During the 56th Session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, held from 18 June to 12 July 2024, discussions on Myanmar were organized in the absence of the country-concerned which is against the fundamental principles of constructive dialogue and cooperation of the Council. The Council also adopted the draft resolution on Myanmar tabled by the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) during the session.
Although the Government of Myanmar has provided the requested information, the report and the presentation of the High Commissioner disproportionately highlight narratives from the armed groups and terrorists, distorting the findings and undermining the credibility of the report. It is observed that the report insufficiently addresses the grave violations committed against local communities by AA armed groups, which trigger ethnic and religious tensions. It also downplays terrorist acts of other armed-groups that oppose the Government.
The presentation of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar obviously aims to ostracize Myanmar from the international community. During the Interactive Dialogue, the Special Rapporteur has echoed the allegations and narratives propagated by subversive media outlets, armed ethnic insurgent groups and terrorists affiliated with the National Unity Government (NUG) and the PDF. Those terrorist groups claimed the lives of over 7,800 innocent civilians from February 2021 to June 2024. Instead of condemning the terrorist acts and outrageous behaviours of these unlawful entities, the Special Rapporteur encourages international community to engage with these unlawful entities, thereby undermining Myanmar’s efforts to uphold peace and security for all its citizens.
The irresponsible conference room papers released by the Special Rapporteur, mischaracterize legitimate banking transactions of Myanmar as if they were facilitating military activities, are deeply misleading. The papers unjustly call for unilateral sanctions against Myanmar, neglecting the possible severe socioeconomic impact on the people of Myanmar.
The failure of the successive resolutions including the recent one tabled by OIC to address the root cause of the tragic incident in northern Rakhine State in 2017 demonstrates their lack of true and meaningful approach to resolving the issue. The allegations contained in the resolution, including unsubstantiated claims against state security forces and hate speech, do not literally reflect the realities on the ground.
The Government has been striving its all-out efforts for peace, stability and prosperity in the country, including the preparations for holding the free and fair multiparty democratic general elections in 2025. The Government has also been facilitating the field presence, visits and relocation of the staff requested by the UN agencies at its best.
Myanmar consistently opposes country-specific mandates and resolutions as well as their follow-up interactive dialogues that do not contribute to constructive dialogue and cooperation. Myanmar calls on the Human Rights Council to uphold the principles of impartiality in its engagements with member states without undermining national sovereignty and obstructing genuine efforts towards peace, stability, and democratization of the country.
Myanmar’s specific responses to the separate Interactive Dialogues with the High Commissioner for Human Rights, and the so-called Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, as well as the resolution tabled by OIC can be found on the websites of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Permanent Mission of Myanmar in Geneva.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Nay Pyi Taw