Myanmar Military Rule: Call for global arms embargo

Fortify Rights and 136 other organisations have written an open letter, calling for the UN Security Council to institute a coordinated, global arms embargo against the Myanmar military that has taken control of power through a coup on February 1.

In the letter to the body and UN member states, they said the Security Council should break its long history of inaction on Myanmar and immediately respond to this crisis, Fortify Rights said in a statement yesterday.

Signatories to the open letter hail from 31 countries and include Fortify Rights, Human Rights Watch, and dozens of Myanmar-based as well as Rohingya-led organisations, demonstrating a level of inter-ethnic unity in the wake of the coup d'état in Myanmar.

In response to coup and detention of civilian leaders, millions of people joined nationwide general strike and street protests but state security forces have used lethal force against unarmed protesters, killing some protesters. As of February 22, more than 630 people are either evading arbitrary arrest or are currently in detention since the junta seized power.

The letter said Myanmar military is also responsible for mass atrocities and protracted human rights violations committed with impunity against the Rohingya and the Arakanese (Rakhine), Kachin, Shan, Karen, and other ethnic-nationality people.

In its 2017 genocidal offensive against the Rohingya, the military massacred untold civilians and forced nearly 800,000 to flee to Bangladesh. Myanmar authorities continue to confine more than 125,000 Rohingya and other Muslims to more than 20 internment camps, while several armed conflicts in the country are ongoing.

Fortify Rights said the UN Security Council already recognises humanitarian emergencies, atrocity crimes, military coups, and cross-border refugee crises as legitimate threats to international peace.

"There is no question that the Myanmar military poses a threat to international peace and security, even beyond this coup," said Matthew Smith. "The coup will only exacerbate existing crises in the country that threaten to spill over its borders."

Despite the Myanmar military's long-standing threats to peace and security, the UN Security Council has never used its authority under Chapter VII of the UN Charter with regard to Myanmar, the statement said.

On February 2, the Security Council convened an emergency meeting but failed to establish a common position on Myanmar. Later, the body issued a statement on the situation in Myanmar.

"Council members should use that newfound consensus to take swift and substantive action," the open letter said.

An arms embargo would be the centerpiece of a global effort to shield the people of Myanmar from a return to abusive and autocratic rule, it added.