Special Envoy’s Zero Regard for Human Right
The only way forward for Myanmar is through inclusive federal democracy, free from military tyranny for good.
On 29 October, the United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, made her first address to a UN General Assembly (UNGA) committee since her appointment in April. While her remarks blatantly ignored the Myanmar people’s ongoing efforts and unprecedented sacrifices to end military tyranny, what’s more disappointing is the UN Secretary-General’s continued failure to show his leadership to urgently address Myanmar’s worsening crisis.
In her remarks on 29 October to the UNGA’s Third Committee (Social, Humanitarian and Cultural), the Special Envoy discussed her “impartial” actions to address the crisis in Myanmar and suggested a goal of “a home-grown inclusive and sustainable peace.” She also mentioned that she met junta leader Min Aung Hlaing in Naypyidaw—a move that raises concern about whether the Special Envoy’s approach will lend false legitimacy to the junta for its sham election plan. And perhaps most dangerous and disappointing, she said that “Myanmar actors must move beyond the current zero-sum mentality,” without a single utterance regarding the junta’s all-out war of terror against the people.
By accusing the Myanmar people of having a “zero-sum mentality,” the Special Envoy announced her zero regard for human rights or justice and accountability in Myanmar. Made with outright disregard for Myanmar’s peoples—who are enduring the junta’s unspeakable brutality—the Special Envoy’s obtuse accusation is nothing but a pressure tactic to push revolutionary actors into quick-fix negotiations with the criminal junta. A history lesson is in order: Rushing into dialogue will certainly backfire—as it did during the so-called “peace process” in 2011—preventing genuine inclusion, sowing mistrust among revolutionary groups through the military’s divide and rule strategy, and further entrapping Myanmar in the cycle of violence and military tyranny. The Special Envoy’s playbook—void of the people’s will and resounding calls—will not lead to sustainable peace.
This isn’t the first time Julie Bishop has showboated her disregard for the human rights of Myanmar’s peoples. In 2017, during her stint as Australia’s Foreign Minister, the Australian Government bribed Rohingya asylum seekers with thousands of dollars to return to Myanmar from Australian detention centers. At the time, The Guardian reported that when “asked if Australia would consider taking any Rohingya refugees fleeing Myanmar, [Julie Bishop] said Australia wanted them to return to their country if possible.”
What’s more, in 2018, she maintained that Australia would continue its training program for the Myanmar military—the perpetrators of genocide against the Rohingya just months before. It is truly horrifying that someone who used their public office to put Rohingya lives at risk, rather than protect them, be chosen as the UN Special Envoy—a role whose mandate centers the protection of the Rohingya.
It is undebatable that the UN’s reliance on special envoys on Myanmar has produced absolutely no positive change for the people of Myanmar. Instead, this reliance only compounds the UN’s systemic failure in Myanmar and defers any concrete action to save lives. Over her 20-month tenure, the previous Special Envoy, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, ignored important warnings and recommendations put forth by Myanmar civil society organizations, and suggested a power-sharing agreement with the terrorist junta. Before her, Christine Schraner Burgener announced her own failure as Special Envoy in September 2021, calling out military junta’s “clear lack of will for a peaceful solution.” Today, Julie Bishop is only extending this harmful legacy of emboldening the military to continue its atrocity crimes while undermining the collective efforts of Myanmar’s peoples towards sustainable peace.
The only way forward for Myanmar is through inclusive federal democracy, free from military tyranny for good. Indeed, the people of Myanmar deserve much better from the international community than the dangerously misguided “impartiality” of the Special Envoy. It’s high time for the Secretary-General to affirm his commitment to the human rights of Myanmar’s peoples and address the Myanmar crisis directly and immediately. He has relegated his responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar for far too long. He must urgently take the lead to end the junta’s terror campaign and hold the perpetrators accountable under international law. He must also robustly support the Myanmar people’s revolution to build sustainable peace and an inclusive federal democracy.
During the previous Special Envoy’s visit to Myanmar in August 2022, protestors in Sagaing Region called out the UN’s reckless disregard for Myanmar people’s lives, asking “How many dead bodies [does the] UN need to take action?” Still today, the UN has utterly failed to take the concrete action that the Myanmar people deserve. All eyes must be on the Secretary-General to stop hiding behind the Special Envoy and turn words into action.
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[1] One year following the 1988 pro-democracy uprising, the former military junta changed the country’s name from Burma to Myanmar overnight. Progressive Voice uses the term ‘Myanmar’ in acknowledgement that most people of the country use this term. However, the deception of inclusiveness and the historical process of coercion by the former State Peace and Development Council military regime into usage of ‘Myanmar’ rather than ‘Burma’ without the consent of the people is recognized and not forgotten. Thus, under certain circumstances, ‘Burma’ is used.
Resources from the past week
Statements and Press Releases
By Blood Money Campaign
By Council of the European Union
Canada imposes sanctions as violence in Myanmar escalates
By Government of Canada
JFM welcomes Canadian, EU and UK sanctions on the #Myanmar junta and its cronies
By Justice For Myanmar
By Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations
By Permanent Mission of Myanmar to the United Nations
UK, EU and Canada impose new sanctions targeting Myanmar military regime and its associates
By United Kingdom (Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office)
Reports
By Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
လွတ်မြောက်သော်ငြား မလွတ်လပ်နိုင်သေးသူများ
By Assistance Association for Political Prisoners
Violation on Freedom of Expression in September 2024
By Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
By Burmese Women’s Union
By Burmese Women’s Union
အခြေခံမှအဆင့်ဆင့်တည်ဆောက်ထားသော ဖက်ဒရယ်စနစ် ကရင်နီတို့၏ နိုင်ငံတည်ဆောက်ပုံ စံနမူနာ
By Progressive Voice, Karenni National Women’s Organization, Karenni Civil Society Network and Union of Karenni State Youth
Progressive Voice is a participatory, rights-based policy research and advocacy organization that was born out of Burma Partnership. Burma Partnership officially ended its work on October 10, 2016 transitioning to a rights-based policy research and advocacy organization called Progressive Voice. For further information, please see our press release “Burma Partnership Celebrates Continuing Regional Solidarity for Burma and Embraces the Work Ahead for Progressive Voice.”
