Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business

The project aims to ensure that existing and new investments in Myanmar are consistent with international human rights standards and best practice.

Statement from the Danish Institute for Human Rights, August 2022

Directors of the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business can confirm that the Director, Vicky Bowman was arrested, along with husband Htein Lin, in Yangon on August 24, 2022. The Directors call for their immediate release. We are working to try to secure this. We will not be providing any further comment for the time being.

Notes for editors: The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business is an initiative to encourage responsible business activities throughout Myanmar. The Centre is a joint initiative of the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB) and the Danish Institute for Human Rights. Vicky Bowman is the founding Director of MCRB, which was established in 2013.

The Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) is an initiative to encourage responsible business activities throughout Myanmar. The establishment of the Yangon-based Centre is being led by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR) and the Institute for Human Rights and Business (IHRB).

The centre, which was established in July 2013, provides a trusted, impartial forum for dialogue, seminars, and briefings to relevant parties as well as access to international expertise and tools. The long-term goal for the new Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business is to become an independent and self-sustaining entity that will provide a crucial platform for businesses, civil society, academics, and governments – local and international – to meet and exchange ideas and build capacities regarding responsible investment and responsible business practices in Myanmar.

The centre has co-authored a human rights and business country guide for responsible investment in Myanmar.

Sector-wide impact assessments

In line with its goal the Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business will carry out a series of sector wide impact assessments (SWIA) to help inform government policy, advance responsible business practice and build civil society capacity to strengthen accountability.

SWIA seek to assess the potential impacts of a sector, including investments within the sector, on Myanmar society and in particular on the enjoyment of human rights. SWIA are implemented through a combination of desk-based and field-work.

Four SWIAs have been published about the: