APHR Welcomes ASEAN Special Envoy’s Intent to Engage Myanmar’s EROs, Urges Rights-Based and Inclusive Process

JAKARTA, 10 June 2026—ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) welcomes the ASEAN Special Envoy and Philippine Foreign Affairs Secretary Ma. Theresa Lazaro’s stated intention to meet with Myanmar’s political and ethnic resistance organizations (EROs), as a potentially meaningful step toward inclusive dialogue under the Five-Point Consensus (5PC).

“The Special Envoy’s planned meetings with Myanmar’s EROs would mark a departure from the narrow, junta-centric engagement that has long undermined ASEAN’s credibility on Myanmar.. For years, resistance forces and civil society have called on ASEAN to widen its engagement beyond the military, and this initiative signals a willingness to heed that call,” said Mercy Chriesty Barends, Member of Indonesian House of Representatives, and Chairperson of APHR.

APHR urges that the engagement be guided by clear principles: transparent, rights-based, and anchored in the lived realities and democratic aspirations of the Myanmar people. Any consultations must be conducted in good faith, without preconditions that would exclude legitimate stakeholders including representatives of the National Unity Government, civil society, and affected civilian communities.

ASEAN must ensure that such dialogue is substantive, leads to concrete de-escalation measures, and is not used to legitimize or normalize the junta’s parallel “civilian” transition process. Any political roadmap that emerges must be people-centered and responsive to the aspirations of all those impacted by years of military brutality.

APHR calls on the ASEAN Special Envoy to maintain momentum, ensure full transparency with ASEAN member states and civil society, and resist pressure from member states seeking premature normalization with the military regime.

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Elsa Jade | [email protected]
Myanmar & Crisis Response Program Coordinator