On 7 July 2021 the Canadian delegation at the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) summed up the situation in Myanmar as part of the interactive dialogue with Thomas Andrews, the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar.
“For more than 10 years, the army of Myanmar has kept an iron fist on the political life”
Describing how the army had institutionalised its role in governing through “the imposition of force and the brutal suppression of the opposition.” Canada appealed to its fellow delegations to follow their 14 year arms embargo since the junta took complete control of the country 5 months ago to address the “violent repressions against civilians, which have led to waves of displacements”.
This was echoed by the representative of the United States who called on the international community to “take decisive action to prevent further bloodshed, including through the imposition of an arms embargo” noting that it was imperative to:
“cease the export of arms and transfer of dual use technology to the military junta. These transfers seriously undermine human rights and aid the military in committing atrocities against the people of Myanmar.”
Human Rights Watch echoed the Special Rapporteur’s call for “targeted sanctions” on entities owned by the junta, such as oil and gas companies while describing the “widespread torture and ill treatment” of those detained. The Singapore delegation described the use of lethal force against civilians and unarmed demonstrators as ”inexcusable under any circumstances” and called for “the release of all political detainees, including foreigners, and for meaningful negotiations and dialogue” adding that “Singapore is ready to play our part”. This sentiment was supported by Cambodia who stated: “We stand ready to join other ASEAN members to assist the country on a path to normalcy in any role”
The Special Rapporteur began his dialogue with the HRC by outlining the two central trends that have taken place since the military coup in February of this year, stating that:
“The military’s widespread systematic attacks against the people of Myanmar, acts that amount to crimes against humanity, and second, the inability of the international community to do what is required to stop it.”
“The junta’s military forces have murdered approximately 900 people, forcibly displaced hundreds of thousands, tortured many, including torturing people in custody to death, disappeared untold numbers, and arbitrarily detained nearly 6,000” he said, adding that the incumbent junta “continues to stifle freedom of expression” and “strip away due process and fair trial rights”.
The Special Rapporteur condemned the clear disregard for collateral damage in eradicating potential opposition, stating that the junta “cut off food, water and medicine to those who have been displaced by its brutal attacks on entire villages” and “taken family members hostage when its forces are unable to find those with outstanding arrest warrants. Member states’ acceptance of the National Unity Government (NUG), formed by exiled parliamentarians, was encouraged by Andrews who praised their plans for a new unified Myanmar in which the Rohingya ethnic minority would receive justice and full citizenship rights.
The delegation of Bangladesh spoke of how they have had to “bear the burden” of the Rohingyas since 2017, when the atrocities perpetrated against the Rohingya forced them to flee to Bangladesh. The delegation reminded the Special Rapporteur that “Myanmar has not taken any meaningful action either to address the atrocities perpetrated against Rohingya or to stop long standing repression against them”.
With regard to the international community’s lackluster response to such rights transgressions, the Special Rapporteur repeated a previous proposal to form a collective of countries called the Emergency Coalition for the People of Myanmar. Individual sanctions, imposed by several world powers including the US and EU, have had limited effects. Andrews urged countries to target Myanmar’s oil and gas sector revenues which he called a “financial lifeline” for the junta, adding that such revenues are “estimated to be close to what is needed for the junta to maintain the security forces that are keeping them in power.”
“Over the last five months, we have witnessed what happens when there is a lack of strong, coordinated international action,” Andrews said. “We therefore know with virtual certainty that if the international community continues its current course, things will continue to deteriorate for the people of Myanmar.”
Other speakers supported and strengthened Andrew’s statement, calling for an end to restrictions on access to information and freedom of expression and for the release of political leaders, journalists and human rights defenders. They also acknowledged the shortcomings of the international response, urging the implementation of decisive action to prevent further bloodshed.
In her statement, the representative for Amnesty International urged the international community to take “concrete action desperately needed to stem the tide of violations to work together to hold the perpetrators of grave violations to account, including through an ICC referral to impose targeted multilateral financial sanctions, a comprehensive global arms embargo and to protect the rights of refugees in neighbouring countries.”
The swift imposition of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations’ (ASEAN) five-point consensus, a set of actionable measures which aim to speed up the end to Myanmar’s crisis, was also deemed essential, with the representative of Singapore stating that “Malaysia will continue to play a constructive role towards the maintenance of a peaceful, stable and prosperous ASEAN. Thus, Malaysia will work very closely with other ASEAN members to facilitate an amicable and sustainable solution to the trouble currently besetting Myanmar.”
This conviction was shared by the representative of Luxembourg who said that “We remain committed to supporting the efforts to implement the five point consensus of the ASEAN leaders emphasising competence that we invoke contribute to positive development necessary to support Myanmar’s return to the path of normalcy.”
In his concluding remarks, the Special Rapporteur reaffirmed his position that greater coordination is needed to provide humanitarian assistance and that more pressure must be exerted on the junta in order for any political settlement to be conceivable.