Description:
Executive summary:
"This analysis examines the compliance of the 2014
News
Media Law of Myanmar with international
standards on freedom of expression and media freedom. The
News
Media Law introduces some
guarantees for media freedom, such as the prohibition of censorship and the recognition of specific
rights of
media workers.
This may be seen as a positive attempt to begin dismantling the extensive
apparatus of censorship in the country, and the government should be encouraged to build upon the
positive elements of the Law.
However, ARTICLE 19 remains seriously concerned with
shortcomings in the law. The safeguards for
media freedom are heavily qualified and insufficient to meet international standards. All types of
media, including print, broadcast and Internet-
based media, remain under the unrestricted control of
the government through the Media Council. The Media Council is not independent from government,
and therefore fails to sufficiently safeguard the media from the application of content-based criminal
laws that, while not imposing custodial sentences, still unjustifiably limit freedom of expression.
ARTICLE 19 calls on the Myanmar authorities to ratify the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights (ICCPR) and comprehensively reform the
News
Media Law in order to ensure its compliance
with international st
andards on freedom of expression."
Source/publisher:
Article 19
Date of Publication:
2014-07-18
Date of entry:
2014-07-21
Grouping:
- Individual Documents
Category:
Language:
English
Local URL:
Format:
pdf
Size:
154.42 KB