Two years after Myanmar’s military coup, human rights violations continue to escalate

Two years after Myanmar’s military coup, human rights violations continue to escalate

Two years after the Myanmar military launched a coup on 1 February 2021, civil society organizations strongly condemn the ongoing human rights violations, and call for accountability and the restoration of a legitimate government. The attempted coup breached Myanmar’s constitution and international law, and was met with massive and largely spontaneous protests that illustrated the lack of meaningful support for the junta among the people of Myanmar. To date, sustained opposition among the population has denied the junta full control over the country, despite an escalation in brutality. There are many well-documented cases of the military committing atrocities, including strong evidence of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In this context, human rights defenders are more vulnerable because of their work and their visibility, and their safety in both Myanmar and neighbouring countries continues to deteriorate.

As of 30 January 2023, local human rights monitoring group Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), has documented a total of 2,901 killings, 17,525 arrests of political prisoners with 13,719 still detained, and a total of 101 individuals on death row, including at least nine women human rights defenders. The real number is likely several times higher, due to the difficulty of documenting facts on the ground. The Penal Code, particularly sections related to treason, defamation and statements causing public disorder, is being widely used by the military junta to curtail freedom of expression and stifle dissent.

The military’s use of torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment against detainees, including human rights defenders, political dissidents, journalists and civilian protesters, has been well documented. The executions of Phyo Zeya Thaw, a former member of the National League for Democracy, and prominent democracy activists Kyaw Min Yu, Hla Myo Aung and Aung Thura Zaw in July 2022, represented an escalation in the junta’s human rights violations to suppress pro-democracy movements.

Many human rights defenders in Myanmar have been forced into exile, where they continue to face numerous challenges. These range from the insecurity of living in refugee camps, to the fear of being tracked, arrested and deported back to Myanmar due to the lack of legal documents, and the challenges of ongoing trauma. Those human rights defenders who have valid travel documents face the impossibility of renewing their passports or requesting visa extensions in neighbouring countries once they expire.

Alongside human rights defenders, journalists are among those most at risk, as documented by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Many are detained under Article 505(a) of the Penal Code, an anti-state provision that broadly penalises “incitement” and “false news”, both ill-defined terms in law and arbitrarily interpreted by martial or military-influenced courts to hand down two- and three-year sentences.

The already dire situation of the Rohingya remaining in Myanmar has been further exacerbated in this context. As the military continues its violent campaign against any form of resistance, including by conducting airstrikes against ethnic areas and villages, over a million people have been displaced internally, and approximately 50,000 new refugees have fled to neighbouring countries as of November 2022. The attempted coup has also added to existing challenges to safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return of Rohingya refugees to their places of origin or choice in Myanmar. At the same time, all minority communities in Myanmar continue to bear the brunt of the junta’s ongoing violence in the country. The significant escalation of violence by the junta against ethnic communities in Myanmar bears hallmarks of the grave atrocities against Rohingya.

In this sense, the killing of Rohingya human rights defender and community leader Mohib Ullah, killed in Cox’s Bazar on 29 September 2021, is illustrative of the risks that many human rights defenders members of ethnic communities, incur.

On the 2nd anniversary of the coup, FORUM-ASIA, Front Line Defenders and ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) urge the international community to:

  • Stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar, including by increasing financial support for human rights defenders and civil society organizations in the country and in exile;
  • Systematically and publicly call out violations against human rights defenders, request their immediate and unconditional release, and access to human rights defenders in detention; denounce the violation of fair trial rights, the use of military tribunals, and call to ensure access of family members and lawyers to those detained;
  • Recognise the precarious situation that many human rights defenders in exile face and ensure access to visas and other necessary travel documentation, as well as schemes for safe passage or temporary relocation in third countries;
  • Deny the junta any recognition or legitimacy as representatives of the people of Myanmar. This should include denying it access to international fora or meeting with its representatives;
  • Denounce the upcoming elections planned by the junta as a brazen attempt to legitimize the coup, recognising the increased risks for the population and in particular human rights defenders and journalists if elections were to go ahead;
  • Take necessary measures towards accountability for genocide against Rohingya, and well documented war crimes and crimes against humanity as well as widespread and systematic human rights violations against the people of Myanmar, including those in exile in neighbouring countries, by referring Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or setting up an ad hoc tribunal. Support Gambia in its case against Myanmar for the Rohingya genocide at the International Court of Justice, as well as initiatives to make the military accountable in national courts, such as Argentina and Germany most recently, using the principle of Universal Justice;
  • Impose a comprehensive global arms embargo and coordinated, targeted sanctions against the Myanmar military, its leadership and associates as well as businesses affiliated the military.

Signatories:

ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights

Forum Asia

Front Line Defenders

APHR กระตุ้นสมาชิกรัฐสภาไทยใส่ใจกับสถานการณ์ในเมียนมา ก่อนวิกฤตในเมียนมาบานปลายข้ามพรมแดน

APHR กระตุ้นสมาชิกรัฐสภาไทยใส่ใจกับสถานการณ์ในเมียนมา ก่อนวิกฤตในเมียนมาบานปลายข้ามพรมแดน

BANGKOK – กลุ่มสมาชิกรัฐสภาอาเซียนเพื่อสิทธิมนุษยชน เรียกร้องให้สมาชิกรัฐสภาไทยร่วมกับประชาคมโลกสนับสนุนประชาธิปไตยในเมียนมา มีนโยบายช่วยเหลือประชาชนเมียนมาอย่างจริงจังและมีประสิทธิภาพ เพื่อนำเมียนมาไปสู่ประชาธิปไตยแบบสหพันธรัฐ แม้ว่าเผด็จการทหารของ มิน อ่อง หล่าย ล้มเหลวในการควบคุมประเทศ แต่กองกำลังฝ่ายสนับสนุนประชาธิปไตยไม่สามารถขับไล่กองทัพออกจากการเมืองของเมียนมาได้เองโดยลำพัง กองกำลังที่ต่อสู้เพื่อประชาธิปไตยต้องการความช่วยเหลือจากพันธมิตรในประชาคมโลก

29 พฤศจิกายน 2565 เวลา 13.30 น. ที่สมาคมนักข่าวนักหนังสือพิมพ์แห่งประเทศไทย กลุ่มสมาชิกรัฐสภาอาเซียนเพื่อสิทธิมนุษยชน (ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights: APHR) โดยมี กษิต ภิรมย์ หนึ่งในคณะกรรมการของAPHR และ ชลิดา ทาเจริญศักดิ์ ผู้อำนวยการมูลนิธิศักยภาพชุมชน (People’s Empowerment Foundation :PEF) เป็นตัวแทนแถลงชี้แจงสถานการณ์การละเมิดสิทธิมมุษยชนที่เกิดขึ้นภายในเมียนมา พร้อมเรียกร้องให้สมาชิกรัฐสภาและสื่อมวลชนไทยให้ความสนใจกับสถานการณ์ในเมียนมา ย้ำว่าหากประเทศเพื่อนบ้านของไทยอยู่ในภาวะวิกฤต ปัญหาเหล่านั้นอาจกระทบมาถึงไทยผ่านทางชายแดน เช่น การลักลอบค้าสัตว์ป่าและทรัพยากรธรรมชาติ การค้ามนุษย์ การค้ายาเสพติดและอาวุธเถื่อน

“ประเทศไทยควรให้ความช่วยเหลือด้านมนุษยธรรมให้ตกถึงประชาชนคนตัวเล็กตัวน้อยของเมียนมาอย่างแท้จริง โดยการเปิดชายแดนให้ชาวเมียนมาหลบหนีมาหาที่ปลอดภัย เปิดรับผู้ลี้ภัยจากการสู้รบ และผู้ลี้ภัยทางการเมือง ให้เข้ามาอยู่ในไทยเป็นการชั่วคราว และให้ความคุ้มครองผู้ลี้ภัยทางการเมือง โดยไม่ผลักดันพวกเขากลับสู่ประเทศเมียนมาในขณะที่รัฐบาลทหารยังครองอำนาจ การให้ความช่วยเหลือด้านมนุษยธรรมเหล่านี้ ไทยไม่จำเป็นต้องจ่ายเงินมูลค่ามหาศาล เนื่องจากปัจจุบันมีสหประชาชาติและรัฐบาลต่างชาติให้ความช่วยเหลือด้านเม็ดเงินอยู่แล้ว นานาชาติเพียงต้องการให้ไทยเปิดทางแก่การส่งความช่วยเหลือด้านมนุษยธรรมข้ามพรมแดนมากขึ้น” กษิต ภิรมย์ คณะกรรมการของ APHR และอดีตรัฐมนตรีกระทรวงการต่างประเทศของไทยกล่าว

ทั้งนี้ นับตั้งแต่กองทัพเมียนมาทำการรัฐประหารเมื่อวันที่ 1 กุมภาพันธ์ 2564 สถานการณ์ในประเทศยังคงถดถอยอย่างต่อเนื่อง เผด็จการทหารนำโดย พล.อ. อาวุโส มิน อ่อง หล่าย ได้ทำสงครามกับประชาชนอย่างป่าเถื่อน และทำลายเศรษฐกิจของประเทศ โดยกองทัพได้สังหารประชาชนไปแล้วอย่างน้อย 2,371 ราย และมีผู้พลัดถิ่นหลายแสนคน เผด็จการทหารยังจำคุกนักโทษการเมืองไม่ต่ำกว่า 15,000 คน และทำให้การทารุณกรรมผู้ถูกจับกุมเหล่านั้นกลายเป็นกิจวัตร ซ้ำยังเปิดฉากปราบปรามเสรีภาพการแสดงออกและการรวมกลุ่มอย่างกว้างขวาง รวมถึง การปราบปรามสื่ออิสระและประชาสังคมอย่างรุนแรง

แม้อาเซียนจะพยายามแก้ปัญหาวิกฤตการณ์ในเมียนมา เช่น การออกฉันทามติ 5 ข้อ (Five-Point Consensus) เมื่อเดือนเมษายนปีที่แล้ว รวมทั้งการแต่งตั้งทูตพิเศษเกี่ยวกับกิจการของเมียนมา ทว่าจากรายงานการสืบสวนสอบสวนของคณะกรรมการการไต่สวนของรัฐสภาระหว่างประเทศเพื่อตอบสนองต่อวิกฤตการณ์ในเมียนมา (International Parliamentary Inquiry: IPI) พบว่าการแก้ปัญหาวิกฤตเมียนมายังไม่มีความคืบหน้า จัดได้ว่าประสบความล้มเหลว และโดยเฉพาะความช่วยเหลือด้านมนุษยธรรมของนานาชาติยังเข้าไม่ถึงคนตัวเล็กตัวน้อยในเมียนมา

“การช่วยเหลือยังจำกัดอยู่ในตัวเมืองบางเมืองที่อยู่ภายใต้อาณัติของฝ่ายทหาร การช่วยเหลือยังไม่ถึงมือประชาชนส่วนใหญ่ และมีจำนวนมากที่อพยพหนีตายมาอยู่บริเวณชายแดนไทย-เมียนมา ปัญหาอีกประเด็นหนึ่งคือบทบาทหน้าที่ของทูตพิเศษมีความจำกัดและไม่ชัดเจน และเป็นตำแหน่งชั่วคราว และไม่มีความต่อเนื่องในการทำภารกิจ ในการนี้จึงเห็นว่าฝ่ายอาเซียนควรแต่งตั้งบุคลากรเข้าร่วมในงานของทูตพิเศษเพิ่มเติม รวมทั้งการจัดตั้งองค์กรที่จะรองรับงานและขยายบทบาทได้มากยิ่งขึ้น และมีสถานะเป็นงานประจำ

ในส่วนที่เกี่ยวกับประเทศไทยนั้น ที่ผ่านมาเราเห็นได้ชัดว่ารัฐบาลไทยยังคงเลือกยืนอยู่ข้างรัฐบาลทหารเมียนมา และเพิกเฉยต่อความเดือดร้อนของประชาชนเมียนมา นโยบายของรัฐบาลไทยยังไม่เปิดให้มีการรับเข้ามาของผู้ลี้ภัยใหม่ และยังไม่เคยติดต่อพูดคุยกับฝ่ายประชาธิปไตยที่ต่อต้านฝ่ายทหารเมียนมา” ชลิดา กล่าว

ในขณะเดียวกันก็มีข้อสังเกตว่า บทบาทสมาชิกรัฐสภาไทยในเรื่องเมียนมานี้ยังมีความจำกัดอยู่ สมควรที่จะมีการทบทวนท่าที และดำเนินการบทบาทในเชิงรุก เพื่อช่วยร่วมแก้ปัญหาวิกฤตเมียนมา สมาชิกรัฐสภาชุดปัจจุบันควรเรียกร้องให้รัฐบาลไทยมีบทบาทในเชิงสร้างสรรค์ในการแก้ปัญหาชายแดน และการนำสันติภาพและประชาธิปไตยกลับสู่เมียนมา นอกจากนั้นรัฐบาลไทยก็ควรเปิดโอกาสให้องค์กรภาคประชาสังคมได้เข้าไปมีส่วนร่วมในการช่วยเหลือผู้อพยพลี้ภัย รวมทั้งการให้สื่อได้เข้าไปตรวจสอบจัดหาข้อมูลเพื่อนำเสนอต่อสาธารณชน

“เมื่อประเทศเพื่อนบ้านอย่างเมียนมาเดือดร้อน และเราไม่เข้าไปช่วยแก้ปัญหา ไทยจะกลายเป็นประเทศที่ได้รับผลโดยตรง เพราะปัญหาจะเข้ามาถึงเราผ่านทางชายแดนไทย-เมียนมา เช่น ปัญหายาเสพติด การค้ามนุษย์ และการลอบค้าทรัพยากรธรรมชาติ แร่ธาตุ สัตว์ป่า และอาวุธเถื่อน รวมถึงโรคระบาดที่ไม่ใช่แค่โควิด-19 ปัจจุบันสถานการณ์ด้านสาธารณสุขในเมียนมาอยู่ในขั้นวิกฤต เนื่องจากภาครัฐไม่อยู่ในสถานะที่จะดำเนินการช่วยเหลือดูแล เช่น การฉีดวัคซีนให้กับประชาชนพลเมืองได้ เพราะการสู้รบที่กระจัดกระจายไปทั่ว และความไม่พร้อมของฝ่ายกองทัพเมียนมาที่กุมอำนาจรัฐอยู่” กษิตกล่าวปิดท้าย

Myanmar junta releases four foreigners and 6,000 others in a mass amnesty, but thousands of political prisoners remain in jail

Myanmar junta releases four foreigners and 6,000 others in a mass amnesty, but thousands of political prisoners remain in jail

JAKARTA – As the Myanmar military released four unjustly jailed foreigners in a mass amnesty this Thursday, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) wishes to congratulate their families. Yet this is no time to lower the guard with the military led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, as the prisoners should not have been jailed in the first place and thousands of Myanmar political prisoners remain in the country’s jails, APHR said.

As part of a mass amnesty in which 6,000 prisoners were freed, the junta released Sean Turnell, an Australian citizen and economic adviser to former State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi; Vicky Bowman, a former British envoy; U.S. citizen Kyaw Htay Oo; and Toru Kubota, a Japanese filmmaker. Another prisoner released is the former Chief Minister of Tanintharyi Region, U Myint Maung. Meanwhile, over 13,000 political prisoners remain in Myanmar’s jails, where conditions are notoriously abysmal and the use of torture is routine, often resulting in gruesome deaths.

“This is a game the Myanmar generals have been playing for a very long time. In the midst of continuous atrocities, from time to time they make an apparent gesture of goodwill, minor in comparison with the crimes they commit on a daily basis, in order to alleviate international pressure and gain legitimacy. No one should fall for this trick; the global community should not be fooled into thinking that Min Aung Hlaing and his henchmen have changed their ways,” said Kasit Piromya, former Thai Minister of Foreign Affairs and APHR Board Member.

Sean Turnell was arrested on 6 April 2021, five days after the coup, under the accusation of trying to flee the country with secret information. Vicky Bowman and her husband, Htein Lin, were arrested in August this year on immigration charges, and Toru Kobuta was detained in July when he was filming a demonstration against the military.

While they have been released, others have not been so lucky. According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, at least 73 detainees have died in police or military custody in police stations, military interrogation centers, and prisons since the coup last year. They include four political prisoners executed in July: Phyo Zeya Thaw, former lawmaker for the National League for Democracy (NLD); the prominent activist Kyaw Min Yu, known as ‘Ko Jimmy’; Aung Thura Zaw; and Hla Myo Aung. These were the first known judicial executions in Myanmar since 1988, according to Amnesty International.

Since the coup on 1 February 2021, the Myanmar military has committed all kinds of atrocities, which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said may amount to “crimes against humanity and war crimes,” in order to consolidate its power against widespread popular resistance. The self-styled State Administration Council (SAC) led by Min Aung Hlaing has killed at least 2,465 people, launched indiscriminate aerial attacks in ethnic areas, and razed hundreds of villages to the ground, throwing the country into chaos, and leading it to the brink of becoming a failed state.

Meanwhile, the international response to the crisis has been sorely insufficient, as argued in a report launched recently by the International Parliamentary Inquiry into the global response to the crisis in Myanmar, an initiative organized by APHR and whose Committee is formed by eight parliamentarians from seven different countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe.

“The international community has proven largely unable to respond effectively to the crisis. The junta’s international allies—most prominently Russia and China—have emerged as steadfast and uncritical supporters, supplying both weapons and legitimacy to an otherwise isolated regime. Foreign governments that profess support for democracy have not backed up their rhetoric with the same force of action,” said the report, titled ‘Time is not on our side’: The failed international response to the Myanmar coup.

The reasons for the mass amnesty, and the release of the three foreigners, remain unclear, but they come after an ASEAN Summit, in which its member states reaffirmed its commitment to the Five Point Consensus, an agreement signed in April 2021 to address the crisis in Myanmar that has been supported by the international community at large. The consensushas not produced any tangible results ever since, as APHR has repeatedly denounced.

“There is a legitimate concern that ASEAN member states are going to drink the kool-aid and treat the Myanmar junta with even kinder gloves after the release of these political prisoners. Against all reason, ASEAN is already sticking to an agreement that has proved an utter failure for over one and a half years, instead of doing the right thing to solve the crisis: put real pressure on the military, recognize the National Unity Government (NUG) as the legitimate authority in the country,” said Charles Santiago, former Malaysian Member of Parliament, APHR Chairperson, and one of the IPI Committee Members.

The International Parliamentary Inquiry publishes its report urging the global community to support democracy in Myanmar

The International Parliamentary Inquiry publishes its report urging the global community to support democracy in Myanmar

International actors should help Myanmar to put an end to the violence and human rights violations perpetrated by the military junta since the coup in February 2021, put the country’s military under civilian control, and establish a federal democratic system, argued the International Parliamentary Inquiry into the global response response to the crisis in Myanmar (IPI) in its final report,  published today.

The report, titled “Time is not on our side”: The Failed International Response to the Myanmar Coup, contains an analysis of the situation in Myanmar since the military takeover, as well as the reaction of international actors. Finding that the global response to the crisis has fallen woefully short of international obligations and standards, the IPI offers a set of recommendations to move forward and help the Myanmar people in their struggle against military dictatorship.

“It is imperative that the international community changes course on Myanmar as soon as possible, and those countries claiming to support democracy and human rights in the country live up to their stated commitments. They should begin with recognizing the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG) as what it is: the legitimate authority in the country; impose effective and coordinated sanctions on the junta, and address the terrible humanitarian crisis afflicting Myanmar,” said Heidi Hautala, Vice President of the European Parliament and IPI Chair.

The IPI is an initiative launched by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) in June 2022. Its Committee is formed by eight parliamentarians from seven different countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, and Europe who are appalled by the situation in Myanmar since the military takeover.

Since the coup, the Myanmar military has committed acts which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has said may amount to “crimes against humanity and war crimes” in order to consolidate its power against widespread popular resistance to its rule, throwing the country into chaos, and leading it to the brink of becoming a failed state.

The IPI Committee has held a total of six public oral hearings online, as well as several private hearings, with dozens of stakeholders and experts, and has received dozens of written submissions. Two of its members conducted a fact-finding mission to the Thai-Myanmar border in August 2022.

The Inquiry has analyzed the response to the crisis in Myanmar of a wide variety of international actors, but has paid particular attention to the role of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), in which Myanmar is a member. In April 2021, ASEAN member states and the Myanmar junta, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, signed the Five-Point Consensus to put an end to the violence, seek a negotiated solution to the conflict and address the humanitarian crisis. Since then, many countries have expressed their support for the agreement and largely deferred to ASEAN to solve the crisis.

“It has become abundantly clear that the Five Point Consensus has been an utter failure. General Min Aung Hlaing has shown an absolute contempt for the agreement he signed and for ASEAN’s member states, and the regional group has been unable to adopt a stance to put pressure on the Junta. Meanwhile, most of the international community has hidden behind ASEAN in order to avoid doing anything meaningful. It is past time that ASEAN ditches the Five Point Consensus and urgently rethinks its approach to the crisis in Myanmar,” said Charles Santiago, former Member of Parliament (MP) in Malaysia, APHR Chairperson and IPI Committee Member.

In the latest meeting of ASEAN foreign ministers on Myanmar, held on 27 October, the regional group agreed to “reaffirmed the importance and relevance of the Five-Point Consensus” while underscoring “the need to further strengthen its implementation through concrete, practical and time-bound actions.”

“ASEAN is not acting with the urgency that the situation in Myanmar demands. The group should have started to put real pressure on the junta and engage the NUG long ago. It is unacceptable that ASEAN continue to shirk their responsibilities to the people of Myanmar, and continue adopting half-hearted measures that only serve to embolden Min Aung Hlaing and his junta,” added Santiago.

International passivity has encouraged a sense of impunity within the Myanmar military, which most recently launched an airstrike on a multitude attending a music festival in Kachin state, killing at least 60 civilians. By the most conservative estimates, the junta has killed at least 2,404 Myanmar citizens, and arrested over 16,000 people.

The violence has also displaced hundreds of thousands from their homes, and the number of internally displaced people in the country now has reached 1.3 million, a terrible record in Myanmar’s history. Many interviewees during the IPI oral hearings described in vivid detail the humanitarian catastrophe afflicting the Myanmar people, as well as how the military junta is hijacking and weaponizing the delivery of humanitarian assistance.

“Myanmar is suffering a tragedy words cannot describe. The global community should urgently step up the delivery of humanitarian assistance, and it should work with local civil society organizations that know the terrain well, have ample experience and are trusted by the population. Millions of Myanmar citizens suffering the most grievous hardships cannot wait for long. International actors should leave politics aside and help the Myanmar people immediately,” said Mercy Barends, APHR Board Member and IPI Committee Member.

Click here to read the IPI report, “Time is not on our side”: The Failed International Response to the Myanmar Coup.

Click here to read the report’s Executive Summary and Recommendations in Burmese.

Click here to read the report’s Executive Summary and Recommendations in Indonesian.

Click here to read the report’s Executive Summary and Recommendations in Malay.

Click here to read the report’s Executive Summary and Recommendations in Thai.

Joint open letter concerning ASEAN’s approach to Myanmar

Joint open letter concerning ASEAN’s approach to Myanmar

To: ASEAN Leaders

H.E. Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulah, Prime Minister of Brunei Darussalam

H.E. Hun Sen, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Cambodia

H.E. Joko Widodo, President of the Republic of Indonesia

H.E. Thongloun Sisoulith, Prime Minister of the Lao People’s Democratic Republic

H.E. Dato’ Sri Ismail Sabri bin Yaakob, Prime Minister of Malaysia

H.E. Ferdinand Romualdez Marcos, Jr., President of the Republic of the Philippines

H.E. Lee Hsien Loong, Prime Minister of the Republic of Singapore

H.E. Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister of the Kingdom of Thailand

H.E. Phạm Minh Chính, Prime Minister of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam

25 October 2022

Subject: Open letter from civil society organizations concerning ASEAN’s approach to the ongoing political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar

Your Excellencies,

We, the 457 undersigned Myanmar, regional and international civil society organizations, call on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (‘ASEAN’) to cease inviting all political and non-political representatives of the Myanmar military junta to all summits and meetings, and revise the mandate of the Special Envoy to Myanmar. We further call on ASEAN under the Indonesian Chairship, as a regional bloc and as individual states, to move beyond the failed Five-Point Consensus (‘5PC’), enable effective humanitarian assistance, and publicly recognize the National Unity Government.

For the past 20 months since the failed coup, ASEAN has been largely ineffective in responding to the escalating crisis in Myanmar. ASEAN’s “dialogue” demonstrates a selective approach to the 5PC and yields no results to stop the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. Despite being put on notice for non-compliance with the 5PC in a joint communique in August 2022, the junta has continued committing atrocity crimes against the Myanmar people. Just one month after the warning, the junta’s airstrikes on a school in Sagaing Region killed 11 children.

The exclusion of the junta from ASEAN Summits in October 2021 and November 2022 was a step in the right direction. We also note positive stances taken by Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Singapore, and welcome the bloc’s statement in July 2022. Nevertheless, any engagement with the junta is in breach of the ASEAN Charter. The crimes that are being committed by the Myanmar military amount to acts of a terrorist organization under international legal definitions and Myanmar’s domestic laws. The Myanmar military stands accused of atrocity crimes at the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court, and under a universal jurisdiction case in Argentina. We are alarmed that this illegal entity holds sway in ASEAN’s actions.

Mandate of Special Envoy

Since the establishment of the desultory 5PC, the mandate of the ASEAN Special Envoy (‘SE’) has proven unsuccessful in resolving, let alone positively impacting, the worsening crisis in Myanmar. Several efforts by the SE, and by extension of ASEAN, to initiate “dialogues” and “visits” to the military junta have not actualized in any meaningful progress. Instead, such actions have condoned and emboldened the illegal junta to continue its heinous crimes with blanket impunity.

Evident in the visits by the second SE, Cambodian Foreign Minister Prak Sokhonn, in March and June 2022, the junta has been reassured of ASEAN’s inaction and launched intense aerial attacks against civilians and spiked the death toll of children. State Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi was repeatedly given additional prison sentences, along with her economic adviser, Sean Turnell. It is a shame that, per the junta’s disapproval, in none of the visits was the SE allowed access to the State Counsellor and other arbitrarily detained parliamentarians elected in the November 2020 general elections. The SE has further failed to meet with the Acting President, Prime Minister or other officials of the National Unity Government (‘NUG’), the legitimate government of Myanmar, key ethnic revolutionary organizations (‘EROs’) and civil society organizations (‘CSOs’).

The junta was emboldened to carry out extrajudicial executions of four political activists in July despite the appeal from ASEAN Chair, Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. The executions clearly demonstrated, as Singapore’s Foreign Minister put it, “the high level of cynicism or even outright disrespect for the role of ASEAN”. We are deeply disappointed that such a reprehensible action, which may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity, was met with no more than empty condemnation.

These imprudent engagements of the SE further caused extensive damage to the struggle of Myanmar people to end military tyranny and establish a federal democracy. Such actions stand in contrast to the 5PC’s promise to strive for a solution “in the interests of the people”. Furthermore, the vague nature of the SE mandate has so far created public confusion of whether the mandate is a political mediator, interlocutor or focused on humanitarian delivery.

Humanitarian Aid and AHA Centre

ASEAN’s ongoing cooperation and engagement with the military junta to deliver humanitarian aid through the bloc’s Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (‘AHA Centre’) has only exacerbated the humanitarian crisis. The AHA Centre, designed to tackle natural disasters, is ill-equipped to deal with a multi-dimensional political crisis. With its operating procedures, the Centre relies on the junta for access and is dictated by a board consisting of the junta’s Myanmar Task Force. Aid is being weaponized by the very perpetrators of crimes against humanity and war crimes that led to the ongoing humanitarian crisis, and of the genocide of the Rohingya in 2017. The former director of the AHA Centre stated that the junta “is unwilling to provide access to the people in line with humanitarian principles,” and called on ASEAN to remove the junta as aid partner.

Local humanitarian actors and CSOs have been effectively delivering the much-needed humanitarian assistance to communities since the failed coup, along with the NUG and EROs. Border-based CSOs have been indispensable in assisting groups in hardest-to-reach areas with financial and subsistence support. The NUG provided 2.73 billion Myanmar Kyat to internally displaced people and the Civil Disobedience Movement in a year. Meanwhile, international humanitarian organizations, UN agencies and the AHA Centre have been largely unable to reach those most in need. In his letter to the ASEAN Secretary-General, the Malaysian Foreign Minister noted that “the special [humanitarian] task force formed by ASEAN together with the junta is not working well”. With the lack of trust in the junta as a result of its ongoing campaign of terror and weaponization of aid, local aid providers are increasingly unwilling to work with the junta or organizations linked to it.

Recommendations

While Myanmar people themselves are sacrificing their lives, livelihoods and futures for the future of their young generations, ASEAN must take concrete actions to end all inhumane acts committed by the military junta. We appeal to the Indonesian President, set to assume ASEAN Chairship in 2023, to support the will of the Myanmar people.

It is imperative that ASEAN no longer holds official meetings with the junta or recognizes it and its representatives as the government of Myanmar. The bloc must bar all junta representatives, political and non-political, from all ASEAN summits and meetings, including the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). Such disengagement must include ending defense ties with the Myanmar junta. ASEAN must officially recognize the NUG, allowing its delegation to the bloc and member states.

We strongly urge ASEAN to move beyond the 5PC and develop a plan that includes clear benchmarks and indicators of success to realistically measure progress. The plan must be based on extensive consultation with the NUG, the National Unity Consultative Council (‘NUCC’), EROs and CSOs. ASEAN must establish actionable punitive measures upon the junta’s non-compliance with the 5PC to cease the ongoing violence.

At the November Summit, we also call on ASEAN to amend the mandate of the SE to be a full-time position from 2023 onwards with a three-year term, appointed by the ASEAN Chair, and to represent and be accountable to ASEAN as a whole. The SE must have clear terms of reference not for peace-brokering, but be grounded in human rights principles, justice and accountability, and the will of the Myanmar people. The mandate must hold authority and independence to take actions unencumbered by the delay of infrequent ASEAN high-level meetings. The mandate must immediately open formal communications and engage with the NUG, the NUCC, EROs, CSOs and the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw.

On humanitarian aid, ASEAN must stop partnering with the junta and recognize that the AHA Centre cannot address the humanitarian crisis. We recommend to ASEAN to take a solidarity-based approach to facilitate cross-border aid by working in partnership with local humanitarian actors, the NUG and EROs. ASEAN members must also accept and provide protection for asylum seekers from Myanmar. All regional efforts must be based on humanitarian principles of do-no-harm, humanity and impartiality, and the agency of displaced communities.

The political, human rights and humanitarian crisis in Myanmar is not merely an “internal affair,” but a threat to regional security and stability which ASEAN vowed to protect. Without swift action, Myanmar’s neighboring countries and ASEAN states will continue to face the influx of refugees, loss of commercial interests and irreparable reputational damage. We believe that ASEAN’s credibility depends on its ability to act in a timely manner to effectively prevent the junta’s violence and destruction spilling over and destabilizing the entire region.

We CSOs remain at your disposal to ensure the bloc’s effective action in addressing the needs of Myanmar people in line with their will and aspirations.

For more information, please contact:

Signed by 457 organizations including 297 organizations who have chosen not to disclose their name,

Click here for the full list of signatories.