Executive Summary: "During the year under review, Myanmar?s peace process veered in one direction and then another, swayed by fresh outbreaks of fighting. A commitment to peace by all parties to the conflict and a willingness to compromise would help towards a negotiated settlement. If the two sides can narrow down their demands to the essentials likely to prevent large scale military offensives, they can then move on to discuss political and military issues of a more prickly nature which must be resolved if peace is to be enduring. Both sides have matured during the seventeen months of negotiations necessary to agree a so-called "final draft" of a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement. However, the draft drawn up conjointly by the Government and Ethnic Armed Organizations drafting teams has yet to be ratified by the assent of the policy-makers of the organizations concerned. There have been many positive developments. The ethnic armed organizations held the Law Khee Ler Ethnic Conference from 20-25 January, and the Laiza Ethnic Conference from 25-29 July, 2014. They discussed matters specific to the NCA, displayed a sense of unity, and showed a willingness to move the peace process forward. The negotiations with the Government?s drafting team went smoothly until the meeting of 22 September, when the military delegates in the Government team went back on the previous agreement. This very nearly resulted in a still-born Nationwide Ceasefire, and many saw it as an indication that the peace process was regarded lightly. Luckily, leaders from the two negotiating teams were able to resuscitate the talks. The situation improved in early 2015 despite some clashes between government forces and ethnic armed organizations [EAOs], especially in Kachin, Karen and Shan States. The two negotiating teams had many informal and formal meetings, whose tone steadily improved. EAO leaders attended the Independence Day and Union Day celebrations in the capital, Naypyitaw. The KNU, DKBA, KPC and RCSS signed a "commitment to peace and national reconciliation". Subsequent to which, on 31 March of this year, 2015, the negotiators finally agreed the "final draft" of the NCA. Although events that followed showed that it will not in fact be the final text, the negotiation of the terms it contains was, nevertheless, a very great achievement for the two sides, who had never undertaken such a task before. They agreed a "7-Step Roadmap". Many felt the peace process to be on the right path. However, influential people within the ethnic movement pointed out that this was a proposed agreement requiring the assent of the governing bodies of the ethnic organisations: it was not the agreement itself. The UWSA and the KIO then organized, from 1-6 May 2015 at the headquarters of UWSA, the Panghsang Ethnic Conference to thrash out matters relating to the NCA, such as whether or not to sign the existing document. However no agreement was reached on this latter point. Therefore the ethnic armed organizations organized the second Law Khee Ler Conference in a KNU-controlled area. This was held from 2-9 June 2015. They reviewed the "final draft" of the NCA; decided it needed thirteen amendments; and formed the "EAOs High-Level Delegation for the NCA" (also known as the EAOs Senior Delegation) to pursue negotiations with the Government. On a negative note, fighting between ethnic armed organizations and government forces have been frequent, with each side blaming the other. Most clashes occurred in Kachin, Karen and Shan States. Although the incidence of armed conflict has diminished over the eighteen months to June 2015, it has produced a growing number of IDPs, especially in the Kokang area. The EAOs have demanded the cessation of government offensives against their positions, claiming that these make them more wary, are an obstacle to a negotiated settlement, and are clearly not conducive to peace. However, the KIA and the Kachin State Border Affairs Ministry were able to establish a "Joint Conflict Resolution Committee" to reduce clashes between the two sides. Although ethnic ceasefire groups have liaison offices located in urban centers, these are ineffective in solving problems between EAOs and government forces. Clashes are expected to be reduced when EAOs and the Government sign a mutually-acceptable NCA, form a ?Joint Monitoring Committee?, evolve a ?military code of conduct?, and establish demarcation lines between the opposing forces. State and Union level bi-lateral agreements, which started to come into effect from late 2011, contain terms intended to reintegrate EAOs into the national patchwork and to assist conflict-affected communities. They have already started making important headway and foster an overall movement towards peace. They do this through legalization of EAOs, trustbuilding, recognition of ethnic rights, and resettlement. Assistance from the international community has played a crucial supporting role in producing these "peace dividends", but it is essential to guard against ignoring the core political issues which continue to promote conflict. The marked improvement in the everyday life of post-conflict communities is a clear sign of the progress being made. However, the absence of efforts to address political issues, such as self-determination and equal political rights, causes many to remain skeptical of the Government?s sincerity and to fear a return of conflict to those areas where it has died down. Major developments in the peace process notwithstanding, the persistently high level of armed conflict in Kachin, Karen and Shan States are a cause for grave concern. It encourages pessimistic cautiousness, and calls into question the Government?s sincerity in pursuing the peace process, suggesting the possibility of a hidden agenda. EAOs have reported that the Myanmar military has not changed its aggressive policy of wiping them out, fueling distrust of the Government and souring the peace process. The ongoing violence related to ethnic and communal conflict has created new IDPs and prevented the return of existing ones; and threatens to slow or even reverse the reforms made in the country as a whole. The international community has criticized the Government?s human rights record and pushed it to respect and promote human rights. The expansion of opium production and trafficking is another contradictory outcome of the peace process which suggests inexplicable and as yet to be identified flaws. A great deal more must be done to understand and to address the root political causes that drive Myanmar?s long-standing civil war. With its increasing integration into the international community, and as the ASEAN chair in 2014, Myanmar is more enthusiastic than ever to make up for damage done by decades-long conflict and to catch up with global standards. Visits to Myanmar by world leaders have been frequent of late, and both Government and opposition leaders have visited foreign countries. Western countries have removed economic sanctions and kicked off their "engagement policy" to strengthen the reforms and encourage the peace process."