in February 2016 and the response of civil society to that draft. The second part of the workshop provided an opportunity to discuss key standards civil society would like to see in any RTI law.

“An increasingly large range of civil society groups are engaging on the right to information,” said Nwezin Win, Executive Director of PGK. “Discussions like this support that engagement and allow us to forge common positions on key campaign issues.”

The work to further freedom of expression law reform including a focus on the regulation of broadcasting, public service broadcasting and the right to information (RTI) is part of a three year media development programme, led by International Media Support and FOJO Media Institute, that aims to develop a professional, independent and accountable media in Myanmar, which provides equal opportunities for men and women to engage in democratic reform. The programme is supported by the Swedish Development Agency (Sida).

For further information, please contact:

Toby Mendel, Executive Director, Centre for Law and Democracy, toby@law-democracy.org, +1 902 431-3688, www.law-democracy.org