In 2021, the Norwegian NCP accepted a submission from the Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations (SOMO) on behalf of 474 civil society organisations with respect to the operations of Telenor Myanmar Ltd. The complaint concerns risk-based due diligence, stakeholder engagement and disclosure related to Telenor’s disengagement from Myanmar.
According to the complainants, Telenor had not conducted adequate human rights due diligence in relation to the sale of its operations in Myanmar. The complainants feared that Telenor’s user data would be shared with the military junta and used to engage in surveillance, persecute and arrest political opponents.
The parties accepted the NCP’s offer of dialogue and mediation. In June 2022 the Parties arrived at a preliminary memorandum of understanding (MoU) that described a path forward for further mediation. One of the follow-ups of the MoU was conducting an independent ICT ecosystem study in Myanmar, to enhance the understanding of risks associated with digital footprints and surveillance, including with regards to telecommunications data and equipment. A summary of the study is included as an annex to the Final Statement.
A final mediation session was planned for the spring of 2024 to discuss follow-up actions to the ICT ecosystem study, including a digital security relief mechanism. The session was cancelled due to too great distance between the parties, and the case was transferred back to the NCP for examination in the autumn of 2024. The NCP found that the remaining issues to be examined centred around two questions:
- Did Telenor carry out due diligence in line with the Guidelines in relation to the exit from Myanmar?
- Should Telenor play a role in remediation of adverse impacts, and if so, what role would be appropriate?
The NCP bases its examination on information submitted by both parties, the MoU, and information available in the public domain. The NCP has not included information that could not be shared between the parties. The NCP underlines that the main responsibility for the grave human rights violations in Myanmar lies with the military junta. The NCP acknowledges that Telenor identified and mitigated some serious human rights risks through its due diligence in relation to its disengagement from Myanmar. These were mainly related to the company’s employees.
The NCP concludes that Telenor did not carry out human rights due diligence commensurate to the severity and likelihood of all the adverse impacts with which the company was involved in in Myanmar shortly before and after the coup. It was not in accordance with the Guidelines to systematically prioritise one set of rightsholders in the due diligence, i.e. Telenor’s own employees.
The NCP has also found that Telenor’s ability to mitigate risks for all those who were seriously at risk most likely became more limited than it could have been if the human rights due diligence and risk assessments had included scenarios for sale of its activities in Myanmar.
The NCP is of the view that Telenor should take an active role in remediation to the extent of its contribution to adverse impacts. This entails further follow-up of the commitments in the MoU and development of a digital security relief mechanism that can provide people at risk with legal, financial and other support to reduce risk of misuse of their digital footprint. This could be in the form of a type of fund, in cooperation with other actors linked to ICT-related impacts in Myanmar and the region.
The experience of Telenor in Myanmar demonstrates the importance of early planning for responsible exit before entering unstable markets. A company will be better prepared when the crisis becomes a reality and rapid action is required.
———————–
Find the NCP’s final statement here. See other documents here.
Contact Chair of the NCP: Frode Elgesem, tel.: +47 416 96 089.