[Joint Statement] MYANMAR: International community must oppose military junta’s new Passport Law, uphold freedom of movement
The international community, including the European Union and ASEAN, has taken a principled stance by not recognizing the junta’s sham election.
March 26, 2026
BANGKOK, Thailand (26 March 2026) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) and Progressive Voice strongly condemn the Myanmar military’s new passport law, denouncing it as a repressive measure for tightening control over international travel and for targeting political opponents, human rights defenders, and members of the Civil Disobedience Movement across Myanmar.
“The junta’s new passport law is a blatant attack on fundamental freedoms, giving the illegitimate regime sweeping powers to restrict movement, criminalize citizens, and conduct mass surveillance. By combining harsh penalties with mandatory biometric systems, the military is building a pervasive apparatus of control and intimidation,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.
“First and foremost, let us be clear that this junta is an illegitimate entity with no democratic mandate. They hold no rightful authority over the people. Any ‘laws’ they decree—including those restricting the fundamental right to travel—are legally and morally void. The international community, including the European Union and ASEAN, has taken a principled stance by not recognizing the junta’s sham election. Now they must reject the facade government and parliament that came out from this sham electoral process. In addition, the international community, particularly the ASEAN, must take concrete actions to stop the junta’s atrocity crimes against Myanmar’s people,” said Khin Ohmar, acting Executive Director of Progressive Voice.
Call to action
FORUM-ASIA and Progressive Voice urge the international community to immediately take decisive action against the junta’s ongoing human rights abuses. The new passport law is just one of the many restrictive and inhumane actions the junta has taken since its attempted coup in 2021.
We call on the international community to support the many calls for imposing targeted sanctions against the junta, exerting diplomatic pressure, and providing support for the people of Myanmar.
In addition, we call for stronger protections for Myanmar nationals seeking refuge in other countries. The world cannot remain silent as the youth, human rights defenders, and all citizens of Myanmar continue to lose their fundamental rights and freedoms.
Civil society concerns over new law
On 17 March 2026, Min Aung Hlaing, acting as head of the National Defence and Security Council, enacted the Myanmar Passport Law.
The new law formally replaces the century-old Myanmar Passport Act of 1920. It grantsauthorities broad powers to deny or revoke passports based on vague and loosely defined eligibility criteria, including loss of citizenship, accusations of submitting fraudulent applications, and previously convicted of offenses.
The law also applies to individuals subject to court orders and official requests to block passport issuance.
Essentially, the new law allows the junta to block passports on vague national security grounds, thereby expanding its control over people’s freedom of movement, particularly among detainees, individuals under conditional releases, and those forcibly deported back to Myanmar for alleged violations of foreign laws.
The law mandates the transition of all existing passports to biometric or e-passports by 2027, linking them to digital identification cards introduced in 2024 that collect sensitive personal data, including fingerprints and facial recognition. Where no meaningful data protection or independent oversight exists, the new law exposes citizens to arbitrary detention, harassment, and abuse.
Weaponizing laws to restrict freedoms
The Myanmar military junta’s new passport law puts thousands of participants in the Civil Disobedience Movement at greater risk of surveillance. In retaliation for their role in the movement, they may face hindrances when renewing their passports as well as when leaving or entering the country. At worst, they might be added to a blacklist.
Myanmar’s youth, already demoralized by the forced conscription law of 2024 and restrictions such as the United Kingdom’s recent suspension of student visas for citizens of Myanmar, face further threats to their futures.
Denying access to passports—a fundamental right of citizenship—effectively punishes young people for exercising peaceful dissent and obstructs their ability to pursue education, work, and safe mobility abroad.
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