Joint Call for a Global Arms Embargo on Myanmar

An Open Letter to the UN Security Council and Individual UN Member States

We, the undersigned organizations, call on the United Nations Security Council and UN member states to urgently institute a coordinated, global arms embargo on Myanmar in response to the February 1, 2021 military coup that has deprived the people of Myanmar of the right to democratically elect their government. Our concerns are heightened by ongoing violations of human rights and the security forces’ history of grave abuses against peaceful critics of military rule, as well as against the Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups.

Under the commander-in-chief, Sr. Gen. Min Aung Hlaing, the Myanmar military has detained the elected civilian leaders of the country, nullified the results of the November 2020 democratic elections, and installed a junta, the State Administration Council, under a manufactured “state of emergency.” Since February 1, the junta has increasingly used excessive and at times lethal force at demonstrations; threatened and arbitrarily detained activists, journalists, students, and civil servants; and imposed rolling internet shutdowns that put lives at risk.

Days after the coup, UN Secretary-General António Guterres stated, “We will do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make sure that this coup fails.” The UN special rapporteur on Myanmar has called for targeted UN sanctions on the military and an arms embargo, while the deputy high commissioner for human rights has voiced support for targeted UN sanctions on the coup leaders.

In that spirit, we urge the Security Council to immediately impose a comprehensive arms embargo on Myanmar. Such a resolution should bar the direct and indirect supply, sale, or transfer of all weapons, munitions, and other military-related equipment, including dual-use goods such as vehicles and communications and surveillance equipment, as well as the provision of training, intelligence, and other military assistance. The embargo should be accompanied by robust monitoring and enforcement mechanisms.

Any sale or transfer of military-related equipment to Myanmar could provide the means to further repress the people of Myanmar in violation of international humanitarian and human rights law.

Until the Council acts, individual UN member states should adopt measures at the national and regional levels to block sales and other transfers of weapons and materiel to Myanmar, with the goal of extending an arms embargo to as close to a global scale as possible.

For decades, the Security Council’s response to crimes by the Myanmar security forces has been inadequate, emboldening the military to continue committing abuses without fear of serious consequences. The current crisis demands a change in course.

On February 4, the Security Council spoke with a single voice to demand the release of all those arbitrarily detained and the protection of the country’s democratic institutions. Council members should use that newfound consensus to take swift and substantive action. 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.

The time to act is now.

Signatories

1.         Access Now

2.         Advocacy Forum-Nepal

3.         AFL-CIO

4.         All Arakan Students’ and Youths’ Congress

5.         Arakan Information Center

6.         Arakan Rivers Network

7.         Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights

8.         ARTICLE 19

9.         ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights

10.      Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCAs

11.      Asia Democracy Network

12.      Asia Justice and Rights (AJAR)

13.      Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)

14.      Asian Human Rights Commission

15.      Asian Migrant Centre

16.      Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL)

17.      Asian Resource Foundation

18.      Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters

19.      Association of Women for Awareness and Motivation (AWAM)

20.      Australian Centre for International Justice

21.      Australian Lawyers for Human Rights

22.      BALAOD Mindanaw

23.      Bir Duino Kyrgyzstan

24.      Brotherhood For Democracy (BFD)

25.      Burma Campaign UK

26.      Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)

27.      Burmese Rohingya Association in Japan

28.      Burmese Rohingya Community in Australia

29.      Bytes For All

30.      Cambodian Center for Human Rights (CCHR)

31.      Cambodian Food And Service Workers Federation (CFSWF)

32.      Cambodian Human Rights and Development Association (ADHOC)

33.      Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO)

34.      Canadian Rohingya Development Initiative

35.      Center for Alliance of Labor and Human Rights (CENTRAL)

36.      Center for Peace Education, Miriam College

37.      Center for Social Integrity

38.      Centre for Human Rights and Development

39.      Centre for Peace and Justice, Brac University

40.      CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation

41.      Climate Change Working Group-Myanmar

42.      Colorful Girls

43.      Community Resource Centre Foundation (CRC)

44.      Cross Cultural Foundation

45.      CSW

46.      Dawei Pro Bono Lawyer Network

47.      Democracy, Peace and Women Organization

48.      DHEWA (Development for Health, Education, Work, and Awareness) Welfare Society

49.      Equality Myanmar

50.      Equitable Cambodia

51.      European Rohingya Council

52.      Federal Association of Vietnamese Refugees in the Federal Republic of Germany

53.      Fortify Rights

54.      Free Rohingya Coalition

55.      Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect

56.      Global Justice Center

57.      Global Witness

58.      Htoi Gender and Development Foundation

59.      Human Rights First

60.      Human Rights Foundation of Monland

61.      Human Rights Law Centre

62.      Human Rights Office-Sri Lanka

63.      Human Rights Watch

64.      Human Rights Without Frontiers

65.      Info Birmanie

66.      Innovation for Change Network

67.      Institute for Asian Democracy

68.      Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion

69.      International Campaign for the Rohingya

70.      International Movement of Catholic Students (IMCS), Asia Pacific

71.      International NGO Forum on Indonesian Development (INFID)

72.      International Rehabilitation Council for Torture Victims (IRCT)

73.      Jewish Alliance of Concern Over Burma

74.      Jubilee Australia

75.      Justice for All/Burma Task Force

76.      Justice for Myanmar

77.      Kachin State Women’s Network

78.      Karapatan Alliance Philippines

79.      Karen Human Rights Group

80.      KontraS Aceh

81.      Loka Ahlinn Social Development Organization

82.      Maldivian Democracy Network (MDN)

83.      MAP Foundation

84.      Medical Association for Prevention of War (Australia)

85.      Mekong Migration Network

86.      Mennonite Central Committee

87.      MeSheWe

88.      Mother Nature Cambodia

89.      Myanmar Human Rights Alliances Network (MHRAN)

90.      National Campaign for Sustainable Development Nepal

91.      Never Again Coalition

92.      New School for Democracy

93.      No Business With Genocide

94.      Nonviolence International

95.      Odhikar

96.      Olof Palme International Center

97.      OutRight Action International

98.      PAX

99.      Pax Christi Aotearoa New Zealand

100.   Pax Christi Australia

101.   Pax Christi International

102.   Pax Christi Korea

103.   Pax Christi Philippines

104.   People’s Empowerment Foundation

105.   People’s Watch

106.   Philippine Alliance of Human Rights Advocates (PAHRA)

107.   Progressive Voice

108.   Prosecute; don’t perpetrate

109.   Public Association “Dignity”

110.   Pusat KOMAS

111.   Refugees International

112.   Restless Beings

113.   Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights

114.   Rohingya Association of Canada

115.   Rohingya Human Rights Initiative

116.   Rohingya Today

117.   Rohingya Women Education Initiative

118.   Rohingya Youth for Legal Action

119.   Smile Foundation

120.   Swedish Burma Committee

121.   Taiwan Association for Human Rights

122.   Taiwan Forever Association (台灣永社)

123.   Tampadipa Institute

124.   The Arakan Project

125.   The May 18 Memorial Foundation

126.   The PLAN: Public Legal Aid Network

127.   The Swedish Rohingya Association

128.   Uniting Church in Australia, Synod of Victoria and Tasmania

129.   US Campaign for Burma

130.   Viet Tan

131.   Vietnamese Women for Human Rights

132.   Voice of Rohingya

133.   Win Without War

134.   World Federalist Movement/Institute for Global Policy

135.   World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT)

136.   YMCA Mandalay

137.   Youth Resource Development Program (YRDP)