The present report is submitted pursuant to resolution 39/2 of the Human Rights Council, in which the Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to submit to it, at its forty-third session, a report on the root causes of the human rights violations and abuses faced by the Rohingya Muslim minority and other minorities in Myanmar. In the report, factors are identified that underlie the historical and current patterns of human rights violations and abuses against ethnic and religious minorities in Myanmar. The report concludes with recommendations on measures to be taken by the Government, the international community and other stakeholders to improve the situation.

In its resolution S-27/1, the Human Rights Council requested the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to report on the situation of human rights of Rohingya at its fortieth session, including on the level of cooperation and access given to the independent international fact-finding mission on Myanmar and other United Nations human rights mechanisms, the implementation of recommendations of the United Nations human rights system, including those made by the Council in resolution S-27/1, and to make recommendations for future actions.

The present report is produced by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights pursuant to the universal mandate of the High Commissioner for Human Rights under General Assembly resolution 48/141. The report examines the freedom of the press in Myanmar and the impact that high profile prosecutions of journalists have had in creating a culture of selfcensorship among journalists during the country’s transition to democracy.