Business and Human Rights Education in Myanmar: The First
Five Years of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business
Vicky Bowman and Donna GuestFounded in 2013 by the Institute for Human Rights and Business(ihrb) and the Danish Institute for Human Rights (dihr), theMyanmar Centre for Responsible Business (mcrb) has become an
important neutral platform in the country’s emerging political economy.
The Centre was established in Yangon after assessing local needs throughconsultation with Myanmar and international stakeholders. It is believed tobe the first such organization of its kind – one which is not only dedicatedsolely to human rights and business based on international standards andbest practice, but is also fully operational in one specific country, creating asafe space for dialogue among businesses, civil society and the government.
The Centre has been funded by contributions from development and foreign policy budgets from the governments of the United Kingdom, Norway,
Netherlands, Denmark, Switzerland and Ireland.
In order to encourage responsible business conduct in Myanmar, mcrb
aims to provide a trusted and impartial platform for the creation of knowledge, building of capacity, undertaking advocacy and promotion of dialogue
among businesses, civil society, governments, experts and other stakeholders. Central to all of these activities is education about human rights, and its
relationship to business activity.
Mcrb defines “responsible business” as “business activities that workfor the long-term interests of Myanmar and all its people.” This means business activities that comply with the law and international human rights andlabor standards. It includes responsible social and environmental performance within the context of international standards. Responsible businessalso requires enhanced due diligence to determine what impacts businessactivities may have on human rights. This is critical in countries such as
Myanmar with a population of at least one-third ethnic minorities, ethnicbased armed conflict, and which is emerging from decades of authoritarianrule and a long period of economic sanctions.
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Mcrb has framed its activities around “responsible business conduct”(rbc), rather than “csr” (Corporate Social Responsibility), due to the tendency in Myanmar - and Asia more widely - to understand “csr” as primarily about philanthropy, as well as the fact that those companies who have themost developed approaches to responsible business anchored in respect forhuman rights often eschew the term csr for the same reason in their internal and external communication. Mcrb has similarly sought to encourage
the Myanmar government to shift their emphasis from simply encouraging
philanthropic donation – the traditional approach in Myanmar - towards a
focus on encouraging responsible business behavior: legal compliance, combatting corruption, and human rights due diligence to identify and mitigate
negative social and environmental impacts.

“Responsible business conduct” concept.

Spectrum of responsible business conduct.

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Mcrb draws on both Myanmar and international expertise in its work.
Almost all of its core staff are Myanmar nationals, with backgrounds in business and human rights, civil society advocacy in the extractives, journalism,
and the private sector. Ihrb and dihr provide expertise on international
standards and links to international networks.

MRCB officers and staff.

Myanmar’s Reform Process
Since the unprecedented economic and political reform process began in
Myanmar during 2011, the climate for responsible business has improved
and the authorities now tolerate a greater degree of political and civil society
activity. Reformers in the government have begun to liberalize the economy;recognize the relevance of human rights to business; and support the concept of responsible business. One such example is found in the objectivesof the 2016 Myanmar Investment Law, which include inter alia: “to develop
responsible investment businesses which do not cause harm to the naturalenvironment and the social environment for the interest of the Union andits citizens;” (Article 3(a) and “to develop businesses and investment businesses that meet international standards” (Article 3(i)1.
Other improvements include the adoption of a new Environmental
Impact Assessment (eia) Procedure; new labor laws which inter alia permit independent trade unions for the first time in fifty years; and the establishment of the National Land Use Policy (nlup), which calls for protection for small-holder farmers and indigenous peoples and equal land rights
for women. However the nlup has not been enacted in law and remains
aspirational.

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But the human rights risks identified at the beginning of the reform
process remain, including arbitrary expropriation of land; denial of freedomof expression and peaceful assembly; arrests of land and labor rights activists; and concerns over complicity risks of potential business partners,
particularly military-owned companies. Moreover, the treatment of ethnic
minorities, particularly the Rohingya,2 remains problematic, amidst heightened ethnic-based internal armed conflict and widespread and systematic
violence by the military against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.
Discrimination against minorities in the workplace, the family, and in society more generally is widespread.3
To address these challenges, the Centre provides training to Myanmar
businesses on these and many other topics, including anti-corruption, business integrity, and labor rights.4 Moreover, in both its Sector Wide Impact
Assessments (swias) (see below) and Briefing Papers, mcrb has focusedon inter alia land rights, indigenous people’s rights, and discrimination inorder to raise awareness of these issues and provide recommendations tobusinesses and the Myanmar government.
Using International Standards on Business and Human Rights
As mentioned above, mcrb bases its work on international standards on
business and human rights. Governments, intergovernmental organizations, civil society and businesses themselves have increasingly recognized
the importance of human rights to sustainable business operations. As a result, the United Nations (UN), the International Finance Corporation (ifc)of the World Bank Group, the Asian Development Bank (adb) and industry
associations among others have developed a range of initiatives, tools andprinciples to address the human rights challenges businesses face. These include but are not limited to the 2011 United Nations’ Guiding Principles on
Business and Human Rights: Implementing the United Nations “Protect,
Respect and Remedy,” Framework (ungps) adopted unanimously by the
Human Rights Council in 2011, which outline the government’s duty toprotect; business’s responsibility to respect human rights; and the needfor both to provide effective remedy to the victims of human rights abuses by business. Mcrb includes these as the starting point in all its training. Other standards mcrb references and which integrate the ungps include the International Finance Corporation (ifc) Performance Standards

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the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (oecd)
Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises on Responsible Business Conduct(2011) and associated due diligence guidance.5
Mcrb has been a pioneer in encouraging the application of the ungps
to the business environment in Myanmar, and encourages businesses andgovernments to refer to these and IFC Performance Standards, particularly
where domestic law and safeguards are absent.
Research and Knowledge as the Basis for Businessand Human Rights Education
In order to build both credibility and a knowledge base to train business,government and civil society stakeholders in Myanmar, mcrb began by undertaking Sector Wide Impact Assessments (SWIAs) of a number of important sectors for investment with a variety of human rights impacts. These
include oil and gas (2014); tourism (2015); information and communication
technology (2015); mining (2018); and oil palm (2019).
The swia concept was invented by mcrb and its founding members theihrb and dihr. Swias draw on established environmental and social impact assessment methodologies, but apply a human rights lens.6 The information in the swias is drawn from in-depth legal and policy research, andfield research in targeted geographicalareas that have experienced investment in these sectors. Swias highlightthe actual and potential impacts ofeach sector and make recommendations for government, businesses andother stakeholders on how to increase
positive and reduce negative impacts,
including through making use of relevant international standards andguidance. Public consultations havebeen held for all swias, and mcrb
has undertaken follow-up work oneach sector after its publication, bothin terms of advocacy on regulatory

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dialogue.
In addition, mcrb has researched and published cross-sectoral briefing
papers on issues for business and human rights that cut across all sectors,
most notably land rights,7 indigenous peoples’ rights,8 children’s rights,9 discrimination,10 disability11 and biodiversity.12
These Briefing Papers, available in both English and Burmese, are primarily targeted towards business, and contain actionable recommendations. They have been compiled on the basis of research for sectoral swias
and on the legal framework and international standards, as well as consultations with a wide range of stakeholders, including companies, civil society
groups, lawyers and government officials.
In partnership with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (dihr), in2015 mcrb published a more general Myanmar Human Rights and BusinessCountry Guide for companies,13 part of a global dihr-sponsored series, andwill publish an updated version during 2019.
Building Capacity
The mcrb main activity uses the knowledge in these Briefing Papers andswias, as well as its networks - including connections with other development partners - to build capacity among businesses, the Myanmar government, and civil society to bring about more responsible business practices.
In addition to making written material available in hard copy and online, as
well as one-on-one discussion, mcrb organizes free events in the form ofpanel discussions, seminars and workshops. These include participants andspeakers from civil society, government and business, as well as the media
in some cases.
Having a mixture of participants allows for different perspectives to beshared and heard, and new connections made. Participants have the opportunity to ask questions of other stakeholders, particularly government
officials, to whom they often do not get access. It thus also contributes topublic-private dialogue (ppd) which the Myanmar government has made acommitment to enhancing.

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Responsible Business 101
A regular request from a variety of groups including parliamentarians, companies and civil society is for training on “Responsible Business 101” (RB101)
which mcrb increasingly undertakes at the subnational level with local partners. These cover the basic principles of business and human rights, different understandings of csr, creating shared value, transparency and stakeholder engagement, and existing Myanmar legal frameworks in areas such
as Investment Law, Companies Law, Environmental Impact Assessment(eia), anti-corruption and sectoral laws.
These have been conducted in 2016 in Kayin (Karen) State with Hanns
Seidel Foundation and Peace Nexus with business representatives fromtimber production, farming, construction, local civil society organization(csos) and Kayin ethnic armed organization,14 in Kyaukphyu and Sittwe
in December 2017 with Scholar Institute, and in July 2018, working with
National Enlightenment Institute, at the Mon State Parliament.15
Workshops are conducted in Burmese, with English interpretation. All
presentation materials are subsequently published on mcrb’s website. A
particularly popular part of the workshops involves the use of Keypoint polling software (‘clickers’), a novelty in Myanmar. This enables all participants,
including the shy, to express an opinion - for example on the top problem
associated with a sector - and see the results immediately presented so thatthey can be discussed. Quantitative information reflecting participant views
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cluded on mcrb’s website, and for these views to be fed back into futureadvocacy.
Workshops also include interactive activities such as stakeholder mapping. Another popular activity to reinforce the distinction between donations and responsible conduct is a quiz on whether particular examplesof business conduct constitute compliance requirements, creating sharedvalue, philanthropy or corruption. Examples include companies deciding
to cover trucks carrying dusty coal, or providing scholarships to local highschool students. In some cases, the answers can be multiple, depending on
the context, which allows for a debate.
Where possible, local Myanmar examples are used in the training including inviting company officials and/or activists to make presentations.
Where there are Burmese language videos available and/or local examples,
these have been used, such as for a local company (Myanmar Petroleum
Resources Limited) on its experience of developing an operational grievancemechanism.16

Training for civil society groups in Loikaw, Kayah State, December 2018.

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Capacity-building for Civil Society Organizations (CSOs)
Sometimes at the request of partners, mcrb is a resource person for csofocused training events along with other organizations working on businessand human rights from the perspective of human rights defenders such as
Oxfam, Earthrights International, and the International Commission ofJurists (icj). This has included several sessions for csos on how to do effective advocacy to business17 and also inputs on content and translation into a
local language advocacy guide for activists.18
Mcrb has also provided training on human rights documentation,
incluing labor rights for grassroots activists in July 2014, and land rights
documentation in response to a request from various farmers’ networks in
December 2014.19 In May 2018 mcrb provided training on report-writing tolabor activists/garment workers on the informal economy and the garment
sector.
In November 2016, mcrb responded to a request from local humanrights ngo Equality Myanmar to help them develop a business and humanrights module for the human rights trainers. However, given that the topic
of business and human rights is still very new in Myanmar, and most humanrights trainers are unfamiliar with business, training of trainers is challenging and where possible, mcrb tries to use its local core team to respond torequests directly from Myanmar cso stakeholders.
Recent sessions for csos have included a number of sub-national workshops conducted in 2018 with Vermont Law School (vls) and their local
cso partners that combined eia and responsible business in cooperation
with the governmental Environmental Conservation Department.20 The eia
training included the government’s draft eia Public Participation Guidelines
and how civil society organizations can use these.21 The draft Guidelines aredesigned to be a reference tool for government, the private sector, and impacted communities on how to implement the public participation and information disclosure requirements in Myanmar’s eia Procedure. They weredeveloped at national level on the basis of an asean regional project supported by pact-Mekong Partnership for the Environment into which both
mcrb and vls made inputs.22

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Training for Businesses
Mcrb, as a publicly funded organization, offers training on responsible business for Myanmar companies on a collective rather than
individual basis, in the expectation that individual companies cansource consultancies to train themon a commercial basis. Sometimes
mcrb speakers are resource people
for sessions organized by multinationals for their local Myanmar supply chain, which means that mcrb’s
reach extends beyond those familiar with the organization, and local companies are more incentivized to attend in the knowledge that this is a supplier requirement.23
Another incentive for larger Myanmar businesses to participate inmcrb activities and learn more about business and human rights and transparency has been the Pwint Thit Sa/Transparency in Myanmar Enterprises24(TiME) report launched in 2014. This annual report examines and ranks thetransparency of Myanmar company websites relating to information on responsible business practices with the aim of creating a competitive desire
to rank higher by disclosing more, as well as reinforcing the business casefor doing so as a means to attract business partners and investors who value
corporate governance.
The first three reports in 2014, 2015 and 2016 analyzed how much information company websites provide on anti-corruption, organizationaltransparency, and human rights, health, safety and the environment (hse)and were based on Transparency International’s trac (Transparency inCorporate Reporting) reports. The 2018 Report switched to primarily using
the asean Corporate Governance Scorecard and assessed information disclosure on the corporate websites of one hundred eighty-two large Myanmar
companies, including listed and public ones.25 The 2019 report builds on thisapproach with more performance criteria.26
To accompany Pwint Thit Sa, and help companies improve their corporate governance performance, mcrb has offered training workshops on

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corporate governance, anti-corruption, and business and human rights,
including human rights policies,27 reporting, and operational grievancemechanisms, as well as its publicly available briefing papers and toolkits
in English and Burmese28 and by initiating or quality-controlling Burmeselanguage translations of other relevant business and human rights materials
and making them available in hard-copy and online.29
Training sessions have also been held for specialist groups such as eia
consultants, in partnership with Vermont Law School and the government’s
Environmental Conservation Department, and in some cases with other organizations such as the ifc.30
At sub-national level, mcrb has presented on “RB101” to Chambers ofCommerce in Tanintharyi and Mandalay. Between 2014 and 2017 it supported the Myanmar Business Coalition on Aid, a local initiative to raiseawareness of responsible business with local smes (small and medium enterprises) in regional centers such as Mandalay, Pakokku, Sittwe, and Dawei.
In all of its business-focused activities, mcrb again tries to draw on local best practice examples, either from foreign investors or local companies.
Some of these are identified through the Pwint Thit Sa process which shows
which Myanmar companies are addressing business and human rights, interalia. Some are drawn from multinational companies investing in Myanmar
which understand that part of their contribution to creating shared value for
Myanmar should be to help others conduct business responsibly, safely andwith respect for human rights.
In mid-2018, mcrb therefore launched a series of “Responsible Business
Seminars” for Myanmar businesses in partnership with a group of western
multinationals who had also embarked on a deeper dialogue on businessand human rights with the Myanmar government, partly as a consequenceof the Rohingya crisis. Seminars involve presentations on international standards, Myanmar legal frameworks, and expertise and practical experiences,from international and local companies. They have been well-attended by
Myanmar companies and other stakeholders, with mcrb partnering withorganizations and businesses who bring expertise to the subject. In 2018, thefirst three seminars have covered anti-corruption; dispute resolution in theworkplace; and the importance of due diligence in identifying human rights
risks for companies. Future topics include environmental stewardship, community engagement, and inclusion and non-discrimination.31

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Engagement with Asian Companies
One of the main priorities for mcrb – including for these responsible
business seminars - has been to engage with Asian companies, including Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Singaporean, Thai, and Indian businesses.
Generally, these tend to be less subject to their home government or shareholder or societal, media and ngo pressure to do business responsibly in
Myanmar. In the absence of an effective and enforced Myanmar legal framework, some are inclined to cut corners on issues such as community engagement and eia. However, with the National League for Democracy (nld)Government since 2016 explicitly emphasizing responsible investment, andwith Myanmar civil society organizations seeking to holding them accountable, some Asian companies are showing greater interest in the advice andnetworks which mcrb can offer.
Mcrb has generally sought to engage and train Asian businesses
through their Chambers of Commerce. For example, in June 2018 mcrb,
jetro Yangon (Japan External Trade Organization) and Nippon Koei conducted a seminar in Japanese for some eighty Japanese companies to enhance understanding of responsible business conduct in the Myanmar context. Speakers mentioned the similar challenges in conducting responsible
business in Myanmar to those faced by Western – and Myanmar - companies, which include gaps and lack of clarity in the legal framework, labor
conditions, corruption, land rights, and problems of discrimination.32
Training for Government
Soon after mcrb was established in late 2013, the Directorate of Investment
and Companies Administration (dica) asked mcrb to help them understand what a “responsible business” looked like. Mcrb developed a shorttraining course for dica staff on international standards and how to screencompanies for their commitment to those standards, including throughcompany reporting.33 Since then mcrb has run a series of weekly responsible business training seminars for dica’s countrywide staff, and they havealso participated in other events at sub-national level.34 Other Ministries
with whom mcrb has most contact, including for training purposes, arethe Ministry of Natural Resources and Environmental Conservation and theMinistry of Energy.

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Training for the National Human Rights Commission
During 2015 mcrb, along with one of its founding organizations, the Danish
Institute for Human Rights, provided blended online and face-to-face training to the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (mnhrc) using
the dihr e-learning on business and human rights for nhris.35 Senior andjunior mnhrc staffers were introduced to the ungps. Face-to-face discussions focused on labor issues, the impact of extractive industries on humanrights and on land, all of particular relevance in Myanmar.36 A repeat of thisblended training, with an increased focus on Burmese language delivery,
will take place in 2019.
Training with Academic Institutions
Mcrb team members have also been speakers at local privately-owned business schools, for example teaching “Responsible and sustainable business”
on the mba course of the International Leadership University in Naypyidaw
in January 2019. Mcrb team members have also spoken at state-funded universities in Mandalay and Yangon, with a particular focus on encouraging
students to see a future career path in environmental impact assessment.37
Mcrb team members have also regularly presented on RB101 and sectoral issues such as mining, tourism and ict to the Bachelor of Arts andReligious Studies (bars) course at Myanmar Institute of Theology (a well-

Discussing responsible tourism in Kalaw at the 3rd National Conference, June 2018.

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established social science course with a focus on ethnic minority students),
and other local educational and training initiatives.
Educating through Dialogue and Advocacy
Human rights education by mcrb is not limited to workshops and seminars.
As a result of its work on specific sectors through the swias, the Centre hasalone and in partnership with others facilitated multi-stakeholder dialogues
on a number of topics where Myanmar is developing policy and regulation,
and where all stakeholders are learning about good practice and international standards. Each of these discussions involves education on basic human rights principles and the role of government and business, as well as
specific human rights impacts and how to address them.
Mcrb has undertaken extensive work on tourism, both at the nationaland sub-national levels. In partnership with the Hanns Seidel Foundation(hsf), mcrb has held workshops on responsible tourism including tourism and human rights, and community-based tourism including a series ofthree National Conferences on Communities and Tourism.38 With hsf, twomulti-stakeholder dialogues have also been held to discuss beach tourism in
Ngapali in 2016 and 2017.
Furthermore, in 2016/2017 mcrb and Flora and Fauna International(ffi) held three multi-stakeholder workshops on sustainable tourism in
Tanintharyi Region, southeast Myanmar. In these workshops, ffi presented
its work which had been undertaken over four years to identify environmentally sensitive areas on which to develop a zonation map of the area, toallow for decisions to be taken by government on permitting and regulating
investment and other activities.39 In each multi-stakeholder forum, mcrb
sets the business and human rights framework based on its findings fromthe Tourism swia and participants from government agencies, tourist businesses, and local csos share experience and concerns, learn from one another, and identify actions to reduce negative and enhance positive humanrights impacts. From these discussions, mcrb also draws advocacy points
for use with government and Parliament when they are considering policy
and legislation.
A similar approach has been taken with other sectors on which mcrb
has conducted swias. In the information and communications technology (ict) sector, the Centre co-hosted the Third Digital Rights Forum in

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January 2019, attended by some two hundred fifty participants from government, civil society, and ict companies with a focus on the rights to privacy,
information, and freedom of expression.40 Again, these multi-stakeholder
discussions are an opportunity for learning, and for developing advocacy
strategies.
At the cross-sectoral level, discrimination, and in particular, discrimination on grounds of disability has been a focus. In November 2017, theCentre and the International Labor Organization (ilo) co-hosted a workshop on promoting employment opportunities for people with disabilities.
Over a hundred people from government, companies, Myanmar civil society organizations, and international experts attended.41 A further multistakeholder workshop will take place in March 2019.
On security and human rights, mcrb took on the role in 2018 ofSecretariat of the In-Country Working Group on the Voluntary Principles
on Security and Human Rights (vpshr). The vpshr is a multi-stakeholder
global initiative established in 2000 designed to guide companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operationalframework that encourages respect for human rights. While the vpshr isdesigned specifically for extractive industries, it is of wider application forother sectors, and brings together companies, ngos, and governments. The
initiative seeks to minimize and address the risks of human rights abusesin communities adjacent to extraction sites that are associated with public
and private security provision. In its role as vpshr Secretariat, mcrb has
hosted several multi-stakeholder meetings, including two awareness-raisingsessions in Yangon and Naypyidaw, the capital, in November 2018, and for
civil society organizations in January 2019 in Yangon, building on networksof human rights defenders built during the oil and gas, and mining swias.42
Lessons Learned, Looking Ahead
An independent evaluation of mcrb’s first five years was conducted in 2018.43
Based on the changing context, and experience to date, MCRB’s program forthe 2019-2021 period will focus more on capacity-building, advocacy anddialogue, and less on field research and building knowledge, although it willcontinue to collect Myanmar good practice examples and case studies to use
in training.

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Demand for mcrb’s team as resource persons by others is growing, andthe Centre is working hard to ensure that more of its training material isavailable in Burmese language, and in a sufficiently simple and relevant format to engage local participants, whether business, civil society or government officials, most of whom have little if any knowledge of how business
relates to human rights or the Myanmar legal framework which supports
the government’s “duty to protect.”
From its own activities and observation of the human rights education
provided by others, mcrb has seen much human rights training activity by
development partners and international experts wasted through an assumption of too much prior knowledge, too great a focus on international standards, poor translation of slides and written material and poor interpretation (bearing in mind that accurate Burmese translation requires around 50
percent longer time than the original English).
Mcrb will therefore step up its efforts to find Myanmar examples that
resonate with Myanmar audiences, such as the human rights and businessissues associated with Facebook, or Letpadaung copper mine, and goodpractice examples by companies in Myanmar. The Centre will look for ways
to present material in Burmese, and to encourage the audience to interact
and express a view, whether through quizzes, polling or other activities.
In the meantime, to address the other challenge of capacity-building in
Myanmar, namely the duplication of effort, mcrb will continue to make its
training materials freely available on its website, and also publicize its activities through the media, Facebook, and a monthly e-newsletter.
Endnotes
1 2016 Myanmar Investment Law, www.dica.gov.mm/sites/dica.gov.mm/files/
document-files/myanmar_investment_law_official_translation_3-1-2017.pdf.
2 The term Rohingya is generally not accepted by the Myanmar government
and people, who refer to them as “Bengalis.” They believe that the Rohingya, thevast majority of whom do not have Myanmar citizenship, are in the country illegally.
3 See Combatting Discrimination by Businesses and in the Workplace in
Myanmar, MCRB, September 2017, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/pdf/
Briefing-Paper-Combatting-Discrimination-by-Business-and-in-the-Workplace-inMyanmar.pdf.
4 See for example Responsible Business Seminars, MCRB, www.myanmarresponsiblebusiness.org/tags.html?tag=responsible+business+seminars.
5 OECD, Guidelines for multinational enterprises, www.oecd.org/corporate/mne/.

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6 Sector-Wide Impact Assessments, MCRB, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/swia/.
7 Land Rights and Business in Myanmar, MCRB 1st edition 2015, 2nd draft
2018,
www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/briefing-paper-land-issues-myanmar.html.
8 Indigenous Peoples Rights and Business in Myanmar, MCRB 8 February 2016,www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/indigenous-peoples-rights-andbusiness-in-myanmar.html.
9 Briefing Paper on Children’s Rights and Business in Myanmar, MCRB 11 May
2017, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/childrens-rights-and-business-briefing-paper.html.
10 Discrimination by Business and in the Workplace in Myanmar, MCRB, 7
September 2017, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/combattingdiscrimination-briefing-paper.html.
11 Employing Persons with Disabilities – A Handbook for Employers in
Myanmar, MCRB and Association for Aid and Relief, Japan (AAR Japan), 3 Dec
2018, https://www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/persons-with-disabilities-handbook.htm.
12 Briefing paper on Biodiversity, Human Rights and Business in Myanmar,
MCRB, 8 November 2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/briefing-paper-biodiversity-human-rights-and-business.html.
13 Business and Human Rights Guide for Companies in Myanmar, MCRB, 7
April 2015, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/business-and-human-rights-guide.html.
14 Responsible Business Training in Mandalay and Myawadi, MCRB, 25 Aug
2015, and Companies Discuss the Challenges of Doing Business Responsibly inSouth-east Myanmar, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/responsiblebusiness-training-mandalay-and-myawadi.html.
15 MCRB Presents Responsible Business Basics at the Mon State Parliament,
MCRB, 25 July 2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/mon-state-parliament.html.
16 Operational Grievance Mechanism (OGM) Documentary, MPRL, YouTube,
4 July 2018, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhcXHXIpFMY.
17 For example, Community engagement with the private sector: how to beeffective, MCRB, 23 September 2016, www.youtube.com/watch?v=vhcXHXIpFMY.
18 Lobby and Advocacy Guide (Asia), October 2017, Civic Engagement Alliancein English and Burmese, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/trainingsession-land-rights-documentation.html.
19 Training Session: Land Rights Documentation, MCRB, 17 December 2014,www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/training-session-land-rights-documentation.html.
20 Strengthening Public Understanding of Environmental Impact Assessment,
MCRB, 2 January 2019, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/strengthening-public-understanding-of-eia.html.

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21 Civil Society Organizations Stress the Need for More Information on the
EIA Process, MCRB, 1 January 2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/
information-eia-process.html.
22 Some pointers for public participation in EIA, MCRB 7 March 2016, www.
myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/pointers-for-public-participation-environmental-impact-assessment.html.
23 Compliance Challenges in Myanmar, MCRB 31 July 2015, www.myanmarresponsiblebusiness.org/news/compliances-challenges-in-myanmar.html.
24 Pwint Thit Sa Project (TiME), www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/
pwint-thit-sa/.
25 2018 Pwint Thit Sa, MCRB, 26 March 2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/pwint-thit-sa/.
26 Launch of the Research Phase for Pwint Thit Sa 2019, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/pwint-thit-sa/2019.html.
27 MCRB trains companies on developing a human rights policy, 9 September
2016, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/developing-a-human-rightspolicy.html; MCRB holds workshop for businesses on operational grievance mechanisms, 16 June 2015, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/workshop-developing-effective-grievance-mechanism.html.
28 New Toolkit Available for Myanmar Businesses to Fight Corruption, 12
December 2016, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/toolkit-good-governance.html.
29 IPIECA Good Practice Survey on Operational Grievance Mechanisms,
Burmese version, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/resources/ipieca-guidetranslation.html.
30 Second training workshop held for local EIA consultants, MCRB Sept 2016,www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/second-training-workshop-localeia-consultants.html.
31 See Responsible Business Seminars on MCRB website for presentations,www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/tags.html?tag=responsible+business+seminars.
32 MCRB co-hosts seminar on Understanding SDGs/CSR/ESG for Japanesecompanies, MCRB, 9 July 2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/sdgscsr-esg-japanese-companies.html.
33 Workshop on responsible business in Naypyidaw, MCRB 5 February 2014,
https://www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/workshop-responsible-business-naypyidaw.html.
34 MCRB/DICA Workshop Series on Responsible Business, MCRB 13 April
2017, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/dica-workshop-series.html.
35 E-learning on business and human rights for NHRIs, The Danish Institutefor Human Rights, www.humanrights.dk/e-learning-business-human-rights-nhris.
36 Business and human rights training in Myanmar, DIHR, 22 October 2015,www.humanrights.dk/news/business-human-rights-training-myanmar.
37 MRCB Discusses Responsible Business with Universities in Mandalay,
MCRB 10 February 2016, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/yadanabon-university-mandalay-university.html and Tertiary Education Sector is Essential

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for Effective Environmental Impact Assessment in Myanmar, MCRB 25 January
2016, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/tertiary-education-sector-eia.
html.
38 Third National Conference on Communities and Tourism Focusses on Local
Level Destination Management, MCRB, 12 June 2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/communities-and-tourism-conference-2018.html.
39 MCRB and Flora and Fauna International co-host a week of Tanintharyi
Tourism workshops, MCRB, 20 May 2017, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/
news/communities-and-tourism-conference-2018.html.
40 Third Myanmar Digital Rights Forum Ends with Call for Better Regulated,
Freer, Safer Online Space, Emphasizes Need for Consultation, MCRB, 22 January
2019,
www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/communities-and-tourismconference-2018.html.
41 Multi-Stakeholder Workshop on Promoting Employment Opportunities for
People with Disabilities, MCRB, 27 November 2017, https://www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/news/multi-stakeholder-workshop-people-with-disabilities.html.
42 Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, MCRB, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/dialogues/voluntary-principles/.
43 Evaluation of MCRB 2013-2018, www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org/
evaluation.html.