EU Presidency Statement - Human Rights in Myanmar

EU Presidency Introductory Statement by the UK Mission to the UN, on behalf of the European Union, on the SITUATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS IN MYANMAR, UN General Assembly Third Committee, New York

Mr. Chairperson,

On behalf of the European Union and all cosponsors (Albania, Canada, Croatia, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Romania, FYROM and Turkey,) I have the honour to introduce the draft resolution under agenda item 71 (c), entitled "The Situation of human rights in Myanmar", contained in document A/C.3/60/L.53.

[In addition, this resolution has also been co-sponsored by the following:…]

Mr. Chairperson, this resolution is the result of an ongoing consultative process between cosponsors and interested delegations, including the delegation of Myanmar. We thank all delegations involved for their constructive engagement in this process and we look forward to continuing to work with them by resuming ongoing discussions on the contents of the tabled draft.

In some areas, Mr. Chairperson, there have been some welcome developments in Myanmar and we have been happy to reflect them in this draft. Specifically, we are pleased to note continued efforts, in the form of the adoption in November 2004, of an outline Plan of Action, to address under age military recruitment and the use of child soldiers. Similarly, we are encouraged by the ratification by Myanmar of the United Nations Convention Against Transitional Organised Crime and two of its optional protocols - the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in persons, Especially Women and Children, and the protocol Against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea, and Air.

However, Mr. Chairman, the European Union remains gravely concerned by the human rights situation in Myanmar. Aung San Suu Kyi spent her 60th birthday under house arrest - one of more than 1,100 political prisoners in detention in Myanmar. At the hand of Myanmar government forces, ethnic communities remain the victims of forced labour, rape and other forms of sexual violence, extortion and expropriation. Prisoners face torture and ill treatment. We are also seriously concerned by the significantly reduced cooperation between Myanmar and the United Nations system. We deeply regret that the Secretary-General's Special Envoy has not been allowed to visit since March 2004, and the Special Rapporteur since November 2003. We firmly believe that Myanmar should view these important offices as a positive force to enable Myanmar to successfully complete its seven-point road map towards democratic transition. In this context, we are deeply concerned that the Secretary-General notes that the National Convention process has fallen short of satisfying the basic requirements of transparency and inclusiveness. This resolution attempts, inter alia, to take a forward-looking approach to enable Myanmar to address these and other violations of human rights and achieve an inclusive restoration of democracy. In this regard, this resolution requests the Secretary-General to offer technical assistance in enabling Myanmar to achieve these goals.

Mr. Chairperson, the sponsors look forward to working further with delegations on this text. We hope that after the completion of this consultative process, the General Assembly will again, as in previous years, adopt this resolution without a vote, as a sign of our concern and our solidarity with the people of Myanmar.

Thank you, Mr Chairperson.

| Top |

• EU Presidency Statement - Human Rights in Myanmar (18/11/2005)
• EU Presidency Re-introduction Statement - Human Rights in Myanmar (18/11/2005)
• EU Presidency Declaration on release of Burmese/Myanmar political prisoners (13/7/2005)
• Commission approves €4.5 million in humanitarian aid for North Korea and Myanmar (9/6/2005)
• EU Presidency declaration on the reconvening of the National Convention in Burma-Myanmar (16/2/2005)