The Burma Campaign UK today welcomed the first formal discussion on Burma at the United Nations Security Council as a very significant step forward, and called for the next step to be a binding resolution.
“This discussion means that at long last the crisis in Burma is getting the international attention it deserves,” said Mark Farmaner, Campaigns Manager at the Burma Campaign UK. “For many years the UN has floundered with no strategy on how to deal with Burma. We are now starting to see the UN working at the highest levels to bring change.”
The regime in Burma has consistently defied the United Nations, ignoring over a dozen calls for Aung San Suu Kyi’s release by the Secretary General, and 28 resolutions by the UN General Assembly and Human Rights Commission. The regime has also defied repeated calls by the International Labour Organisation to end forced labour. Demands for UN Security Council intervention increased following the arrest of Aung San Suu Kyi in 2003. The campaign was given fresh momentum following publication in September 2005 of a report – A Threat to the Peace – commissioned by former archbishop Desmond Tutu and former Czech President Vaclav Havel from global law firm DLA Piper. The report found that Burma does fit the criteria for UNSC intervention, and called on the UNSC to pass a binding resolution requiring the restoration of democracy to Burma, and the release of all political prisoners, including Aung San Suu Kyi. The Security Council held its first discussion on Burma in December 2005.
“This is the beginning of a process that should have begun 16 years ago,” said Mark Farmaner. “The Security Council must be prepared to back the Secretary General with a binding resolution. UN officials need the Council’s support.”
The United States led the effort to bring Burma before the United Nations Security Council, with strong support from the UK. “The governments of the USA and UK get a lot of flak for their foreign policy, but both deserve a lot of credit for fighting a long and hard diplomatic battle to get Burma on the Security Council agenda,” said Mark Farmaner. Even the government of France, which has opposed stronger measures by European Union because of the involvement in Burma of French oil giant Total Oil, is believed to have worked hard to get Burma on the Security Council agenda.
The discussion signifies that there is a growing international consensus on Burma starting to emerge, ranging from the US, to Europe governments and in Asia, that the regime in Burma has no interest in reform, and that the international community must get more engaged if there is ever to be change in Burma.
For more information contact Mark Farmaner on 020 7324 4713.