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Bibliothèque MIDNIGHT INTRUSIONS - Ending Guest Registration and Household Inspections in Myanmar (English)

MIDNIGHT INTRUSIONS - Ending Guest Registration and Household Inspections in Myanmar (English)

MIDNIGHT INTRUSIONS - Ending Guest Registration and Household Inspections in Myanmar (English)

Resource information

Date of publication
Mars 2014
Resource Language
ISBN / Resource ID
OBL:74285

SUMMARY:
"Since President

Thein

Sein

came

to

power

in

2011,

political

and

economic

reforms

in

Myanmar

have

led

to

greater

freedoms

and

unprecedented

optimism

for

the

country’s

future.

However,

in

communities

throughout

Myanmar,

authorities

continue

to

apply

repressive

laws

and

employ

practices

common

under

previous

military

regimes.

The

Ward or Village Tract Administration Law
requires

all

residents

of

Myanmar—urban

and

rural,

Burman

Buddhists

and

minorities,

rich

and

poor—to

report

the

identity

of

overnight

houseguests

to

government

officials

serving

as

ward

or

village

tract

administrators.

In

effect,

residents

need

permission

from

the

state

to

host

overnight

guests—and

authorities

are

known

to

deny

guest

registration

for

a

variety

of

reasons.
Myanmar

authorities

ensure

compliance

with

the

guest

registration

requirement

by

conducting

periodic

household

inspections.

The

Ward or Village Tract Administration Law

empowers

officials

to

inspect

“the
places

needed

to

examine

for

prevalence

of

law

and

order

and

upholding

the

discipline

[sic]
,”

effectively

giving

them

unfettered

authority

to

enter

private

residences.

Under

the

authority

granted

by

this

provision,

ward

or

village

tract

administrators

typically

carry

out

household

inspections

late

at

night

with

police

or

intelligence

officers

and

others,

ostensibly

to

determine

if

unregistered

guests

are

present.

Given

the

timing

of

these

intrusions,

many

residents

refer

to

the

practice

as

“midnight

inspections”.

Additionally,

individuals

who

lack

adequate

documentation

or

citizenship

status

in

Myanmar

face

challenges

hosting

or

staying

as

overnight

guests.

For

example,

individuals

who

are

unable

to

obtain

household

registration

documents

are

typically

required

to

regularly

report

themselves

to

the

state

as

guests

in

their

own

homes,

often

on

a

weekly

basis.

The

provisions

of

the

Ward or Village Tract Administration Law

related

to

the

guest

registration

requirement

and

its

enforcement

impinge

on

various

human

rights,

including

the

right

to

privacy

and

rights

to

freedom

of

movement,

residency,

and

association.

The

guest

registration

requirement

represents

a

systematic

and

nationwide

breach

of

privacy,

giving

the

government

access

to

troves

of

personal

data

from

communities

across

the

country.

Evidence

collected

by

Fortify

Rights

also

suggests

that

the

law

is

particularly

enforced

against

low-income

communities,

individuals

working

with

civil

society

organizations,

and

political

activists...

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