Two ministers of Myanmar’s National Unity Government (NUG) held an online meeting on 21 August with the head of the UN humanitarian assistance body regarding his recent visit to Myanmar to negotiate with the military regime to allow the provision of humanitarian assistance, according to a statement on 22 August.
The meeting of NUG Minister for Foreign Affairs Zin Mar Aung and Minister for Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management Dr Win Myat Aye with the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) Mr Martin Griffiths focused on “effective delivery of humanitarian aid to the areas in need” across Myanmar, including Rakhine State in the aftermath of Cyclone Mocha.
The NUG ministers called for equally balanced communication between the UN bodies and ethnic resistance organizations (ERO), civil society organizations (CSO) and other relevant stakeholders operating on the ground, in addition to providing aid through the military regime.
Mr. Griffiths has come in for criticism over alleged pandering to the military regime and failure to publicly criticise the junta’s human rights abuse and abuse of power that have caused the humanitarian crisis in Myanmar in the first place. In addition, a number of commentators have called on the UN to funnel a substantial portion of humanitarian aid through the NUG and related bodies so it gets to the millions in need.
The 22 August NUG statement included concern voiced by the NUG ministers that the UN agencies are enabling the junta to manipulate and weaponise humanitarian assistance. It said that now the Myanmar people realise that the junta is deceptive and exploits humanitarian aid delivery mechanisms for its own legitimacy at the expense of the people.
After the three-day visit of Mr Martin Griffiths to Myanmar last week, the UNOCHA issued a report on 17 August, calling for expanded humanitarian access and increased funding from donors to assist the 18 million people in need of aid across Myanmar.
In the report Griffiths said, “Successive crises in Myanmar have left one third of the population in need of humanitarian aid, and they expect more and better from their leaders and from the international community.”
The report also said that Griffiths held meetings with military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing and aid workers for humanitarian assistance. His Myanmar visit involved talks in Naypyidaw and in Cyclone Mocha-hit Rakhine State.
