EU Statement – UN General Assembly 3rd Committee: Interactive Dialogue with the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Ms. Julie BISHOP, Head of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, Mr. Nicholas KOUMJIAN, Special Rapporteur on

Chair,

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

We welcome the Special Rapporteur’s report and thank the speakers for their presentations.

We reiterate our deep concern over the deteriorating humanitarian and security situation in Myanmar and strongly condemn the ongoing violence and grave human rights violations and abuses. The Myanmar military bears the overwhelming responsibility for the crisis. 

Since 2017, the EU together with the OIC, has led a joint resolution on the “Situation of human rights of Rohingya Muslims and other minorities in Myanmar”. Our priority for this year is to reflect the most recent developments.

Horrific and systematic violations and abuses of international human rights law and international humanitarian law persist, with recent reports indicating widespread aerial attacks, including on schools, clinics, displacement camps and a market in Rakhine State that reportedly killed more than 50 vendors, customers and other civilians.

Myanmar must return to a truly pluralist and sincerely inclusive democratic path, respecting the will and aspirations of its people who continue to demonstrate remarkable courage and resilience. The military’s staged elections, that were neither free nor fair and conducted in a climate of violence, repression and exclusion - followed by the rebranding of military rule under a nominally civilian administration - do not confer legitimacy.

Restricted humanitarian access continues to exacerbate suffering and risks pushing persons in vulnerable situations toward famine and malnutrition, including in Rakhine State. We strongly call on all parties to immediately grant full, safe, and unhindered access for humanitarian actors to deliver life-saving assistance. 

The conditions for the voluntary, safe, dignified, and sustainable return of all refugees and displaced persons remain non-existent and we commend Bangladesh’s generosity in providing shelter and safety to over 1.2 million Rohingya refugees and other minorities. 

We reaffirm our support for the United Nations and ASEAN’s efforts in seeking a peaceful solution, and we encourage the full and effective implementation of the Five-Point Consensus. Close coordination among all relevant actors remains essential to achieving a peaceful and democratic future for Myanmar.

We urge for justice, accountability, and the full implementation of UNSC resolution 2669. We commend the work of the IIMM and ICC in pursuing accountability, and underline the important role of the ICJ in holding states responsible for the most serious violations of international law..

Ms. Special Rapporteur, in your proposed priorities you describe that you will seek to document interconnected patterns of exploitation, including illicit financial flows, trafficking and forced labour. Could you further elaborate on the threat coming from such activities? 

Mr. Koumjian, the expected judgement by the ICJ on the Gambia case is one example that underlines the importance of collecting evidence for accountability-purposes. Where do you see the biggest challenges when it comes to delivering on the IIMM’s mandate and how can we collectively ensure that the evidence can be transformed into accountability for perpetrators and justice for victims?

I thank you, Chair.