Republic of the Union of Myanmar
National Unity Government
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Statement (7/2022)
Statement addressing the exclusion of the United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar from the ASEAN Consultative Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar
9 May 2022
- National Unity Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar addresses the exclusion of the United Nations Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, Dr. Noeleen Heyzer, from the ASEAN Consultative Meeting on Humanitarian Assistance to Myanmar, held in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, on 6 May 2022.
- The Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar is a crucial actor. The cancellation of Dr. Heyzer’s participation in the Consultative Meeting – after having been earlier invited – is yet another insult against the United Nations (UN). The absence of UN action on Myanmar has long been defended with the argument that ASEAN efforts under the Five Point Consensus are sufficient. Now the UN has found its own envoy shut out. Given the Consultative Meeting’s unacceptable outcomes and its complete disregard of humanitarian principles, injury has been added to insult.
- The National Unity Government welcomes the disappointment expressed by H.E. Dato’ Sri Saifuddin Abdullah, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, at Dr. Heyzer’s exclusion. Foreign Minister Saifuddin has also powerfully pressed that the number of persons killed and unlawfully detained by the illegal military junta in Myanmar outstrips other conflicts such as Syria and Yemen.
- The National Unity Government stands ready to strengthen its engagement and partnership with ASEAN and its Member States.
- The National Unity Government also extends its continuing support to the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar, and expresses its deep appreciation to Dr. Heyzer for her engagement with the National Unity Government and local Myanmar stakeholders on the provision of ASEAN humanitarian assistance to Myanmar. Dr. Heyzer’s 3 May 2022 public statement rightly identifies:
- the need for the utmost respect of international humanitarian law and humanitarian principles
- that urgently needed humanitarian aid must not be instrumentalised for political purposes
- that military infrastructure must not be legitimised through aid delivery; and
- the need not only for more donor funding but also for donor flexibility to support local humanitarian actors and networks with access to hard-to-reach conflict-affected areas, including internally displaced people, border communities, and civilians affected by conflict, including in urban areas.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
National Unity Government