The Governing Council of the Inter-Parliamentary Union,

Referring to the case of the above-mentioned members-elect of the Pyithu Hluttaw (People's Assembly) of the Union of Myanmar, as outlined in the report of the Committee on the Human Rights of Parliamentarians (CL/187/12(b)-R.1), and to the resolution adopted at its 186th session (April 2010),

Recalling the following concerns in this case:

• The complete disregard for the results of the election of 27 May 1990, in which the National League for Democracy (NLD) won 392 of the 485 seats, and the continued removal from politics of parliamentarians-elect, notably through arbitrary arrests, prolonged imprisonment, forced resignation from political parties, and severe limitations on any kind of political activity;

• The National Convention, an assembly of members selected by the authorities, drafted a new constitution giving the military sweeping powers, without allowing a free exchange of opinions and ideas and penalizing any criticism of its work, which was adopted by referendum in May 2008 in a climate of intimidation; on the basis of that instrument, the military authorities announced that elections would take place in 2010 without, however, specifying when;

• 12 parliamentarians continue to languish in prison for merely having exercised their freedom of expression and were sentenced on the basis of legal proceedings which blatantly disregarded their right to a fair trial,

Recalling that, in the presentation of his report to the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2010, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Myanmar saw no indication that the authorities of Myanmar were willing to release all prisoners of conscience and to respect fundamental freedoms; he added that without full participation, including by the 2,100 prisoners of conscience, and an environment allowing people and parties to engage in the range of electoral activities, the elections could not be credible,

Recalling that, in the resolution it adopted on 26 March 2010, the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed concern that the newly adopted electoral laws failed to meet the expectations of the international community regarding what was needed for an inclusive political process and called upon the Government of Myanmar to ensure a free, transparent and fair electoral process which permitted the participation therein of all voters, all political parties, and all other relevant stakeholders in a manner of their choosing; it strongly urged the Government of Myanmar to desist from further politically motivated arrests, to release without delay and unconditionally all prisoners of conscience and to allow their full participation in the political process; the Council strongly called upon the Government of Myanmar to lift restrictions on the freedom of assembly, association, movement and expression, including for free and independent media, by ensuring the openly available and accessible use of Internet and mobile telephone services, and ending the use of censorship, including the use of the Electronic Transactions Law, to prevent the reporting of views critical of the Government,

Considering that on 27 September 2010, in reporting on the meeting that day of the High-Level Meeting of the Group of Friends of Myanmar, bringing together 15 countries, including Myanmar’s neighbours, interested Asian and European nations, and the five permanent United Nations Security Council members, the United Nations Secretary-General stated that the members had clearly reiterated the need for the election process to be more inclusive, participatory and transparent and for steps to be taken for the release of political detainees, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi,

1. Profoundly deplores the continued disregard by the Myanmar authorities not only of its persistent concerns and pleas in this case, but also of the pleas of the international community to release all political prisoners and, more generally, to provide for elections that are truly inclusive, free and fair;

2. Reaffirms its belief that the exclusion of 12 parliamentarians-elect and many other political prisoners from the political process, along with the persistent restrictions on human rights and political activity, casts serious doubt on the authorities' willingness to ensure that the outcome of this historic opportunity, the first elections in 20 years, can genuinely reflect the will of the people;

3. Urges the authorities to remedy this situation, where still possible and as a matter of urgency, and, as an essential step, to put an unconditional and immediate end to the prolonged incarceration of the 12 parliamentarians-elect; again draws attention, in a last appeal to the authorities, to the Declaration on Criteria for Free and Fair Elections adopted by the Inter-Parliamentary Union on 26 March 1994;

4. Calls on IPU Member Parliaments, in particular those of China and India as neighbouring countries, and the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), to lend their full support to the appeals made in this resolution, in particular since, with the elections drawing close, time is running short;

5. Decides to continue to follow the electoral process and outcome closely, to revert to this matter during the 124th IPU Assembly (April 2011), and to request the Committee to continue examining this case and report to it at its next session.

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* On 2 April 2008, MPU-Burma announced that Mr. Myint Thein died following his release, his health having greatly worsened in detention.

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