Statement by the Board of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business

Taking into account the current operating environment in Myanmar, the Directors of Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business (MCRB) have taken the difficult decision to close MCRB’s office in Yangon, Myanmar.

This decision unfortunately means that all MCRB employees will be made redundant. Consistent with the principles of responsible exit, all legal obligations to employees will be met, and they will be assisted in finding alternative opportunities.

Despite the closure of the Yangon branch office, MCRB Ltd (the UK-registered company) will continue to operate in accordance with its Company Objects. These include the promotion of human rights through responsible business in Myanmar. This activity will take place under the continued leadership of Vicky Bowman, working closely with IHRB and DIHR. Vicky Bowman will also remain a member of the Board of MCRB Ltd. MCRB Ltd is a private limited company registered in the UK whose single shareholding is held by the Institute for Human Rights and Business Ltd (IHRB), which co-founded MCRB together with the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR).

The MCRB Board is keen to ensure that the networks, knowledge and expertise on responsible business in Myanmar which the Centre has developed over the last ten years are maintained, and remain available to all stakeholders both inside and outside Myanmar.

• The MCRB website www.myanmar-responsiblebusiness.org will be maintained and updated as a resource for all looking for expertise in responsible business in Myanmar.

• Myanmar and foreign businesses, and other stakeholders who are looking for guidance on how to conduct human rights due diligence or discuss other aspects of operating responsibly in Myanmar can continue to use the resources on the website, and contact the Centre on

• Those who have been involved in MCRB’s work in the past decade will continue to share experience in regional and global fora, and contribute to the ongoing development of international business and human rights standards and due diligence processes.

The MCRB Board would like to thank all current and former employees for their contribution over the last decade to making a success out of MCRB, as well as all stakeholders for their collaboration.

MCRB remains an innovative multistakeholder initiative that has successfully helped business, governments and civil society to put the 2011 UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights into practice. The Board hopes that the operating environment in Myanmar, and the wider political and business environment, will evolve positively to allow the reopening of an in-country office in due course.

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