Southeast Asian MPs urge ASEAN to put strong pressure on the Myanmar Junta at Foreign Ministers meeting

Southeast Asian MPs urge ASEAN to put strong pressure on the Myanmar Junta at Foreign Ministers meeting

Aug 2, 2022 | DFF, Statements

JAKARTA – As the foreign ministers of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) meet in Phnom Penh this week, they should take the opportunity to reach an agreement on strong and coordinated measures to put pressure on Myanmar’s military junta, parliamentarians from the region have urged.

Over fifteen months after ASEAN members and the chief of the military junta, General Min Aung Hlaing, signed a Five-Point Consensus to address the political and humanitarian crisis triggered by the illegal coup d’état on 1 February 2021, the situation in Myanmar has continued to deteriorate. The self-styled State Administration Council (SAC) is still hijacking humanitarian assistance, has not taken steps towards initiating a political dialogue, and continues waging a brutal campaign of repression against the population at large in order to stamp out widespread opposition to military rule.

“ASEAN member states must recognize that the Myanmar military has become a criminal organization that is holding hostage the whole of the country’s population. Min Aung Hlaing has been given too much time to comply with the Five-Point Consensus, yet he has only shown that he respects neither the agreement nor ASEAN itself. It is time for him and his henchmen to pay the consequences,” said Eva Sundari, former member of the House of Representatives in Indonesia and Board Member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

ASEAN’s Foreign Ministers are meeting less than two weeks after the Junta executed four political prisoners sentenced to death, Phyo Zeya Thaw, former lawmaker for the National League for Democracy (NLD); the prominent activist Kyaw Min Yu, widely known as ‘Ko Jimmy’; Aung Thura Zaw; and Hla Myo Aung.

Those are the first known judicial executions in Myanmar since 1988, according to Amnesty International, and were carried out secretly, after trials conducted by military tribunals without any respect for due process, as APHR has denounced. There are currently 76 prisoners in Myanmar sentenced to death, including two children, who could be executed at any moment, while 41 people have been given the death penalty in absentia.

The junta went on with the executions despite international pleas not to carry them out. Even Hun Sen, the Prime Minister of Cambodia, current ASEAN Chair, made a plea for the prisoners to be spared, despite the leniency that his government has shown towards the junta this year. As ASEAN Chair, Cambodia has undone a great deal of the work that other member states had been doing to isolate the Myanmar generals, thus granting them a legitimacy they do not deserve.

“After those barbaric executions, Cambodia should stop pandering to the generals, and ASEAN foreign ministers should make their meeting in Phnom Penh a turning point to lift the Myanmar people out of their suffering. ASEAN’s timidity and the absence of leadership has contributed to fostering the impunity for these executions and other atrocities to take place. The junta believes it can get away with its crimes and ignore the international condemnation, because up to now it has not led to any concrete consequences,” said Sundari.

ASEAN should put in place enforcement mechanisms in order for the Five Point Consensus to work. Starting with imposing targeted sanctions and travel bans in the region on Min Aung Hlaing and his men. The regional group should also publicly engage and recognize the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG), which is leading the pro-democracy forces and represents the Myanmar people’s aspirations for democracy, as well as ethnic organizations. Also, ASEAN should start working with humanitarian organizations and civil society organizations to deliver aid to those who need it the most, as APHR has been advocating.

“A coordinated, collective and clear response is required for the sake of ASEAN’s own credibility. Its half-hearted attitude degrades ASEAN itself. This indecisiveness is unbefitting of the main regional organization in a strategically crucial part of the world that should be an engine of peace and stability, as well as sustainable economic growth, not a haven for murderous dictators like Min Aung Hlaing,” said Sundari.

Southeast Asian MPs urge ASEAN economic ministers to immediately tackle food crisis

Southeast Asian MPs urge ASEAN economic ministers to immediately tackle food crisis

Jun 27, 2022 | CCHR, DFF, Statements

JAKARTA – As food and fuel prices are rising at alarming rates throughout the world, Parliamentarians from Southeast Asia are urging the economic ministers of their countries to gather in an emergency summit and agree on measures to tackle impending food shortages and widespread hunger currently threatening millions of their fellow citizens.

The global economy, already weakened by the pandemic, is taking another blow with the war in Ukraine, one of the main producers of grain in the world. Shortages of food, increases in oil prices, and fears of a global recession are already increasing prices of essential commodities. The average inflation rate in ASEAN went from 3.1 percent in December 2021 to 4.7 percent in April 2022, compared to 0.9 percent in January 2021. And, as always, this affects the poor most dramatically. 

“ASEAN needs to act collectively, and needs to do it now. Climate change, the ravages of Covid-19, inequality in access to resources, and now Russia’s war on Ukraine, are having devastating impacts that no country can solve alone. It is necessary to urgently put in place a coordinated effort to protect the most vulnerable from a potentially devastating economic downturn,” said Mercy Barends, Member of Parliament in Indonesia and Board member of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

Inflation in food prices could even further increase the number of undernourished people in ASEAN. According to data from the World Bank, the share of undernourished people ranged in 2019 from 5.3 percent in Laos to 6.5 percent in Indonesia, 6.7 percent in Vietnam, 7.6 percent in Myanmar, 8.2 percent in Thailand or 9.4 percent in the Philippines.

People displaced from their homes are particularly vulnerable to increased food prices, which take an even higher toll on women and children. In Myanmar, there are over a million internally displaced persons (IDPs), most of whom were pushed to flee their homes as a consequence of the conflict triggered by the illegal coup d’état on 1 February 2021.

ASEAN member states adopted in 2020 the Integrated Food Security Framework, outlining food security measures that included food emergency and shortage relief measures, but it needs to be updated and enhanced in order to address a problem which is worsening. ASEAN must prepare for the future and act decisively to facilitate easy access to food for all, support its producers, and scale-up targeted, and nutrition-sensitive, social protection programs.

“Our economic ministers must come up with a clear roadmap on how to tackle the severe consequences of the current rise in food prices on those who are already experiencing high levels of acute food insecurity and hunger. We need trust and cooperation, and only through a collective effort will we be able to overcome the many challenges that have combined to create this crisis,” said Barends.

Open letter to ASEAN Defence Ministers

Open letter to ASEAN Defence Ministers

Jun 15, 2022 | DFF, Open Letters

To:

H.E. General Tea Banh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Cambodia
His Majesty Sultan Haji Hassanal Bolkiah Mu’izzaddin Waddaulahibni Al-Marhum, Minister of Defense, Brunei Darussalam
H.E. Prabowo Subianto, Minister of Defence, Indoensia
H.E. General Chansamone Chanyalath, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Defence, Lao PDR
The Honerable Dato’ Seri Hishammuddin bin Tun Hussein, Senior Minister of Defence, Malaysia
H.E. Delfin N. Lorenzana, Secretary of National Defense, Philippines
H.E. Dr. Ng Eng Hen, Minister for Defence, Singapore
H.E. General Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Minister of Defence, Thailand
H.E. General Phan Van Giang, Minister of National Defence, Viet Nam

15 June 2022

Re: Myanmar junta participation in ADMM

Your Excellencies,

We, the undersigned 677 Myanmar, regional and international civil society organisations appeal to you not to extend an invitation to the Myanmar military junta’s Minister of Defence at the upcoming ASEAN Defence Ministers’ Meeting (ADMM).

The Myanmar military junta’s acts fully meet the definition of terror under international and national law, and is responsible for ongoing violations of international human rights and humanitarian law following the military’s illegal coup attempt. Since the military’s illegal coup attempt, almost 700,000 people have been forcibly displaced as the junta wages a terror campaign against the Myanmar people. In the face of mass public resistance, the junta has murdered more than 1,900 people, arbitrarily arrested over 14,000 more, committed widespread torture, indiscriminate airstrikes and shelling, burnt villages and looted public property.

In the upcoming 16th ADMM, scheduled for June 22, we understand that the Junta defense minister General Mya Tun Oo will be representing Myanmar. General Mya Tun Oo plays a leading role in the management of the military, which is responsible for committing ongoing atrocity crimes with total impunity. Mya Tun Oo’s direct responsibility for international law violations have been recognised by the USA, UK, EU, Canada and New Zealand, which sanctioned him. In its designation, the UK stated that Mya Tun Oo has “command responsibility for these violations and can therefore be held responsible for these actions.” Mya Tun Oo is also a member of the State Administration Council (SAC). The EU recognised that “as member of the SAC, General Mya Tun Oo has been directly involved in and responsible for decision making concerning state functions and is therefore responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law”. Mya Tun Oo should be held accountable for his role in the military’s attempted coup and the junta’s atrocity crimes, and not rewarded through participation in ADMM.

We welcome ASEAN’s exclusion of Senior General Min Aung Hlaing from the 2021 ASEAN Summit, and the exclusion of the junta foreign minister Wunna Maung Lwin from the 2022 Foreign Ministers’ Retreat. However, we note with concern that ADMM has invited the junta to participate in meetings, including at the ministerial level since its illegal coup attempt, which is inconsistent with decisions made by ASEAN to not invite General Min Aung Hlaing and Wunna Maung Lwin. ADMM’s engagement with the junta, which has included military exercises, may likely amount to the aiding and abetting of the junta’s war crimes and crimes against humanity.

It is imperative that ASEAN does not award legitimacy to the Myanmar military junta, upholds its own charter and respects international human rights and humanitarian law by excluding the junta from ADMM. In allowing the junta to participate in ADMM, ASEAN is further risking complicity in the junta’s atrocity crimes by providing support and legitimacy to the military and emboldening a military that is waging a nationwide campaign of terror.

We appeal to you as ASEAN defence ministers to disinvite Mya Tun Oo from the 16th ADMM and all future meetings. Engage with the National Unity Government as the legitimate government of Myanmar, and work to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.

For any further inquiries, please contact:

Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice, info@progressive-voice.org
Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN-Burma, debbie@altsean.org
Salai Za Uk Ling, Chin Human Rights Organization, zauk@chinhumanrights.org

List of Signatories

List of signatories below include the following 299 Myanmar, regional and international organisations and 378 Myanmar civil society organisations that have chosen not to disclose their names.

Signed by: 

  1. “Do” farmer Organization
  2. 8888 Generation (New Zealand)
  3. 8888 New Generation (Mohnyin)
  4. Action Against Myanmar Military Coup (Sydney)
  5. Action Committee for Democracy Development
  6. Active Youths (Kalaymyo)
  7. Ah Nah podcast- Conversation with Myanmar
  8. Ah. La. Ka (12) Hta Khwe, Primary Education Student Union
  9. All Arakan Students and Youths’ Congress
  10. All Burma Democratic Face in New Zealand
  11. All Burma Student Democratic Front – Australia Branch
  12. All Religions Strike Column
  13. All Young Burmese League (AYBL)
  14. Alliance for Free Burma Solidarity
  15. Alternative Solutions for Rural Communities (ASORCOM)
  16. ALTSEAN-Burma
  17. Anti Dictatorship in Burma DC Metropolitan Area
  18. Anti-Myanmar Dictatorship Movement
  19. Anti-Myanmar Military Dictatorship Network (AMMDN)
  20. Arakan CSO Network
  21. Arakan Humanitarian Coordination Team- AHCT
  22. ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
  23. Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)
  24. Asia Pacific Solidarity Coalition
  25. Asian Cultural Forum on Development (ACFOD) Philippines
  26. Asian Cultural Forum on Development Foundation (ACFOD) Thailand
  27. Asian Dignity Initiative
  28. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
  29. Association for Advancement of Freedom of Religion or Belief in Vietnam (AAFORB-VN)
  30. Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
  31. Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
  32. Auckland Kachin Community NZ
  33. Auckland Zomi Community
  34. Aung Myay Thar Zan Education Schools Strike Column
  35. Aung Pin Lae Main Strike Column
  36. Australia Burma Friendship Association, Northern Territory
  37. Australia Karen Organization WA Inc.
  38. Australia Myanmar Doctors, Nurses and Friends
  39. Australia Myanmar Youth Alliance (AMYA)
  40. Australian Burmese Muslim Organisation
  41. Australian Chin Community (Eastern Melbourne Inc)
  42. Australian Karen Organisation (AKO)
  43. Australian Karen Organisation Inc
  44. Back Pack Health Workers Team
  45. Bamar Community Tasmania
  46. BCC (စစ်ကိုင်း)
  47. Blood Money Campaign
  48. Buddhist Solidarity Association
  49. Burma Action Ireland
  50. Burma Campaign UK
  51. Burma Human Rights Network
  52. Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC)
  53. Burma Medical Association
  54. Burma Soumalaiset (Finland)
  55. Burmese Community – South Australia
  56. Burmese Community Development Collaboration (BCDC)
  57. Burmese Community Group (Manawatu, NZ)
  58. Burmese Community Support Group (BCSG)
  59. Burmese Friendship Association
  60. Burmese Medical Association Australia (BMAA)
  61. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
  62. Burmese Rohingya Welfare Organisation New Zealand
  63. Burmese Women’s Union
  64. Cambodian Americans and Friends for Democracy and Human Rights Advocate
  65. Campaign for a New Myanmar
  66. Canberra Karen Association
  67. CDM Support Team Mandalay (CSTM)
  68. Chan Mya Thar Si Township People Strike Column
  69. Chin Community – South Australia
  70. Chin Community of Auckland
  71. Chin Community of Western Australia Inc.
  72. Chin Community Tasmania
  73. Chin Human Rights Organization
  74. Chin MATA Working Group
  75. Chin Resources Center
  76. Chin Youth Organization (Matupi)
  77. Citizen of Burma Award – New Zealand
  78. CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
  79. Committee Representing Mandalay Region Hluttaw
  80. Cooperative University Student Strike Column
  81. CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
  82. CRPH Funding Ireland
  83. CRPH Support Group, Norway
  84. CRPH, NUG Support Team Germany – Deutschland
  85. CRPH/NUG support group Australia
  86. Dawei Development Association
  87. Dawei Probono Lawyer Network
  88. Democracy for Myanmar – Working Group (NZ)
  89. Democracy, Peace and Women’s Organization
  90. Democratic Youth Council
  91. Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
  92. Dragon Dawn
  93. Education and health care for Myanmar-Thailand Association
  94. Education Family (Anti – Fascists Education Strike Columns Coordination Committee)
  95. Educational Initiatives Myanmar
  96. Equality Myanmar
  97. Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee
  98. Falam Community – South Australia
  99. Federal Myanmar Benevolence Group (NZ)
  100. Foundation of Khmer Samaki
  101. Free Burma Campaign (South Africa)
  102. Free Expression Myanmar (FEM)
  103. Free Rohingya Coalition
  104. Future Light Center
  105. Future Thanlwin
  106. General Strike Committee of Nationalities – GSCN
  107. Generation Wave
  108. Generations (မျိုးဆက်)
  109. GenY For Revolution Japan
  110. German Solidarity with Myanmar Democracy e.V.
  111. Global Myanmar Spring Revolution
  112. Global Myanmar Spring Revolution – Japan
  113. Global Myanmar Spring Revolution – Korea
  114. Golden Heart Organization
  115. Grass-root People
  116. Human Rights Educators’ Network
  117. Human Rights Foundation of Monland
  118. In Defense of Human Rights and Dignity Movement (iDEFEND) Philippines
  119. India For Myanmar
  120. Industrial Training Centre (ITC) Family Sydney
  121. Info Birmanie
  122. Initiatives for International Dialogue
  123. Institute for Asian Democracy
  124. Inter Pares
  125. Interfaith Youth Coalition on Aids in Myanmar (IYCA-Myanmar)
  126. International Campaign for the Rohingya
  127. International Karen Organisation
  128. JASS Southeast Asia
  129. Joint Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (JACDB)
  130. Justice 4 Myanmar – Hope & Development
  131. Justice Movement for Community-Innlay
  132. Justice For Myanmar
  133. Kachin Association Australia
  134. Kachin Association of Australia WA Inc.
  135. Kachin Human Rights Watch
  136. Kachin State Women Network
  137. Kachin Women’s Association Thailand
  138. Kachin Women’s Union
  139. Kadu Youth Development Association (KYDA)
  140. Kalyarna Metta Association (Khin U)
  141. Kanbung Youth (Matupi)
  142. Kanpetlet Land Development Organization
  143. Karen Community – South Australia
  144. Karen Human Rights Group
  145. Karen Peace Support Network
  146. Karen Swedish Community (KSC)
  147. Karen Women’s Organization
  148. Karenni Community of Western Australia Inc.
  149. Karenni Federation of Australia
  150. Karenni Human Rights Group
  151. Karenni Society New Zealand
  152. Kayan Internally Displacement Supervising Committee (KIDSC)
  153. Kayan Women’s Organization
  154. Kayin Community Tasmania
  155. Keng Tung Youth
  156. Khanthar Farmers Network
  157. Khumzup Local Development Committee
  158. Kurawal Foundation
  159. Kyauktada Strike Committee
  160. LA COMMUNAUTÉ BIRMANE DE FRANCE
  161. LGBTIQ Strike of Mandalay
  162. Maha Aung Myay Township People Collective Strike Column
  163. Mandalar University Student Strike  Column
  164. Mandalay Alliance Strike Collective Column
  165. Mandalay Based People Strike Column
  166. Mandalay Civil Society Organizations
  167. Mandalay Engineer Group
  168. Mandalay Engineer United Force
  169. Mandalay University Student Alumni Union
  170. Mandalay Wholesale Strike Column
  171. Mandalay Youth Association
  172. Mandalay Youth Strike Column
  173. MATA Sagaing Region
  174. Matu Chin Community – South Australia
  175. Matu Forum Committee
  176. Matu Women Association
  177. Medical Family – Mandalay
  178. Metta Campaign Mandalay
  179. MIIT Student Strike Column
  180. MilkTeaAlliance Calendar
  181. MilkTeaAlliance Galleries
  182. Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute Foundation, Inc. (MPI)
  183. Mindat Chin Community NSW
  184. Mindat Community – South Australia
  185. Mindat Emergency Response Team (MERT)
  186. Mizo Community – South Australia
  187. Mon Families Group
  188. Mon National Council (MNC)
  189. Mung Chying Rawt Jat (MRJ)
  190. Muslim Youth Network
  191. Muslim Youth Union
  192. Mya Taung Strike Column
  193. Myanmar Accountability Project
  194. Myanmar Action Group Denmark
  195. Myanmar Alliance for Transparency and Accountability
  196. Myanmar Buddhist Community of South Australia
  197. Myanmar Community Coffs Harbour (MCC)
  198. Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
  199. Myanmar Democracy and Peace Committee (Australia)
  200. Myanmar Democratic Movement (MDM)
  201. Myanmar Diaspora Group Finland
  202. Myanmar Engineering Association of Australia (MEAA)
  203. Myanmar Engineers – New Zealand
  204. Myanmar Gonye (New Zealand)
  205. Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
  206. Myanmar People from Ireland
  207. Myanmar People Residing in Canberra
  208. Myanmar Professionals Association Australia (MPAA)
  209. Myanmar Railway, Region (3) CDM Strike Column
  210. Myanmar Students’ Association Australia (MSAA)
  211. Myanmar Students’ Union in New Zealand
  212. Netherlands Myanmar Solidarity Platform
  213. Network for Advocacy Action
  214. Network for Human Rights Documentation Burma (ND-Burma)
  215. New Zealand Doctors for NUG
  216. New Zealand Karen Association
  217. New Zealand Zo Community Inc.
  218. NLD Solidarity Association (Australia)
  219. No 7 State High School Alumni Strike Column
  220. No Business With Genocide
  221. Northern Spectrum Youth Association
  222. NSW Karenni (Kayah) Communities
  223. OCTOPUS (Youth Organization)
  224. Open Development Foundation
  225. Overseas Mon Association, New Zealand
  226. Pan Pa Wash People Strike Column
  227. Patriotic War Vetrans of Burma (PWVB)
  228. Peace and Culture Foundation
  229. People’s Hope Spring Revolution
  230. Phayagye Peace Strike Column
  231. Private Pre-school Teachers Association
  232. Progressive Voice
  233. Pusat Komas
  234. Pyi Gyi Ta Gon Strike
  235. Pyithu Gonye (New Zealand)
  236. Queensland Kachin Community (QKC)
  237. Queensland Myanmar Youth Collective (QMYC
  238. Queensland Rohingya Community
  239. Rohingya Action Ireland
  240. Rvwang Community Association New Zealand
  241. Sangha Samaga Strike Column
  242. Save and Care Organization for Women at Border Areas
  243. SAVE MYANMAR – USA
  244. Save Myanmar Fundraising Group (New Zealand)
  245. Sein Pan Strike Column
  246. Shan Community (New Zealand)
  247. Shan MATA
  248. Shan Women Development Network
  249. Shape-Sea
  250. Shwe Youth Democratic Alliance (SYDA)
  251. Shwechinthae Farmers Network
  252. Sisters 2 Sisters
  253. Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
  254. Social Garden
  255. Southeast Asia Freedom of Expression Network (SAFEnet)
  256. Southern Youth Development Organization
  257. Strike Column of Representatives of Arbitrarily Arrested People
  258. Strike Column of Teachers from Universities and Degree Colleges of Mandalay
  259. Students & Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB)
  260. Support for Myanmar
  261. Swedish Burma Committee
  262. Swedish Foundation for Human Rights
  263. Sydney Friends for Myanmar Unity
  264. Ta’ang Women’s Organization
  265. Taekwando Sport Association
  266. Tanintharyi MATA
  267. Tanintharyi Nationalities Congress
  268. Tanintharyi People’s Voice
  269. Tanintharyi Women’s Network
  270. Thai Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (TACDB)
  271. Thapaynyo News Letter
  272. The Commission for the Disappeared and Victims of Violence (KontraS)
  273. The Institution of Professional Engineers Myanmar (IPEM)
  274. Together Thanlyin
  275. Twitter Team for Revolution
  276. U.S. Campaign for Burma
  277. Uakthon Local Social Development Organization
  278. United Myanmar Community of South Australia
  279. Victorian Burmese Care Community (VBCC)
  280. Victorian Myanmar Youth (VMY)
  281. Way Way Nay
  282. We Pledge CDM (Australia)
  283. Western Australia Myanmar Community (WAMC)
  284. Western Australia Myanmar Democratic Network (WAMDN)
  285. Winemaw Civil Society Network
  286. Winemaw Lisu Development Association
  287. Women Activists Myanmar (WAM)
  288. Women Advocacy Coalition-Myanmar
  289. Women’s League of Burma
  290. Women’s Peace Network
  291. Zo Community – South Australia
  292. Zomi Association Australia Inc.
  293. Zomi Community – South Australia
  294. Zomi Community Queensland
  295. ခုနစ်စင်ကြယ်အဖွဲ့
  296. ဒို့မြေကွန်ရက် (LIOH)
  297. ဒေါင်းစစ်သည်
  298. ပွင့်ဖြူလယ်ယာမြေကွန်ရက်
  299. ပဲခူး MATA
A strong US-ASEAN partnership starts with Myanmar

A strong US-ASEAN partnership starts with Myanmar

May 16, 2022 | DFF, Opinion Articles

By Charles Santiago and Ed Markey.

This Friday, while United States President Joe Biden hosts a special summit with leaders of ASEAN to mark 45 years of partnership, a crisis rages on in Myanmar.

Myanmar, one of ASEAN’s 10 members, has spiraled into a state of chaos and violence since the Myanmar military overthrew the country’s democratically elected government in February 2021. The coup d’état abruptly ended a decade of democratic reforms that had brought a democratically-elected government to power, reflecting the will of the people of Myanmar.

As elected representatives from the US and Southeast Asia, we are appalled by the abuses perpetrated by the Myanmar military and are joining together on the occasion of the US-ASEAN summit – in the true spirit of US and ASEAN partnership – to demand a strong, coordinated, and global response to the devastation wrought at the hands of military leaders in Myanmar.

Since the 2021 coup, the Myanmar military has been engaged in an all-out assault against political opponents, journalists, health workers, and civilians, killing at least 1,800 people, including children, and arresting more than 10,000 people. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees counts nearly 300,000 internally displaced people inside the country since the coup, with 25,000 having fled across borders to neighboring countries.

Yet, the response of the international community has been clearly insufficient. The UN Security Council has failed to adopt a global arms embargo, a coordinated sanctions regime, or to successfully negotiate the delivery of humanitarian aid. The military government continues its campaign of repression against its own citizens with impunity. This inertia is likely to persist, given that the junta is protected by the Russian and Chinese governments.

That is why it is imperative for ASEAN and the US to come together on a course of action that will alleviate the suffering of Myanmar’s people and restore their democracy.

Some positive steps have been taken in that direction. On March 21, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken declared the crimes, beginning in 2017, committed against the Rohingya people by the Burmese military as genocide and crimes against humanity. This is an important step on the path to accountability and justice but alone will not be enough.

Over the last year, the US government has imposed targeted sanctions on Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar military Min Aung Hlaing and his henchmen, and has blocked the junta from withdrawing US$1 billion dollars held at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York. The European Union, the United Kingdom, and Canada have also imposed their own sanctions and arms embargoes.

Meanwhile, ASEAN has taken the unprecedented measure of refusing to invite Min Aung Hlaing to its annual leader’s summit, and agreed in April 2021 to a five-point consensus that includes demands for an end to the violence and dialogue between all parties, the appointment of a Special Envoy to Myanmar, and the provision of humanitarian aid.

None of that, however, has deterred the junta. As the situation in Myanmar continues to deteriorate, the international and regional response must be escalated. Here’s what we recommend:

The US should take a page from the smart playbook it has deployed against Russia for its war of aggression in Ukraine by doubling down on punishing sanctions, and include the Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), a state conglomerate that the junta seized shortly after the coup. The military has seized an estimated $1.5 billion in gas revenues and is using these funds to tighten its undemocratic grip on power.

While the US can play an important role, ASEAN should lead the way in resolving the Myanmar crisis and restoring the democratically-elected government of Myanmar.

It is evident that the junta has totally failed to comply with the Five-Point Consensus, and this should come with consequences. Now is the time for ASEAN to adopt much stronger measures, including the suspension of Myanmar’s ASEAN membership, travel bans in the region, and targeted sanctions against the leaders of the coup.

Both ASEAN member states and the US should bolster the legitimacy of the National Unity Government of Myanmar (NUG). It represents the democratically-elected government and receives support from the majority of the Myanmar people. Senior Biden administration officials have met with NUG officials, and recently the foreign minister of Malaysia announced that he had held informal conversations with NUG officials. These are encouraging steps, but more engagement with the NUG is needed.

Finally, the US and ASEAN must work together on delivering urgent humanitarian aid. International NGOs estimate that over 14 million people in Myanmar are in need of assistance. This aid should be channeled through locally trusted community-based and civil society organizations to effectively reach those that need it the most.

The US, ASEAN member states, and neighboring countries like Thailand should open their doors to refugees fleeing persecution and violence in Myanmar.

We have joined together, parliamentarians from opposite sides of the globe, because we share the same concern with the crisis that has unfolded in Myanmar. The people of Myanmar are victims of crimes against humanity so severe that they are a stain on our common humanity. They concern us all. The US, ASEAN, and partners like the EU, the UK, Japan, Australia, and India, have a responsibility to act in the face of such atrocities.

ASEAN should lead the way in these global efforts to stop the crimes being perpetrated by the military junta in neighboring Myanmar, hold leaders accountable, and protect the Myanmar people who are suffering so grievously under their yoke.

The US should use its position as a global leader for good by backing these efforts. This is what the next chapter of a strong US-ASEAN partnership can accomplish.

Charles Santiago is a Malaysian member of parliament and chair of ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights.

Ed Markey is a United States senator (Democrats-Massachusetts).

This article first appeared in The Jakarta Post.

US must assist with climate finance

US must assist with climate finance

May 11, 2022 | CCHR, Opinion Articles

By Kasit Piromya.

As US President Joe Biden is due to meet with leaders from Southeast Asian countries this week at the US-Asean Summit in Washington from May 12-13, one issue on which Washington bears an enormous responsibility — and from which Asean countries suffer enormous consequences — will be high on the agenda: climate change.

As the biggest economy in the world and the country responsible for more emissions than any other over the past three centuries, the United States ranks as the biggest single contributor to climate change, a dubious honour that China may be now chasing.

Meanwhile, Southeast Asia is among the regions where the climate crisis is the most destructive, as it threatens the livelihoods, security and rights of the more than 680 million people who live in areas prone to natural disasters, including typhoons, floods and droughts.

This kind of destruction is to a large extent caused by advanced economies like the United States and, to put it bluntly, they have an obligation to pay for the damage their model of development has inflicted on the planet. It is America’s responsibility to financially assist Asean, as well as poorer regions, in moving towards a just, sustainable and resilient green economy.

While our region has committed to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions, the commitments of Asean members under the Paris Agreement are far from sufficient to halt global warming.

One of the main obstacles to speedier and stronger climate action in the region is not just the lack of political will, but also the costs involved. Transitioning from fossil fuels to clean and renewable energy sources requires enormous financial investments up-front. This is all the more difficult at a time when the region already needs to mitigate its debt crisis after having borrowed money to support the post-pandemic economic recovery. And here is precisely where the United States can and should help Southeast Asia, by making sure that Asean members get access to international climate funds and by financially contributing to support their energy transitions.

Sadly, the US government’s financial support for the bloc on this matter falls way short of the mark. At last year’s US-Asean Summit, President Biden pledged to double the climate finance contributed by his predecessor Barack Obama, raising the figure from US$3 billion (103.8 billion baht) to $5.7 billion, with the stated intention to “make the US a leader in international climate finance”.

However, that pledge does not reflect the US’s fair share of the $100 billion climate finance goal, promised by rich nations to less wealthy countries to help them mitigate and adapt to climate change. According to an analysis by the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), the United States should contribute between $43 billion and $50 billion each year to climate finance, based on its gross national income and cumulative emissions.

If Washington wants to protect its long-term strategic interests in Southeast Asia, particularly now that China is becoming increasingly assertive in the region, it should step up its commitment to climate finance at this week’s US-Asean Summit to help members of the bloc further reduce their carbon emissions.

Moreover, the US could use its preeminent position at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to ensure a more equitable distribution to developing countries of the IMF’s Special Drawing Rights (SDRs). SDRs are international reserve assets that can be traded between the central banks of IMF member countries to support the global recovery process from Covid-19 and address the climate crisis in the Global South — Latin America, Asia, Africa and Oceania.

A test of Washington’s willingness to cooperate with Asean in ensuring the region’s economic stability and tackling the climate change crisis would be to use its influence at the IMF to support a reallocation for developing countries of the SDRs’ funds as non-repayable grants instead of loans.

By doing so, Asean would be able to accelerate its energy transition and commitment to the global climate change objective of reducing emissions.

The challenges posed by climate change cannot wait. Asean members should join forces at the summit this week to secure a meaningful and stronger commitment from the US for climate finance in the region, at a time when more ambitious climate-related improvements are urgently needed.

Kasit Piromya is a former Foreign Minister of Thailand, and a Board Member of Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR).

This article first appeared in The Bangkok Post.