Myanmar Media Specialist/Consultant

1. Background

Over one year and a half since the military coup in Myanmar happened, the situation is steadily worsening. The crisis in Myanmar has become protracted, with the junta committing crimes against humanity to cement its power in the face of widespread popular opposition to its rule, and throwing the country into disarray in the process.

Meanwhile, the global community’s response to the continuing atrocities has fallen woefully short of international obligations and standards, including the responsibility to protect, atrocity prevention, and the humanitarian imperative. The international community’s failure to impact change in Myanmar not only legitimizes the junta by default and worsen a major humanitarian crisis, its inaction also risks emboldening other brutal regimes by showing that atrocities can occur with impunity.

The initial media and global attention on the situation has lessened and shifted to new emerging crisis situations. The UNSC is at a standstill and while major Western powers are adopting targeted sanctions against the junta’s economic interests, as long as the oil and gas sector remain unaffected and that countries from the region maintain trade, this is having little impact on the military’s position.

The global community recognized the unique role ASEAN could play as the regional partner of Myanmar. In April 2021, ASEAN governments and the military junta agreed to a Five Point Consensus, widely supported by international actors. The Consensus called for a cessation of violence and political dialogue, created the position of ASEAN Special Envoy to Myanmar to facilitate such dialogue and prescribed the distribution of humanitarian aid through AHA Center. Ever since, the Myanmar junta has shown the same disregard towards the agreement that it has shown towards the lives of the Myanmar people, and both ASEAN and the international community at large have failed to hold it accountable for that in any meaningful way.

Ever since the coup, APHR has strongly focused on Myanmar and, in June, organized an international parliamentary inquiry into the actions taken by the international community in response to the Myanmar coup – with a view to providing concrete recommendations for the international community to meet its own agreements, obligations, and standards.

As a regional organisation of parliamentarians, APHR has a unique legitimacy and distinct advocacy avenues to influence ASEAN Member States. APHR can use the position of its members to engage in high-level advocacy with ASEAN member states and the people who can influence them: Dialogue partners, think tanks, etc. Because we are parliamentarians, APHR is also in a unique position to engage a broad range of actors: from governments, to civil society, think tanks and diplomats and to help identify and push for concrete policy recommendations and steps to be taken by the regional bloc. Finally MPs because of their public position can serve as a consistent public voice in both traditional and social media on the situation in Myanmar

2. Scope of Work

APHR is recruiting a media consultant to help maximize the impact of, and profile of its work on Myanmar, including the International Parliamentary Inquiry. The consultant will be responsible for:

• Contribute to the development of a sound and impactful media strategy on Myanmar;
• Draft and produce press kits, press releases, Op-Eds, podcasts and social media content on Myanmar;
• Pitch articles and Op-Eds to media outlets on Myanmar;
• Secure media coverage on TV and traditional media mentions on Myanmar events;
• Make a video on the IPI and its findings;
• If needed/agreed, serve as emcee or moderator in media or APHR events (online and in-person) (as additional task);
• Develop a podcast series on Freedom of Religion or Belief in collaboration with the Advocacy and Campaigns Officer on FoRB (as additional task); and
• Perform other tasks and deliverables as agreed with the Media & Advocacy Director

3. Institutional Arrangement

The media consultant will report directly to APHR’s Media and Advocacy Director.

4. Duration of Work

01 October- 30 November 2022 (2 months)

5. Duty Station

Remote