The Burma Campaign UK today called on the British government to stop dithering and come out in support of proposed discussions on Burma at the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). The crisis in Burma has never been a formal agenda item on the UNSC.
On 20th of September Vaclav Havel and Desmond Tutu published a detailed independent report – A Threat to the Peace – commissioned from global law firm DLA Piper Rudnick Gray Cary. It found that Burma meets criteria for UNSC action, and proposed a resolution that would require the regime to work with the UN Secretary General to restore democracy to Burma, and to release Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners. Aung San Suu Kyi’s party, the National League for Democracy, has welcomed the report, as have many other Burmese democracy parties and organisations. The United States government has said it will work with other countries to bring Burma to the UNSC, but so far the UK has been silent on the issue.
Yvette Mahon, Director of the Burma Campaign UK said: “We are bemused by the deafening silence from the government regarding the placing of Burma on the Security Council agenda. For years the government has been a vocal supporter of Burma’s democracy movement, but now that words can finally be put into action, the UK government has gone AWOL.”
“As a permanent member of the Security Council the UK is in an ideal position to help, but instead they are sitting on their hands. It is like having David Beckham on the football pitch, but he’s refusing to kick the ball.”
The Burma Campaign UK has no doubt that the UK government will be supportive if Burma does reach the UNSC, but without the UK throwing its diplomatic weight behind this initiative, Burma is unlikely to even make it onto the agenda.
The UK’s failure to act is all the more bizarre given the overwhelming Parliamentary support for bringing Burma to the UNSC. In the last Parliamentary session 289 MPs backed an Early Day Motion (EDM) calling on the government to place Burma on the Security Council agenda, making it the second most supported EDM in that Parliamentary session. In the current Parliamentary session 193 MPs have so far backed an EDM calling on the government to make restoring democracy to Burma a foreign policy priority.
The Burma Campaign UK wrote to the Foreign Office more than two months ago to ask them to clarify their position regarding Burma and the UNSC, but has yet to receive a response. To date the government has only said there is ‘no consensus’.
The regime is clearly rattled by the prospect of discussions at the UNSC. It has been issuing daily attacks on Vaclav Havel and Desmond Tutu through state-run press, describing them as ‘infidels’ who are guilty of ‘slander’ and ‘searching for lice on bald head.’
For more information contact Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK, Media Manager, on 020 7324 4713