Myanmar is in deep chaos. Where are the United Nations and the international community?
Myanmar’s military regime continues to commit air raids targeting schools, hospitals and other civilian properties, but there is no condemnation from the international community, regional body the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the West or the UN. Even at the recently concluded general debate of the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, Myanmar was rarely on the agenda. The truth is, the international community’s stance toward Myanmar is as fragmented as the country itself.
The sad fact is the international system is broken and the Myanmar issue has been neglected for years. Today, without conducting a survey, it is safe to say that Myanmar people lack confidence in the UN and the international community.
Taking advantage of the quiet reaction to the country’s downward spiral, the regime has increased its attacks on civilians as well as the armed resistance. Thousands of political prisoners including former president Win Myint and State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi remain behind bars.
The UN and its member governments should speak up more and be active on the Myanmar issue, but without legitimizing the regime.
Three years ago, a week after the coup in Myanmar, Secretary-General Antonio Guterres pledged that the United Nations would do everything it could to unite the international community and create conditions for the military coup in Myanmar to be reversed.
He told a news conference it is “absolutely essential” to carry out the Security Council’s calls for a return to democracy, respect for the results of the November 2020 parliamentary elections, and release all people detained by the military, “which means the reversal of the coup that took place.”
“It is absolutely essential that that moves forward, and for that, I believe, we need to have all possible areas of pressure to make it happen,” Guterres said.
Today, Myanmar is in a deep mess and the UN chief is missing in action—the same goes for Western governments who in the past supported Myanmar’s federal and democratic values and cause. Where are they now?
Indeed, it is naive to expect anything from the UN. The UN has played a limited political role in Myanmar since the military coup of February 2021. However, UN agencies have maintained their presence (however dysfunctional) in Myanmar and recently called for humanitarian funding in the country. China and Russia—members of the UN Security Council and key allies of the regime—continue to funnel arms and jet fighters to the regime, while blocking UN resolutions condemning it.
The one exception was in December 2022, when the council adopted Resolution 2669, condemning the Myanmar military’s abuses and attacks on civilians since its February 2021 coup. The resolution called on the military to release political prisoners, restore democratic institutions, and engage in dialogue.
Since then, however, the Security Council has been largely silent on the situation.
Meanwhile, Myanmar’s junta has ramped up attacks on civilians, including airstrikes, and increasingly blocked humanitarian aid.
As of September 17, the UN said, at least 5,350 civilians have been killed, and more than 3.3 million displaced, since the military seized power on February 1, 2021. Furthermore, nearly 27,400 people have been arrested, and the number has been rising since the implementation of mandatory conscription this past February.
Activists have urged the UN to do more to stop the atrocities, institute an arms embargo and restrict the Myanmar military’s access to jet fuel. The regime has stored sufficient jet fuel to meet its needs until the end of 2025, according to reliable sources.
A proposed UN Human Rights Council resolution calling for sanctions on jet fuel was blocked by China and Russia, allowing the regime to continue committing war crimes.
In April, the UN appointed former Australian foreign minister Julie Bishop as its envoy on Myanmar, replacing Noeleen Heyzer, who resigned in 2023. Bishop has opened an office in Bangkok, but the regime hasn’t issued a visa for her to enter the country.
On April 8, the State Administration Council (the junta) responded to the appointment with the not-so-surprising headline in state-run newspapers: “United Nations’ one-sided pressure on Myanmar fails to foster constructive cooperation.”
The article reads: “The United Nations Secretary-General announced the appointment of the former Australian Foreign Minister Ms Julie Bishop as his Special Envoy in Myanmar on 5 April 2024. Despite Myanmar’s rejection of the country-specific resolutions, including the resolution which contains the creation of the mandate of appointing a Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Myanmar has constructively cooperated with the previous Special Envoys of the Secretary-General on Myanmar as a gesture of constructive cooperation with the United Nations. Pertaining to the appointment of Ms Julie Bishop as the Special Envoy on Myanmar, no official communication has been made to Myanmar by the United Nations.”
Is there anything much Bishop can achieve from Bangkok?
In August, she met with the Chinese foreign minister in Beijing and listened to Wang Yi’s haughty Myanmar lecture.
“Noting that China is Myanmar’s largest neighbor, Wang Yi said no other country wants Myanmar to restore stability and realize development more than China,” Chinese state news agency Xinhua reported.
It added: “China supports ASEAN’s role as the main channel and hopes that ASEAN’s five-point consensus on Myanmar and Myanmar’s new five-point roadmap can reinforce each other and be effectively implemented.”
Last week, Bishop held a meeting with Cambodian Foreign Minister Sok Chenda Sophea. The minister shared Cambodia’s experience in ending war and seeking national reconciliation.
In a recent report, the International Crisis Group said, “Special Envoy Bishop is unlikely to pioneer grand solutions to the Myanmar crisis where others have failed, but she should endeavor to leverage her high-level access and strong reputation in the region to explore diplomatic common ground among China and Myanmar’s other neighbors, ASEAN and the West, as well as to marshal financial resources from key donor countries to alleviate the humanitarian impact of the crisis.”
In March, Charles Petrie, former UN assistant secretary-general and former UN resident coordinator in Myanmar, told The Irrawaddy frankly that the UN has “failed” the people of Myanmar. “I think we’re stuck with a UN system that lacks imagination and that lacks courage,” he said, adding that the UN is basically irrelevant. “The UN has not been able to position itself” regarding the horrific situation in Myanmar, he said.
Since September 2022, Myanmar hasn’t had an official UN resident coordinator—one reason for this is to avoid being seen as legitimizing the military. It is easy to say the UN has failed the people of Myanmar. But the UN has missed many opportunities in Myanmar since the coup.
Can the UN think out of the box to save lives in Myanmar, provide civilian protection and regain the position it once held? Can it impose an arms embargo?
Can the UN reverse the coup? Well, first, the UN should reverse its own failed approach.
