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Opinion and analysis on business and human rights issues in Myanmar...For the last two days I have been at the Workshop on the National Land Use Policy Formulation held at the Myanmar International Convention Centre in Nay Pyi Taw. Under discussion was the 6th, and likely final, draft of the National Land Use Policy. (Available here: http://www.fdmoecaf.gov.mm/documents)
While the government should be commended for holding open consultation and taking on board many of the comments from civil society, the consultation’s location in Nay Pyi Taw is prohibitive to most civil society organizations (CSOs). In fact, if it was not for the diligent organization of buses and accommodation by Land Core Group, headed by U Shwe Thein and facilitated by Glen Hunt, the consultation would have been more like a intergovernmental discussion.
The opening morning consisted of speeches by U Kyaw Kyaw Lwin, the Deputy Director General (Policy/Planning) of the Forest Department and U Aye Maung Sein a National Consultant, who reminded us of the draft’s content and outlined the process of consultation undertaken so far. Vice President U Nyan Htun, Chairman of National Land Resource Management Central Committee, also delivered a speech in which he explained how the government had ‘laid down a bottom up process for all sectors.’ But the really interesting discussion came during the small working groups. The participants signed up for the following 5 different working groups:...It certainly a step forward for Myanmar when the government engages in a long consultation process and amends numerous drafts to reflect many of civil society’s concerns. If nothing else, the NLUP will serve as an important guideline for Civil Society to use in its advocacy in Myanmar. It remains to be seen how the final draft will look and how its provisions will frame the drafting of much needed, consolidated land law. One thing is certain, the irony of holding a land policy consultation in Nay Pyi Taw – itself not exactly a model of participatory, sustainable land use – was not lost on the participants.
