Myanmar: UN expert says countries should target military with sanctions and arms embargo

A United Nations special rapporteur said the approach countries took when it came to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would be needed when it comes to the ongoing unrest in Myanmar. The expert said sanctions on the military, as well as an arms embargo, would be required to stop the violence.

Speaking to reporters in New York Wednesday, the UN special rapporteur on human rights, Tom Andrews, said the kinds of weapons Russian forces are using on Ukraine are the same kinds of weapons Myanmar’s military are using to kill civilians. Andrews urged countries in the UN to form a coalition to put pressure on the junta through sanctions and an arms embargo.

“Some of the very types of weapons that are being used to kill people in Ukraine are being used to kill the people of Myanmar. And they come from the very same source – they come from Russia,” said Andrews. “The international community should be coordinating their efforts to target them, and then work together to implement these measures.”

“It’s not being done now. Not because we don’t know how to do it. We know how to do it. If you want a playbook, look at Ukraine,” said Andrews.

Russia is one of Myanmar’s biggest suppliers of arms and is among the countries who have defended the junta, since the generals staged a coup in February 2021, overthrowing the elected government. Over 2,300 people have been killed in the military’s crackdown on protests in Myanmar, and thousands have been detained.

Andrews expressed disappointment that the international community’s response to the ongoing coup in Myanmar has not changed.

“The world is failing the people of Myanmar, to me there’s no question whatsoever,” said Andrews.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations regional grouping has also expressed frustration with the junta’s lack of progress in enforcing the peace plan it had agreed upon since the generals seized power in the country. The junta said that it would not be “bound” by the outcome of the recent meeting among the bloc’s ministers, saying that any pressure by the bloc to put a timeframe on the progress would have negative effects.