[{"bbox": [96, 153, 1136, 419], "category": "Text", "text": "The programme will build on the progress from the first two phases of EU support to access to justice in Myanmar implemented since 2015, including the most recent one which was implemented through the post-Coup period, generating many lessons learnt on how to best support a sector with multi-layered challenges. This new action will focus on the most successful aspects of previous interventions, while also putting an emphasis on longer term sustainability and capacity-building of local actors to take over service provision and build greater financial resilience, to the extent possible under the current context. This new phase will also put a greater emphasis on youth engagement to empower the next generation of youth leaders and justice advocates and provide them with skills development in areas such as mediation and dispute resolution. All States/Regions of Myanmar may be targeted by this Action, but specific attention will be given to the States/Regions with existing EU-supported legal aid centres¹, as well as to ensuring a more balanced distribution of activities between different controlled areas."}, {"bbox": [96, 429, 1136, 644], "category": "Text", "text": "Fully acknowledging access to justice is a sensitive topic under the current Myanmar context, the action will ensure do-no-harm and conflict sensitive approaches are used through the design of all its components, also ensuring due diligence is observed in the selection of the partners and target groups. The action will contribute to SDG 16 “Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development”, SDG 5 “Gender equality”, SDG 10 “Reduced Inequalities” and SDG 17 “Partnership for the Goals”. It has a gender marker G1 and will contribute to the implementation of GAP III² in the country, and in particular to the thematic area of engagement 1 “Ensuring freedom from all forms of gender-based violence” and 4 “Promoting equal participation and leadership”, while also mainstreaming the thematic area 5 “Integrating the women, peace and security agenda”."}, {"bbox": [85, 684, 323, 716], "category": "Section-header", "text": "# 2 RATIONALE"}, {"bbox": [85, 749, 234, 776], "category": "Section-header", "text": "## 2.1 Context"}, {"bbox": [96, 802, 1136, 988], "category": "Text", "text": "Three years after the February 2021 military coup, Myanmar remains trapped in conflict, political instability and a growing humanitarian crisis. The last months of 2023 were marked by an increase in the intensity of the conflict. A third of the population, 18.6 million, are now estimated to be in dire need of humanitarian assistance, with women, girls, persons with disabilities and stateless Rohingya people among those impacted the most. Development gains are under extreme threat, with poverty levels back to what they were 15 years ago. Meanwhile, humanitarian activities continue to be obstructed on the ground³, forcing already vulnerable communities, including over 3 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), into even more precarious conditions."}, {"bbox": [96, 1000, 704, 1027], "category": "Section-header", "text": "### Collapse of fundamental freedoms, democracy and rule of law"}, {"bbox": [96, 1038, 1136, 1279], "category": "Text", "text": "Alongside social and economic rights, civic and political rights have been severely regressing in the country. The past three years of nation-wide conflict have been marked by repression of peace activists and pro-democracy actors, gross human rights violations including killings of civilians, torture and extra-judicial killings, suppression of freedom of expression and weaponization of the law against anyone expressing dissent. This dire situation is reflected in the country's continuous fall in most of the human rights, democracy and rule of law world indexes. The country now ranks second to last in the World Justice Project (WJP) on respect of fundamental rights⁴, second to last also in the Democracy Index⁵ and maintains its position as the most violent country in the world for the second consecutive year according to the 2024 ACLED Conflict Index⁶. In this context, the need to deliver on accountability and justice demands in the post-conflict future is increasingly taking centre stage in pro-democracy"}, {"bbox": [85, 1366, 1143, 1411], "category": "Footnote", "text": "¹ Ayeyarwady Region, Bago Region, Yangon Region, Mandalay Region, Nay Pyi Taw Union Territory, Shan State, Kayin State, Mon State"}, {"bbox": [85, 1412, 1143, 1484], "category": "Footnote", "text": "² The Gender Action Plan III is a Joint communication by the Commission and the High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy which was welcomed through EU Presidency Conclusions of 16 December 2020 endorsed by 24 Member States."}, {"bbox": [85, 1485, 970, 1532], "category": "Footnote", "text": "³ Myanmar Humanitarian Report, No. 34, UN OCHA, 10 November 2023 at https://www.unocha.org/publications/report/myanmar/myanmar-humanitarian-update-no-34-10-november-2023"}, {"bbox": [85, 1532, 876, 1554], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁴ https://worldjusticeproject.org/rule-of-law-index/country/2023/Myanmar/Fundamental%20Rights/"}, {"bbox": [85, 1555, 774, 1601], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁵ Democracy Index established by the Economist Intelligence Unit, report available at : https://www.eiu.com/n/campaigns/democracy-index-2023/"}, {"bbox": [85, 1601, 1078, 1646], "category": "Footnote", "text": "⁶ Conflict Index published annually by ACLED - Armed Conflict Location & Event Data (ACLED) Project, data available at: https://acleddata.com/conflict-index/"}, {"bbox": [1027, 1655, 1143, 1682], "category": "Page-footer", "text": "Page 4 of 32"}]