UN urges members to 'prevent flow of arms' in Myanmar, stops short of global embargo

United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), on June 18 (local time), urged all its member states to prevent the “flow of arms” into Myanmar, stopping short of calling for a global embargo. The non-binding resolution, which takes aim at the growing unrest in the country, also demanded Tatmadaw to immediately stop all violence against “peaceful demonstrators”. It is imperative to note that the resolution came on the same day as UN Security Council, another UN agency held informal talks on the situation in the South-East Asian nation.

The resolution was sponsored by 60 countries and approved by a total of 119 countries. However, it was abstained by 36 states including China, which has been accused of supplying arms and technical support to the military junta. India also joined China and called the resolution ' counterproductive'. Only one country Belarus, which itself is hit by demonstrations, opposed the resolution.   

“We must advocate for the protection of all fundamental human rights, including freedom of expression, access to information and peaceful assembly which have been repeatedly infringed upon by the military in Myanmar,” Turkey’s Volkan Bozkir, president of the 75th UN General Assembly said in a statement.

Nearly 900 killed

The Southeast Asian nation has been hit with gruelling violence after military leader Min Aung Hlaing declared a coup d’état on February 1. Not only have Myanmar’s democratically elected lawmakers including ousted state counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi detained but hundreds of thousands of people have lost their lives in the “fight for democracy”. According to the rights group AAPP, more than 970 people have been killed, 6164 total arrested,4983 currently detained or sentenced while 1937 people are evading an arrest warrant as of June 18. 

Earlier, UN rights chief Michelle Bachelet had said that escalating violence across Myanmar including attacks on civilians must be halted to prevent even greater loss of life and a deepening humanitarian emergency. This appeal was followed by reports of a prolonged military build-up and takeover in various parts of the country including Kayah State in the east where more than 1,08,000 people have fled their homes in the last three weeks and in Chin State in the west.

Image: AP