Mizzima
The international community at every level should be motivated into effective action by the leadership shown by people throughout Myanmar every day, said Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights on Myanmar in a recent webinar.
‘I am hopeful because of the people of Myanmar. I have never seen such bravery, tenacity, creativity, such unity in opposition, focus and courage. That above all, gives hope.’
Titled ‘International Action on the Coup in Burma’ the 6-panelist webinar was hosted by the Burma Rohingya Organization UK on 31 March.
People in Myanmar are experiencing great frustration at the glacial pace of international community action agreed all speakers. Dr Sasa, UN Special Envoy of Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) told the audience, ‘it is very clear, the international community has the power to solve these military generals once and for all. It is not a question if they can do it. It is a question of why they don’t do it.’
Held two hours after the UNSC meeting’s conclusion, webinar panelists concurred that the international community must stop waiting for the UNSC to take leadership in addressing the crisis in Myanmar. ‘We have to be creative and think outside of the UNSC and UN Human Rights Council,’ said Naomi Kikoler, Director of the Simon-Skjodt Center for the Prevention of Genocide.
The UNSC did not take strong action despite the rapidly deteriorating security situation in Myanmar because of what Andrews called, ‘the primacy of consensus’ in the deadlock between UK, US and France on one hand and China and Russia on the other. Unable to reach a formal decision, on 2 April the Council released a Press Statement which is an informal Council meeting outcome sending the message that the Council continues to watch the situation rather than act.
Panellists agreed that the impetus for international community action should spring from realising that the junta’s crimes of today are rooted in the international community’s failure to address the its impunity in past decades. Dr Sasa lamented, ‘We have had these crimes against humanity happen again and again and again.’ Being left unaccountable, said BROUK president, Tun Khin, has let the junta’s credibility stay intact before the coup started.
Responsibility to Protect (R2P) principles, which hold the international political and legal weight of ‘never again,’ are most relevant to the situation of Myanmar, argued Kikolar. Of particular concern is the international community’s failure to uphold Pillars 1 and 2 of the R2P. These two pillars say that a state has the responsibility to protect its people and the international community must assist a state struggling to do so. Combined they make up the preventative aspects of the R2P principles.
Many associate R2P with military intervention. However, Kikolar noted, it is about so much more than that and can mean a lot of things. Referring to R2P as an umbrella term, moderator Thin Lei Win of Myanmar Now, asked panellists to give concrete examples of actions that can be taken now to get immediately reactions.
Effective Action Options
Panellists agreed on two major points. First, it is necessary to dispel the idea that international community action is limited to the UNSC or even the UN system. It’s not just that; every single person that can take action in some way and everyone is included, stressed Thin Lei Win. Kikolar expanded this point saying understanding collective action in these broad terms places R2P onto all types of actors.
Second, actors of all types can work to achieve three things. These were encapsulated recently and pithily by the Special Advisory Group-Myanmar (SAC-M) as the three cuts: cut weapon, cut cash and cut impunity.
Further, added Matt Smith, CEO of lobby group Fortify Rights, the regime should be denied legitimacy.
‘This is an unlawful illegal regime, a brutal regime and a murderous regime. And governments and businesses should treat it as such.’
Action Within the UN system
Noting that it is in the junta’s interests to contain international action to the deadlocked UNSC and not let it become a ‘whole of UN’ conversation, panellists explored other options.
Andrew suggested that UNSC members should be allowed to vote openly so each knows where the others stand. That way, if some want to take strong action outside the UNSC process then they can do so without waiting for consensus. Indeed, Andrews urged UNSC members to take this action.
Next, if the UNSC can’t take concrete steps, argued Andrews, then it is abdicating its responsibility to the people of Myanmar and the issue should be taken up by the UN General Assembly (UNGA) where China and Russia do not hold veto power.
One way to trigger the UNGA, says Kikolar, is for the UK, US and France (P3) to continue pushing in UNSC meetings until an actual veto is used by China or Russia. ‘In an instance where a veto is used, the responsibility then has to move to the GA.’
UNGA action is possible through Resolution 377, ‘Uniting for Peace.’
This says that any cases where the UNSC fails to act to maintain international peace and security because of a deadlock shall be considered immediately by the UNGA through calling an Emergency Special Session. The UNGA can then issue appropriate recommendations to UN members for collective measures.
Additionally, the UN Secretary-General has the authority under Chapter 15, Article 99 of United Nations Charter to ‘bring to the attention of the Security Council any matter which in his opinion may threaten the maintenance of international peace and security.’
Both these actions could see measures enacted ranging from targeted sanctions to arms embargoes to the reinforcement of importance of impunity.
Individual Countries Taking Collective Action
The absence of UNSC and GA action should not be an excuse for inaction by individual states to come together and collaborate and coordinate their sanctions regimes.
Some countries on their own are establishing a variety of sanctions regimes to cut off the revenue to the junta. A variety of countries have also imposed arms embargos. Andrews identified 3 basic problems with these types of actions. First, not enough countries are cutting off revenue. Second, not enough countries have imposed arms embargoes. Third, these efforts are mostly disconnected.
Andrews urged that an emergency summit for the people of Myanmar be held by countries willing to engage in action on these fronts. They can come together to develop a unified strategy. The collective impact of such coordinated efforts, particularly in the oil and gas and arms sectors, can make a significant different, he argued.
Significantly, collective coordinated action is urgently required for financial support for humanitarian assistance and to ensure that does not go through the military junta.
ASEAN to step up
ASEAN has the ability to stop the junta’s violence it if it wanted, argued by Dr Sasa, simply by taking action in accordance with its own Charter. Given their reticence as a collective to intervene in the affairs of member states, however, it can play a vital role in bringing the junta to the negotiating table for peace talks.
ASEAN countries, particularly Indonesia and Singapore, are playing a strong role in facilitating a process for devising a framework for these discussions. As renewed attacks by the junta on civilians in borderland areas forces thousands into cross-border displacement increasing regional instability, ASEAN countries may be forced to intensify their actions in this regard.
Corporations
There are still large extraction companies, including in gas and oil, that continue to make huge payments effectively to the junta. Importantly, Smith points out, these companies are not authorised to be handing the money that belongs to the people of Myanmar to an illegal entity.
In this regard, Total in France, Chevron in the US, PPTET in Thailand and Posco in South Korea remain cases in point. These companies should waste no time in ceasing to make payments until democratic transition is restored.
Not just these but all companies, said Dr Sasa, have to make their own decisions. ‘They have to choose the life or the bullets. They can do this without country or UN level sanctions. They can do it on [the basis] of their own decision.’
Kikolar took the notion of corporate responsibility to protect one step further by proposing corporations not only undertake their R2P by not directly supporting the junta, but they should promote R2P action with their governments through business connections and governing bodies.
Global Civil Society
Much of this action will come about because of the efforts of advocates and activists of Myanmar and those in other countries working with people of Myanmar, particularly the Civil Disobedience Movement. They take action both through Myanmar- and issue focussed NGOs.
It is vital that civil society in countries around the world to continue to take to their streets in solidarity with people on Myanmar’s streets. Images and video that spread into Myanmar through social media provide immediate emotional and psychological support and reinforce the sense of connectedness under attack by the digital isolation imposed by the junta part of its warfare against civilians.
Last, all forms of action need to be coordinated across multiple types of actors simultaneously. As an illustration, Smith highlighted the need to generate more incentives for China, ASEAN and ASEAN states to deploy their considerable power to stop the violence.
NGOs and global civil society can campaign businesses, states, regional bodies – either bi-laterally or collectively – to put these incentives into action. Otherwise, Smith says, ‘if left to their own devices, they will watch crimes against humanity unfold.’
