The European Union Foreign Affairs Council announced on Monday 10 December that it would adopt new sanctions against those responsible for human rights violations in Burma.
“The Council intends to adopt additional restrictive measures against senior military and border guard police officers responsible for human rights violations”, the ministers warned in their conclusions. In addition, according to them, it is “necessary to explore possibilities to extend the scope of the restrictive measures to include entities as well”. The EU had already sanctioned, last June, seven high-ranking officers of the armed forces and border guard police (see EUROPE 12048) and is enforcing an arms embargo.
The Council also intends to act "swiftly" at the international level, in response to the relevant recommendations of the fact-finding mission, in particular the establishment of an "independent mechanism" to deepen investigations and prepare for fair and independent criminal proceedings, in accordance with international law standards, to address the important issue of accountability, warn Ministers. They recall that many of the violations committed constitute “the most serious crimes under international law”.
The Council also invites the Burmese authorities to cooperate with the European Commission in the framework of the Everything But Arms initiative, recalling that “respect for human and labour rights is the condition for granting trade preferences”.
Ministers reiterate their call on the government to make progress so that displaced persons can benefit from a safe, voluntary, dignified and sustainable return. “Real efforts must be made to address the root causes of the crisis, through transparent and verifiable implementation of all the recommendations made by the Rakhine State Advisory Commission”, they add.
In addition, on Monday 10 December, the European Commission announced an additional €5 million to provide vital food aid to the Rohingya stranded in Bangladesh. This amount is in addition to the 40 million announced in May (see EUROPE 12031). (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)