Myanmar: Private Meeting
This afternoon (30 April), the Security Council will convene for a private meeting on Myanmar. Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar Julie Bishop and Special Envoy of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Chair on Myanmar Tan Sri Othman bin Hashim are expected to brief. The meeting was requested by the Republic of Korea (ROK) and the UK, the penholder on the file.
Today’s meeting will take place approximately one month after two powerful earthquakes struck central Myanmar on 28 March, causing widespread destruction and major loss of life in one of the worst natural disasters in the country’s history. According to a 28 April update from the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the earthquakes killed 3,800 people, injured 5,100 more, and resulted in extensive damage to schools, hospitals, homes, roads, and bridges. Over 6.3 million people currently require urgent humanitarian aid in the hardest hit areas, including water, sanitation and hygiene support, food assistance, and emergency shelter and critical household items.
The earthquakes have had an impact on the conflict in Myanmar and the already dire humanitarian situation in the country. In the immediate aftermath, the National Unity Government (NUG)—an alliance of politicians ousted in the February 2021 coup—declared a unilateral temporary ceasefire in order to facilitate the delivery of humanitarian aid, and were later joined by several major opposition groups who made similar announcements. Shortly afterwards, the military announced that it would also observe a temporary ceasefire for a three-week period, beginning on 2 April. In a 3 April statement, UN Secretary-General António Guterres welcomed the announcements of temporary ceasefires, noting that they are “essential to help aid flow and let rescuers do their jobs” and calling for rapid and unimpeded humanitarian access to those most in need.
Although the Council did not meet following the earthquakes, on 4 April, Council members issued a press statement on their impact, which was the first Council product on the Myanmar file since resolution 2669 was adopted in December 2022. Among other matters, the press statement recognised the need to scale up immediate and rapid humanitarian assistance, reaffirmed the importance of a safe and conducive environment to the timely and effective delivery of such assistance, and welcomed the ceasefire announcements. It also took note of two statements issued by ASEAN foreign ministers on 29 and 30 March. It appears that negotiations over the press statement were contentious, with members divided over whether the focus should be only on the earthquakes and the humanitarian response, or if it should also include language on the broader situation in the country. In an apparent compromise, a reference to Bishop and her call for the cessation of violence was removed from the press statement in order to achieve consensus. Members also disagreed over a reference to full, safe, and unhindered humanitarian access, which was apparently replaced by text highlighting the importance of a safe and conducive environment to humanitarian assistance.
Despite announcing a temporary ceasefire, the military appears to have continued conducting military operations in earthquake-affected areas, including airstrikes and artillery bombardments. In an 11 April statement, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ravina Shamdasani said that the military had carried out dozens of attacks since the ceasefire was declared, several of which struck areas impacted by the earthquakes. The statement also suggested that the military had restricted the flow of humanitarian aid to some areas held by opposition groups, saying that “areas at the epicentre of the quake in Sagaing, particularly those controlled by the military’s opponents, have had to rely on local community responses” and calling for further support for those efforts. According to a recent media report, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) received reports of 172 attacks launched by the military between 28 March and 24 April, 73 of which occurred in areas affected by the earthquakes. At today’s meeting, several Council members are likely to highlight the importance of unhindered humanitarian access and call for the temporary ceasefire to be upheld and respected. Some members may also express concern about the effects that funding shortfalls might have on the humanitarian response in Myanmar, particularly following the 14 March announcement by the World Food Programme (WFP) that more than a million people in Myanmar will be cut off from food assistance due to funding gaps.
Bishop is likely to update Council members on the broader political context in Myanmar, the earthquakes’ impact on the overall humanitarian situation in the country, and her recent engagements in the region. In discussing the effects of the earthquakes, Bishop may elaborate on some of the points in her 31 March statement, which noted that the earthquakes “laid bare” the vulnerabilities of Myanmar’s people, highlighted the importance of unimpeded access to affected populations “regardless of territorial control”, and called on the parties to the conflict to immediately cease hostilities and focus on protecting civilians and delivering life-saving assistance. She is also expected to report on her mid-April visit to Myanmar, where she met with the military’s foreign minister Than Swe and other military officials, as well as her recent visits to Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, and Thailand. Members may also be interested in hearing more about possible avenues for cooperation between Bishop and Hashim during today’s meeting.
Hashim—a Malaysian diplomat appointed to serve as Special Envoy for the ASEAN Chair on Myanmar after Malaysia assumed ASEAN’s rotating chairmanship for 2025 on 1 January—will be briefing Council members for the first time. He is expected to provide an update on his activities since being appointed. According to media reports, in mid-February Hashim travelled to Naypyidaw, where he was scheduled to meet with senior military officials. Shortly after this visit, Hashim reportedly met with representatives of several opposition groups, including the NUG, in Bangkok. Council members are also likely to be interested in hearing from Hashim regarding Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s mid-April meetings in Bangkok with Min Aung Hlaing, the leader of Myanmar’s military, and his videoconference with Mahn Win Khaing Than, the NUG prime minster, which took place on 17 and 18 April respectively. Following the meetings, Ibrahim told reporters that both sides had indicated they would continue the temporary ceasefire. On 22 April, Myanmar state media reported that the military had extended the ceasefire until 30 April. These meetings came several weeks after Min Aung Hlaing attended a 3 April meeting of the Bay of Bengal Initiative for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation (BIMSTEC) in Bangkok. The visit, which was Min Aung Hlaing’s first to a country other than Belarus, China, or Russia since he attended an ASEAN summit in Indonesia in April 2021, was condemned by the NUG and other opposition groups.
Council members might also refer to the military’s 31 January announcement purporting to extend its state of emergency declaration for an additional six months, as well as its plans to hold elections in December 2025 or January 2026. The NUG has strongly criticised the proposed elections, describing them as unlawful and saying that they “will only lead to violence and threaten regional stability”. According to media reports, the NUG has also prepared a 12-point plan for opposing the vote. At this afternoon’s meeting, members may be interested in hearing from Hashim regarding ASEAN’s position on the military’s proposed elections.
Council members are also expected to use today’s meeting as an opportunity to discuss the draft resolution on Myanmar first circulated by the UK in late August 2024. Some members may seek the views of both Envoys on what would be helpful for them in a Council resolution. While several members are supportive of this resolution and greater Council engagement on the file, including more regular meetings held in an open format, it seems that it has been opposed by China with support from Russia, which have apparently both refused to engage on the text in negotiations involving all Council members.
