A United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) vote scheduled to take place on Tuesday on a draft resolution calling “for an immediate suspension of the direct and indirect supply, sale or transfer of all weapons and munitions” to Myanmar has been indefinitely postponed. Though there is speculation that the vote was delayed to garner more support, the future of the ballot remains uncertain.
The draft resolution further calls on the Myanmar military, also known as the Tatmadaw, to end the state of emergency and to respect the will of the people as expressed in the November election. The Tatmadaw forcefully overthrew the civilian-led government in the country on February 1 following State Councilor and de facto leader Aung San Suu Kyi’s landslide win at the polls. Since then, the reformer has been placed under house arrest, along with several other National League for Democracy (NLD) leaders, and security forces have engaged in a brutal crackdown on dissent, leading to hundreds of deaths. To this end, the draft text “calls upon the Myanmar armed forces to immediately stop all violence against peaceful demonstrators, members of civil society, women, youth, as well as children and others,” and urges the army to stop “attacks on, harassment of and restrictions on medical personnel, human rights defenders, labour union members, journalists and media workers ... and restrictions on the Internet and social media.”
Unlike UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions, UNGA resolutions are not legally binding and cannot be vetoed, but can be used as a tool to apply political pressure. Though the UNSC can impose legally binding sanctions or an arms embargo, some diplomats have expressed concerns that Russia and China could likely use their veto to prevent any action against Myanmar. If adopted by the general assembly, the draft resolution would request the Tatmadaw to allow a visit by the UN special envoy on Myanmar Christine Schraner Burgener and implement a plan charted by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in its Jakarta meet to end the crisis.
Against this backdrop, violence in Myanmar continues to escalate on a daily basis. According to the latest reports on the violence unfolding in the country by a local monitoring group called the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), the Tatmadaw have killed approximately 802 civilians peacefully protesting the coup, as of Monday. The group also said that 4,120 people were currently being detained, including 20 who had been sentenced to death. “This is the number verified by AAPP, the actual number of fatalities is likely much higher,” AAPP said in its daily briefing.
However, the military disputes the casualty and detention figures and has continued to suppress media freedom, information, and the internet, making it difficult to verify official figures. The Tatmadaw has also justified its actions by claiming that dozens of members of its own forces have also been killed during the protests.
UN Postpones Vote on Suspending Arms Transfers to Myanmar Amid Rising Death Toll
As the official civilian death toll in Myanmar passed 800, the UN curiously postponed a vote on a draft resolution to suspend arms transfers to the country.
May 18, 2021
SOURCE: DNA INDIA