We the peoples of the Republic of the Federal Union of Burma, with complete faith in the universal principles of freedom, equality and justice, do hereby adopt this Constitution for the Federal Republic of the Union of Burma in order to establish a multi-national country that is peaceful, prosperous, and enduring.

In the land of this Federal Union, many different nationalities have lived, each with their own sovereignty and independence, ever since ancient times. Although each nationality lived independently for most of its history, they all fell under the long occupation and servitude of the British colonialists. In order to gain its own freedom more quickly, each nationality joined with the others so as to obtain independence from the colonial power together, and thus they formed a federal union at the Panglong Conference in the year 1947.

The Conference unanimously adopted the Panglong Agreement which guaranteed ethnic equality, self-determination, and democratic rights. Although the Agreement promised that the states of the union could govern themselves, those in power failed to implement the Agreement. Civil war ensued for more than half a century, during which countless lives were sacrificed and natural resources wasted. Since 1962, the peoples of Burma have suffered under a series of dictatorial regimes with different names but a common history of denying democratic rights, human rights, and the rights of self-determination for ethnic nationalities who joined the Union as equal partners in 1947. We shall never forget the heart-breaking experiences that the people of the Federal Union have had to endure.

In order to prevent a recurrence of the mistakes of the past and to realize the future aspirations of all our peoples, we based this Constitution on the fundamental principles of political equality for all ethnic nationalities, the rights of self-determination for all member states of the Federal Union; and the democratic rights for all citizens. This Constitution further provides guarantees for human rights and gender equality; minority rights for all religious and ethnic groups; and the separation of politics and religion. In order to prevent the recurrence of military dictatorship, this Constitution enshrines civilian control of the armed forces.