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Myanmar/Burma: Council Prolongs Sanctions

April 29th, 2019  •  Author:   Council of the European Union  •  2 minute read
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On 29 April, the Council prolonged the restrictive measures in place on Myanmar/Burma for one year, until 30 April 2020.

The sanctions regime includes an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression, an export ban of dual-use goods for use by the military and border guard police, and export restrictions of equipment for monitoring communications that might be used for internal repression. It also prohibits the provision of military training to and military cooperation with the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw).

The prolongation also covers targeted restrictive measures on 14 individuals for serious human rights violations, or association with such violations, committed against the Rohingya population, ethnic minority villagers or civilians in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States. These individuals are high-ranking officials from the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) and the border guard police.

The Council last adopted conclusions on Myanmar on 10 December 2018, expressing deep concern over the findings of the independent international fact-finding mission (FFM) of the UN Human Rights Council which concluded that gross human rights violations were committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States, in particular by the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw). The Council called upon the Government of Myanmar/Burma to take, without further delay, meaningful action and to make progress in all areas of concern set out in its previous conclusions of 26 February 2018.

The legal acts were adopted by the Council by written procedure. They will be published in the Official Journal of 30 April 2019.

View this original press release here.