BANGKOK: The United Nations (UN) must respond decisively to a call made by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) for support in implementing the stalled Five-Point Consensus (5PC) on Myanmar by adopting complementary mechanisms.
The Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M) said the UN should ensure no participation of military representatives throughout the UN system.
In a statement, founding member of the SAC-M Marzuki Darusman said the frustration of Asean leaders with Myanmar junta chief Min Aung Hlaing’s intransigence is evident as his military continues to threaten the security and stability of the region with utter contempt for all efforts made to appeal to him.
“UN must respond to Asean’s calls by using enforceable mechanisms to advance accountability for Myanmar and exert all possible pressure on the junta.
“Asean cannot deal with the junta alone,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Chris Sidoti of SAC-M said Asean must urgently recognise that the junta simply cannot be given any involvement in the means and methods of humanitarian assistance to Myanmar to alleviate a humanitarian crisis that the junta itself has caused and continues to deliberately exacerbate for political and military gain.
“The approach taken by UN agencies must also be reviewed accordingly.
“The role of the National Unity Government, Ethnic Resistance Organisations and local actors in delivering essential services to people across the country must be recognised and empowered,” he said.
Founding member of SAC-M Yanghee Lee said Asean’s decisiveness to ban the junta from high-level meetings must not be undermined by UN bodies or representatives.
She said it is the most decisive step Asean has taken to date.
“Asean has expressly denied the junta recognition and the international community must follow. Min Aung Hlaing is the leader of a brutal murderous armed force and nothing more – Asean has made that clear. Junta representatives must be banned from all Asean meetings,” she said.
To date, Asean has still not engaged with the National Unity Government of Myanmar.
The current situation in Myanmar, was extensively deliberated by Asean leaders during the 41st Asean Summit on Friday.
The leaders, in a statement, said the 5PC shall remain a valid reference in finding a solution for Myanmar and should be implemented in its entirety.
They also stated that there was a need for an implementation plan to outline concrete, practical, and measurable indicators with specific timeline to support the 5PC, while Asean shall also consider exploring other approaches that could support the implementation of the 5PC, among others, in bid to restore peace and stability in Myanmar. - Bernama
