What was worse were human rights violations in connection with the fighting in Rakhine State, which were quite serious. The number of cases filed against news media was the highest to date in 2020. The number of people charged under the Telecommunications Law for sharing posts on social media was the highest to date in 2020. There was religious persecution, and there were allegations in 2020 that there were more punitive actions against freedom of expression. It is fair to say that people suffered from the pandemic, human rights abuses and armed conflict. But taking a look at 2020 as a whole, it was a difficult year regarding human rights.

What is your assessment of the situation of human rights in Myanmar in 2020, and what are the prospects for 2021?Īung Myo Min: It is welcome news. 10, President U Win Myint released a statement in which he pledged that the government would cooperate with civil society organizations to build a society that respects human rights. It is good news that fighting ceased in a region which has continuously seen human rights violations. The fighting in Rakhine State ceased in November. So, there are hopes that there will be more good news in 2021. We started to hear good news toward the end of 2020 as various vaccines emerged. The year 2020 was a hard year and we had to give up some of our individual freedom and rights willingly. Executive director U Aung Myo Min of Equality Myanmar and writer Daw Mon Mon Myat join me this week. 8 election and through New Year’s Day, we have heard good news. The year 2020 was a hard year due to COVID-19, but since the Nov. Ye Ni: Happy New Year! Welcome to Dateline Irrawaddy! This is the first dateline of 2021.

Myanmar love story video