Madam President,

The European Union thanks the High Commissioner for her oral update.

The European Union condemns in the strongest terms the military coup carried out in Myanmar. This unacceptable seizure of power abruptly turned back the clock of history in the country. Once again, the path towards democracy has been reversed and the will of the people expressed in the November 2020 elections, has been ignored. The EU calls on the Myanmar armed forces to immediately halt violence and the use of force against civilians and to allow the population to exercise their human rights, including their rights to freedom of expression and assembly. Arbitrary arrests and detentions and the torture and ill-treatment of detainees must end. We take note of the release of some detainees by the Myanmar military authorities.

The EU acknowledges the efforts undertaken by ASEAN to initiate a peaceful dialogue-driven process to resolve the crisis in Myanmar. The swift and faithful implementation of the five-point consensus reached at the Leaders’ Meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in Jakarta on 24 April is important

The EU strongly supports the valuable work of the High Commissioner and her Office, to ensure continuous monitoring, documenting and reporting on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. The EU calls on Myanmar to cooperate with your Office by ensuring immediate access to the country and by facilitating the opening of a country office.

We share your concern that the human rights-, humanitarian- and security situations are deteriorating quickly, with indiscriminate attacks against the civilian population, precipitating mass displacement and a rapidly worsening humanitarian crisis. This threatens the lives of many thousands in Myanmar, including women, children and persons belonging to minorities, in particular in the Saigan and Mandalay regions as well as in Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Kayah and Kayin and Shan States.

The Special Advisor of the Secretary General on the Prevention of Genocide warned in her recent address to this Council that root causes of discrimination and violence need to be addressed, including guaranteeing full citizenship and other rights to the Rohingya community in Myanmar and ensuring accountability for past crimes in order to deter more atrocity crimes from being committed.

The EU reiterates our strong support to the mandate of the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar to collect evidence of serious international crimes or violations of international law, including those committed after 1 February 2021, and facilitate criminal proceedings in order to ensure the accountability of those responsible.

We would welcome your views, Madame High Commissioner, on how your Office can contribute to existing accountability efforts, including through cooperation with other mechanisms, and what your current priorities are in this regard.

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