Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

Georgetown University’s Newspaper of Record since 1920

The Hoya

In Myanmar, U.N. Irrelevant Without China

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The U.N. General Assembly’s Third Committee – which addresses social, humanitarian and human rights issues – condemned Myanmar, formerly known as Burma, and North Korea last Thursday for the nations’ human rights abuses. It released two non-binding resolutions that express concerns about both countries’ infringements on a variety of civil, political and economic rights, as well as their use of practices including torture, forced labor and the inhumane treatment of prisoners. The new resolution on Myanmar is not the first of its kind that the General Assembly has passed; yet forced displacement, extrajudicial killings and the use of rape as a tool of war remain commonplace. Like its predecessors, Thursday’s resolution condemning Myanmar for its human rights violations will do nothing at all.

U.N. General Assembly resolutions are often nothing more than soft demonstrations of protest. Past resolutions have issued similar condemnations and proposals for redress in Myanmar: democratization, national reconciliation, increased availability of humanitarian aid and the release of political prisoners. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has also released reports concerning human rights and democracy in Myanmar, but to no avail. Myanmar’s military continues to conduct incursions into Myanmar’s ethnic minority regions, using “scorched earth” tactics to target ethnic minority populations. It allegedly conducts these campaigns in retribution for armed resistance by ethnic minority groups. Collective punishment of civilians, however, is frequent.

yanmar’s human rights violations will only escalate in the coming months. Myanmar’s 2008 constitution scheduled elections for 2010. Myanmar intends to demonstrate national unity behind, and therefore reinforce the popular legitimacy of, the military regime by these elections. Myanmar’s current constitution is radically flawed; it establishes a 25 percent quota for military participation in the new bicameral legislature, thus ensuring the impunity of Myanmar’s military regime. Myanmar’s regime intends to transform all ethnic minority insurgent groups into border guard forces by the elections, and thereby to de-escalate the conflict in the ethnic minority regions and legitimize the authority of Myanmar’s central government. The Myanmar military punishes uncooperative groups with the militarization of the groups’ representative regions, frequently causing mass civilian displacement and the destruction of civilian homes.

The U.N. resolutions and the reports can do little to stop the conflict in Myanmar’s ethnic minority regions. The Myanmar military regime’s xenophobia limits the impact of humanitarian aid, which is necessary as Myanmar society continues to rebuild in the aftermath of last year’s Cyclone Nargis. The International Labor Organization reported recently that the Myanmar regime has not limited the occurrence of forced labor, and regularly reports from Myanmar’s ethnic minority regions lamenting the increase in internally displaced persons and refugees along the Thailand-Myanmar border. The toothless condemnations of the U.N. General Assembly, however, continue to be ineffective in resolving this conflict and developing democracy and respect for human rights in Myanmar.

In order to ensure the security of Myanmar’s civilians, and the region as a whole, the U.N. Security Council must take charge. Accomplishing Security Council intervention in Myanmar’s affairs is admittedly difficult, largely as a result of China’s economic interests in Myanmar. Myanmar is a resource-rich country, with China as its primary client. China’s veto power on the Security Council prevents the prospect of constructive action, such as a global arms embargo or a U.N. commission of inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity, on the part of the U.N.’s most powerful body. China’s regional security concerns, however, have made China’s cooperation in such actions more likely. Myanmar’s militarization of the Shan State, an ethnic minority region, has destabilized the Sino-Myanmar border. The possibility of further destabilization in the months leading up to Myanmar’s 2010 elections could shift China away from using its veto on an arms embargo or commission of inquiry. Unless paralleled by a Security Council initiative endorsed by China, however, U.N. General Assembly resolutions will make no such progress.

Daniel Solomon is a freshman in the School of Foreign Service.

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