On Wednesday 16 June, Tom Andrews, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, called on the international community to adopt additional sanctions against the Burmese military junta, denouncing the human rights situation in the country.
In addition to agreeing on an embargo on arms and dual-use technology, “we need to have a coordinated sanctions regime on oil and gas”, he told a hearing in the European Parliament.
“70% of Myanmar’s income comes from oil and gas, so that’s where the heart of the matter is, and where we have to be present and react”, confirmed Ben Hardman of EarthRights International.
Stating that there would be opposition in the UN Security Council, which could prevent the adoption of a global sanctions regime, the UN rapporteur felt that it was all the more necessary for those in favour of sanctions to agree.
While the fate of Myanmar is in the hands of the Burmese people, they cannot succeed without the support of the international community, Mr Andrews explained. He added that action by the international community would show the population that they were not alone, give them hope, and prevent them from becoming radicalised and a civil war from breaking out.
The population is boycotting anything that supports the junta and the international community must do everything in its power to cut off the junta’s sources of income and arms supply, the rapporteur explained. According to him, “the junta identifies the military as its main strength. We see this as a vulnerability, because it takes huge sums of money to supply this army”.
Stefano Fontaroni, from the European External Action Service’s Myanmar office, pointed out that the Council was currently working on sectoral economic sanctions. The EU has already implemented measures against 35 individuals and two conglomerates controlled by the Burmese military (see EUROPE 12701/4).
The UN rapporteur also encouraged the EU to cooperate with the National Unity Government of Myanmar, which he said was an excellent source of information, including for the provision of humanitarian aid. And if the EU is not ready to formally recognise this government, it could issue a functional recognition, Andrews added.
According to Burmese journalist Maung Moe, the intervention of another army is the “only way to stop the junta’s atrocities”.
“The longer the junta stays in power, the bleaker the country’s prospects become”, Mr Andrews warned. According to him, since the coup, there have been 856 deaths, and more than 6,000 people have been arrested, over 5,000 of whom are still in prison. More than 100 journalists have been arrested, 56 of whom are still detained. A further 3.4 million people are expected to be affected by hunger in the coming months, and by next year half the population could be affected by poverty. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)