Category Archives: Burma

Five on Friday – Five Recent Developments that We’ve Been Watching Closely

iStock_000011057325XSmallIt’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.

This week’s post includes: an announcement by the International Criminal Court regarding the potential for the prosecution of crimes based on environmental harm and land grabs; the lifting of sanctions on Burma and the end of the Burma Reporting Requirements on Responsible Investment; and new attention to the operational and reputational risks associated with global shipping.… More

Five on Friday – Five Recent Developments that We’ve Been Watching Closely

iStock_000011057325XSmallIt’s Friday and time for another overview of developments in the field of business and human rights that we’ve been monitoring.

This week’s post includes: a new lawsuit aimed at combating human trafficking in corporate supply chains; the release of the 2016 Trafficking in Persons Report by the U.S. State Department; and a change in the Reporting Requirements on Responsible Investment in Burma.

Transparency and Human Trafficking: Is Your Company Prepared?

iStock_000030023406SmallCompanies increasingly face expectations that they will “know and show” that they are taking appropriate steps to manage the human rights impacts associated with their business activities. New transparency requirements on issues ranging from conflict minerals to investments in Burma reflect this trend.

With respect to human trafficking, existing statutes such as the California Transparency in Supply Chains Act and proposed statutes such as the Business Supply Chain Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act require companies to report on their efforts to conduct due diligence on their supply chains in order to identify the risks of human trafficking.… More

The European Union Lifts Sanctions on Burma

iStock_000022174543XSmallOn April 22, the European Union lifted all sanctions on Burma except an arms embargo. The sanctions had already been eased in April 2012, which left open the option of easily putting them back into place. The European Union’s move to lift them altogether sends a strong signal of support for the reform-oriented government in Burma.

The European Union made this decision at a controversial time,… More

John Ruggie Gives Opening Address at U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights

On December 4 and 5, more than 1,000 participants from 85 countries gathered for the first U.N. Forum on Business and Human Rights in Geneva, Switzerland. The Forum focused on “trends and challenges” in the implementation of the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (the “Guiding Principles”), which were formally endorsed by the U.N. Human Rights Council in June 2011. The Forum includes discussions of a broad set of key issues in the business and human rights space,… More

Human Rights Due Diligence – An Emerging Requirement in State and Federal Legislation

Two years ago, in October 2010, I published a post, Human Rights Due Diligence and the Corporate Lawyer, that addressed the need for corporate counsel to assess stakeholder expectations that companies should be accountable for identifying, and taking action to mitigate, the adverse human rights impacts of their operations. At the time, the expectation that companies should conduct human right due diligence had been put forward as a fundamental component of the “Protect,… More

The New Foreign Direct Investment Law in Burma (Myanmar): The Tiger Sniffs

HiRes(1)Burma’s Hluttaw, or Parliament, passed a new Foreign Direct Investment Law on September 7. Few details on the legislation are yet available, and we have seen only partial translations, although the final version reportedly is preferable to its draft predecessor. President Thein Sein has not yet signed it into law.

From the information available thus far, it is clear, however, that the law is a significant improvement on the version that the lower Hluttaw passed earlier this summer,… More

Responsible Investment in Burma (Myanmar): An Experiment that Cannot Afford to Fail

Amy Lehr, the author of this post, will be presenting during a webinar on “Responsible Business in Myanmar: Operating Context, Sanctions, and International CSR Standards,” this Thursday, August 16, at 11:00 a.m. She will be joined by John Ruggie and Gare Smith. Information on registration can be found here.

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The U.S. decision to ease financial and investment sanctions on Burma for the first time since 1997 is a landmark – and controversial – moment.… More

Burma (Myanmar) Sanctions Eased, but Companies Required to Report on Responsible Business Practices

On July 11, the U.S. government eased sanctions on financial services and new investment in Burma, while requiring that U.S. persons (including U.S.-organized entities) with cumulative investments in Burma exceeding $500,000 report on processes they have in place to address social and environmental impacts. This is the first time that the United States has explicitly used a sanctions regime to encourage responsible business practices. Despite the general easing of restrictions,… More

United States Eases Sanctions on New Investment in Burma (Myanmar)

On Thursday, May 17, 2012, President Obama announced that the U.S. would issue a general license easing sanctions on the export of financial services and new investment in Burma, although he did not lift them, meaning that they could be reinstated if there is backsliding on reforms. Although senior Administration officials had previously indicated that sanctions would only be eased on a few industries, the White House today announced that the general license would apply to all new investments in Burma,… More

United States Eases Sanctions on Financing for Development Organizations in Burma (Myanmar)

On April 17, the U.S. Treasury issued new General License No. 14-C, which relaxes sanctions on financial services with respect to certain humanitarian and not-for-profit activities in Burma.  

This License allows financial services to support a broader range of development projects than was previously permitted, and includes: (1) projects to meet basic human needs; (2) democracy building and good governance projects; (3) educational activities;… More

Floating the Kyat: A First Step in Fighting Corruption in Burma (Myanmar)

On April 2, one day after its Parliamentary by-elections, Burma (Myanmar) floated its currency, the kyat. This is an important first step in normalizing the country’s investment climate and curbing corruption. For years, the official kyat exchange rate has been more than 100 times lower than the black market rate, which has led to endless headaches for organizations operating in Burma, as well as for Burmese citizens.… More

Fools Rush In: Social and Environmental Due Diligence in Burma (Myanmar)

Following the success of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and her National League for Democracy (“NLD”) party at the polls and today’s announcement that the United States will soon lift some of its sanctions against Burma, companies are closely scrutinizing the possibility of conducting business in the long-isolated country. 

Recent events should not, however, be considered a green light to conduct business in Burma for at least two reasons:  … More