United Nations General Assembly voted to stop weapons from flowing into Myanmar

The United Nations calls on member states to “stop the flow of weapons into Myanmar” and release Aung San Suu Kyi and other imprisoned leaders to make a symbolic but sharp global condemnation of the military government of Min Aung Lai.

The UN General Assembly passed the resolution on Friday by a majority of 119 countries. Only one country-Belarus-voted against the resolution, with China, Russia and 34 other countries abstaining. China argues that external pressure may exacerbate the situation, but it does not rule out the implementation of an arms embargo in the future.

The text is non-binding, and its wording has been softened during negotiations with some regional neighbors of Myanmar. But diplomats and human rights organizations say that this effort marks the international community’s attempt to isolate the military government as some countries seek to establish contact with the general.

“This is a setback for the military government,” said Richard Gowan, the UN director of the International Crisis Group, adding that the General Assembly, the UN decision-making body of 193 member states, weighed the coup as “very unusual”. “Generals and their allies will find it difficult to tell the world that their takeover is now just a fact of life that everyone should accept.”

Human Rights Watch UN Director Louis Shabono said that given the “very strong” support at the General Assembly on Friday, the UN Security Council should now “strengthen” and impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar.

The 15-member United Nations Security Council, whose decisions are binding on member states, discussed the Myanmar issue on Friday, but has not yet considered an arms embargo.

“Today’s vote seems to indicate that China has not yet joined the military government,” Shabono said, adding that he hopes that Beijing will not block the UN Security Council arms embargo.

The crisis in Myanmar was caused by the military overthrowing the government of Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1. Overwhelming victory She won the support of the National League for Democracy in the November election.

According to the Political Prisoners Aid Association (Myanmar), a human rights organization, at least 865 people have been killed and more than 6,000 have been arrested since the coup.

Within weeks of the coup, the Myanmar military suppressed large-scale peaceful protests. Recently, the scope of violent incidents has expanded to include conflicts between military forces in some of the country’s minority states and urban anti-regime guerrillas or armed groups.

Burmese leader On trial This week in Nay Pyi Taw, she faced multiple criminal charges, which her lawyers and human rights organizations said were fabricated in order to prevent her from seeking public office again.

Human rights organizations and civil society activists in Myanmar urged the United Nations to take action and described the arms embargo as one of the best measures the international community could take to prevent bloodshed in the country.

However, so far, diplomats believe that the probability of a Security Council resolution being passed is very small because the permanent members China with RussiaThe Myanmar military’s two largest weapons suppliers have veto powers.

At the time of the vote, some neighboring countries of Myanmar are establishing contact with military government officials, which has angered anti-coup activists who want the world to isolate the military government and deprive it of income.

ASEAN, a 10-member Southeast Asian group to which Myanmar belongs, held an online meeting of defense ministers with a regime official attended this week, and US Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin also participated in the meeting. The ASEAN member states diverged in the UN vote on Friday. Brunei, Cambodia, Laos and Thailand all abstained, while most countries including Indonesia, Singapore and Vietnam supported it.

United Nations, ChinaAnd ASEAN have become targets of anti-coup protesters, they Burn the flag of ASEAN During the Yangon protests this week.The EU agreed on a Five points of consensus The violence in Myanmar eased, but the anti-coup camp was angered by inviting Min Aung Lai to the agreed summit.