The Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect and the Myanmar Accountability Project co-hosted a webinar on the question of Myanmar’s representation at the United Nations (UN) on 28 June 2022. The following summary note provides an overview of the key outcomes from the event.
The panel included:
- Aung Myo Min, Minister for Human Rights, National Unity Government, Myanmar.
- Rebecca Barber, Research Fellow, Asia Pacific Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
- Larry Johnson, Professorial Lecturer at the Vienna Diplomatic Academy and formerly UN Assistant Secretary General for Legal Affairs.
- Zunetta Liddell, International human rights scholar, activist and advisor to civil society organisations in Myanmar.
- Chris Sidoti, founding member of the Special Advisory Council – Myanmar and formerly member of the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar
Panellists and audience members were tasked to produce a list of actions to resolve the inconsistencies in Myanmar’s representation at the UN. U Aung Myo Min described the list which the session produced as “excellent” and demanded that it is implemented. The list has been drafted by MAP and includes the following key actions.
- The people of Myanmar must be represented in all UN bodies in accordance with the UN Charter and the NUG is the legitimate representative of the people of Myanmar.
- The UN Office of Legal Affairs (OLA) should give a strong, clear, public opinion, reminding all UN bodies about the requirements of General Assembly resolution 396(V) of 1950. The resolution states that when the question of a State’s representation at the U.N. “becomes the subject of controversy … the attitude adopted by the General Assembly … should be taken into account” by other parts of the U.N.
- The General Assembly’s Credentials Committee should recommend to the General Assembly that it accept the credentials of the NUG when it meets in September this year, in accordance with its past practice when addressing the case of competing credentials of preferencing representatives of governments that have come to power by democratic and constitutional means.
- If the Credentials Committee recommends to the General Assembly that it again (as in 2021) defer its decision on Myanmar’s representation, it should make clear – as it has done in the past – that the deferral be “on the understanding that the current incumbent remains in place with all the rights and privileges as all the others”.
- Beyond the Credential Committee process, the General Assembly should pass a resolution, as it has done before for other similar contexts, explicitly recognising the NUG as the legitimate democratically elected government that represents the people of Myanmar, and calling upon on other bodies in the UN to accept the NUG as the legitimate representative of Myanmar and on States not to recognise any other government other than the NUG.
- UN member states which recognise the Guido administration in Venezuela must be consistent and recognise the NUG and let their officials take up office in their capitals.
- Irrespective of the prospect of veto from Russia and China, member States of the SC should put forward a resolution on Myanmar condemning the military coup and calling for the restoration of the democratically elected government
- Indonesia, as Chair of ASEAN next year, must show robust leadership on Myanmar for example on delivering humanitarian aid through all parties and implementing consistently its emerging policy of barring the junta from ASEAN meetings.
- UN agencies on the ground in Myanmar must coordinate aid with all sides, including with NUG and ethnic armed organisations, where necessary, across borders.
- The UN Secretary-General must lead a discussion on the humanitarian and political aspects of the Myanmar crisis and show leadership.
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