Members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) condemned the “unrelenting violence” and killing of civilians in Myanmar and again urged its military rulers to stop attacks, release ousted leader Aung San Suu Kyi and respect human rights.
Thirteen of the 15 council members on Wednesday backed a joint statement that said there had been “insufficient progress” on implementing the first-ever Security Council resolution on Myanmar that was adopted last December, reports UNB citing AP.
In that 12-0 vote, China and Russia, which have ties to the military that seized power from Suu Kyi’s elected civilian government in February 2021, abstained along with India whose two-year term on the council has ended.
Britain’s deputy UN ambassador James Kariuki read the statement, flanked by diplomats from the other countries, after the council was briefed at a closed meeting by UN humanitarian chief Martin Griffiths on his recent visit to Myanmar and by Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari on efforts to resolve the crisis.
The statement reiterates demands from the December 2022 council resolution that still require implementation: The immediate release of all “arbitrarily detained” prisoners including Suu Kyi and president Win Myint, restoring democratic institutions, respecting human rights and “the democratic will of the people,” and upholding the rule of law.
It also calls for the full implementation of the plan by the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations that Myanmar’s rulers agreed to in April 2021 but have made little progress in fulfilling.
It includes an immediate cessation of violence, a dialogue among all parties mediated by an Asean envoy who is also to visit Myanmar and meet all parties. Envoys have visited but not been allowed to meet Suu Kyi.
The 13 council members said the military’s actions have left over 18 million people in Myanmar in need of humanitarian assistance over 15 million of them without regular access to adequate food and 2 million people displaced.
On Wednesday, the US expanded its sanctions against Myanmar to include foreign companies or individuals helping the country’s military junta to procure jet fuel that it uses to launch airstrikes on its own people.
