"Silence on investment projects is not the answer", 16 July 2015

Over the past three months, the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) has written to investors, developers, an international audit company and an environmental research institute to ask for the public disclosure of information relating to two of Myanmar's largest economic development projects: the Dawei and Kyauk Phyu Special Economic Zones (SEZs). The ICJ asked for information regarding environmental mpact assessments (EIA), environmental management plans, and financial audit reports. The ICJ received no substantive responses...In a country where businesses normally proceed without input from local communities, such secrecy has fostered serious human rights abuses, including land misappropriations, loss of livelihoods, serious environmental damage, and violent curtailments of freedom of expression and association...The companies operating in SEZs are not the only ones rejecting transparency. When the Business and Human Rights Resource Centre recently wrote to more than 100 foreign companies operating in Myanmar, , seeking details on their activities and human rights commitments, only a quarter responded with relevant information... [refers to Myanmar Wanbao, Myanmar Economic Holdings]