A Ukrainian-style approach is needed for the Myanmar army: UN expert | News

The UN rapporteur called for sanctions and an arms embargo, saying that Russian weapons are being used against the people of Myanmar.

An independent United Nations expert said Russian weapons used in Ukraine have also killed people in Myanmar, and urged countries at the UN to form a coalition to put pressure on Myanmar’s military rulers – as they did after Moscow’s invasion of Ukraine. .

A coalition of countries should target the Myanmar military with sanctions and an arms embargo, the UN Special Rapporteur for Myanmar Human Rights Tom Andrews said on Wednesday.

“Some types of weapons used to kill people in Ukraine are used to kill the people of Myanmar. They come from the same source — they come from Russia,” Andrews told reporters in New York.

“The international community must coordinate efforts to target them and then work together to implement these measures,” Andrews said. Said.

“It’s not being done now. It’s not that we don’t know how. We know how to do it. If you want a playbook, look at Ukraine.”

Russia is among Myanmar’s largest arms suppliers and has been among the few proponents of the country’s military government since it launched a coup in 2021.

More than 2,300 people have been killed in Myanmar since the military cracked down on dissidents after the coup, and it was reported this week that scores of civilians were killed in a military airstrike in northern Kachin State on Sunday.

“The pattern of the international community’s response to this horror has not changed,” Andrews said of the situation at home.

“The world is failing the people of Myanmar, there is no doubt to me,” he said. “There is a leadership vacuum in the UN and in the international community,” he said.

After Andrews briefed the UN General Assembly Human Rights Committee earlier on Wednesday, Russia’s Deputy Ambassador to the UN, Gennady Kuzmin, questioned the rapporteur’s report and said it was “generally not supported by facts”.

“It is not for you to say whose guns are killing civilians, the elderly, women, children all over the world. You have been appointed as the Special Rapporteur for Myanmar, so deal with Myanmar instead of Ukraine,” Kuzmin told the committee.

Myanmar has been in crisis since the military dismissed Aung San Suu Kyi’s elected government in February 2021, detained her and other officials, and launched a bloody crackdown on protests and other forms of opposition.

The UN Security Council has long been divided over Myanmar, and diplomats say China and Russia will likely protect military leaders from strong action like sanctions.

Earlier this month, the US imposed sanctions, accusing a group of Myanmar businessmen and companies of supplying Russian-made weapons to the military leadership.

The US Treasury said that the owners of Dynasty International, Aung Moe Myint and Hlaing Moe Myint, and the director of the company, Myo Titsar, were blacklisted for sanctions for supplying weapons and aircraft for the military administration in Belarus.

The United Kingdom last month proposed to the Security Council a draft resolution calling for an end to all violence in Myanmar, threatening sanctions and calling on the military to release all political prisoners.

A revised draft was submitted to the 15-member body this week. It was not immediately clear when the resolution could be voted on.

Andrews also accused Malaysia of deporting dozens of Myanmar nationals on Wednesday and said they would “face torture and, most likely, execution”.

Malaysian authorities did not respond to requests for comment on the reported deportations.

“This is outrageous. This is unacceptable and a grave violation of international law,” he said.

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