For four years, the Thilawa Special Economic Zone (SEZ), Myanmar ‘s first SEZ, has been marked by land rights abuses and disregard for affected communities. The SEZ pushed villagers off of their land, often with inadequate compensation and unjust relocation policies, forcing them into a long struggle to access remedies.

EarthRights International has published these facts and testimonies about the current situation in Thilawa as a part of our support for the 2017 UN Forum and Business and Human Rights session, “Case studies: achieving access to remedy through multi-stakeholder engagement on the ground.”  ERI also supported a delegation of community members from Thilawa in attending the forum in Geneva, as part of the development of the Community-Driven Operational Level Grievance Mechanism (CDOGM).