"The right to freedom of movement, assembly and association were all severely curtailed in Burma throughout the course of 2008, a year marked by natural disaster, political repression and ongoing, intractable armed conflict. The Burmese military junta continued to flout its obligations to uphold Articles 13 and 20 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), despite its signatory status. Article 13 states that; ?Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. Everyone has the right to leave any country, including their own, and to return to their country”, while Article 20 establishes the rights of assembly and association thus; ?Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. No one may be compelled to belong to an association.” 1 The citizens of Burma however, failed to benefit from the protections of the UDHR, or any other international or domestic laws that enshrine freedom of movement, assembly and association throughout the year. The trend of previous years that were characterised by tight movement restrictions on the population was maintained, and in some respects these rights were restricted even further. The movement of those in the ethnic rural areas that have witnessed low-level armed conflict, in particular the Karen, Mon, Shan and Karenni States was rigidly controlled by the armed forces and to a lesser extent the non-state armed groups. The movement of internally displaced persons (IDPs), particularly those who were displaced from villages and sent to relocation sites by the military, or who fled into jungle hiding sites was severely curbed. Movement restrictions on the population in Arakan State, in particular the Rohingya ethnic minority, were stringently imposed. In spite of the harsh movement restrictions imposed by the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), 2008 saw the continued illegal migration from these states and others into neighbouring countries such as Thailand, India and Bangladesh. Domestic travel in general was also restricted, especially in the rural ethnic regions where travellers faced arbitrary taxation at the hands of the Burmese military and non-state armed groups (NSAGs)..."