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Report (The UK Government's Response to the Myanmar Crisis) House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee The UK Government’s Response to the Myanmar Crisis Fourth Report of Session 2021–22 Report, together with formal minutes relating to the report Ordered by the House of Commons to be printed 13 July 2021 HC 203 Published on 16 July 2021 by authority of the House of Commons The Foreign Affairs Committee The Foreign Affairs Committee is appointed by the House of Commons to examine the expenditure, administration, and policy of the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office and its associated public bodies. Current membership Tom Tugendhat MP (Conservative, Tonbridge and Malling) (Chair) Chris Bryant MP (Labour, Rhondda) Neil Coyle MP (Labour, Bermondsey and Old Southwark) Alicia Kearns MP (Conservative, Rutland and Melton) Stewart Malcolm McDonald MP (Scottish National Party, Glasgow South) Andrew Rosindell MP (Conservative, Romford) Bob Seely MP (Conservative, Isle of Wight) Henry Smith MP (Conservative, Crawley) Royston Smith MP (Conservative, Southampton, Itchen) Graham Stringer MP (Labour, Blackley and Broughton) Claudia Webbe MP (Independent, Leicester East) Powers The Committee is one of the departmental select committees, the powers of which are set out in House of Commons Standing Orders, principally in SO No 152. These are available on the internet via www.parliament.uk. Publication © Parliamentary Copyright House of Commons 2021. This publication may be reproduced under the terms of the Open Parliament Licence, which is published at www.parliament.uk/site-information/copyright-parliament/. Committee reports are published on the Committee’s website at www.parliament.uk/facom and in print by Order of the House. Committee staff The current staff of the Committee are, Lauren Boyer (Clerk), Clare Genis (Committee Operations Manager), Jonathan Hibbert-Hingston (Committee Specialist), James Jennion (Committee Specialist), Danniella Kinder (Committee Support Apprentice), Alice Lynch (Committee Specialist), Antonia McAndrew-Noon (Media and Communications Officer), Chris Shaw (Clerk), Daniela Sindrestean (Committee Operations Officer), Hannah Stone (Senior Committee Specialist). Contacts All correspondence should be addressed to the Clerk of the Foreign Affairs Committee, House of Commons, London SW1A 0AA. The telephone number for general enquiries is 020 7219 6106; the Committee’s email address is [email protected]. You can follow the Committee on Twitter using @CommonsForeign. The UK Government’s Response to the Myanmar Crisis 1 Contents Summary 3 1 Introduction 4 2 Diplomatic and multilateral action 6 The National Unity Government (NUG) 6 Arms embargo 8 ASEAN 8 Other UN measures 9 3 Sanctions 11 4 Humanitarian support 13 5 Accountability and transparency 15 The international legal system 15 Journalists 15 The International Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar 16 6 Myanmar nationals in the UK 17 7 Conclusion 18 Conclusions and recommendations 19 Formal minutes 23 Witnesses 24 Published written evidence 25 List of Reports from the Committee during the current Parliament 27 The UK Government’s Response to the Myanmar Crisis 3 Summary The situation in Myanmar (Burma) is grave. The Myanmar military, the Tatmadaw, is continuing its violent crackdown on protestors, which has led to hundreds of deaths and thousands of disappearances. A crisis of this scale requires swift, coordinated action, and the many thousands of people who have been displaced by the violence urgently require humanitarian assistance. The UK holds a number of unique roles and responsibilities which allow it to lead on preventing further violence and ensuring essential humanitarian support reaches those who need it. The Government has taken some strong measures in response to the coup and the violence, but there is much more that it can do. In this report we recommend a number of actions the UK Government should take to help reduce the violence against civilians. At a time when the Government is planning greater engagement with the Indo-Pacific, Myanmar presents a test of how effective our policy in the region can be. We recommend that the Government take further steps to secure a binding arms embargo on Myanmar, widen its sanctions approach to include a much broader range of people and organisations, provide humanitarian and logistical support to ethnic advocacy and media organisations, and take steps to ensure that those perpetrating these crimes will face justice in the future. Effective mediation in Myanmar requires concrete action. Failure to do so in the past has led to the crisis we see today. Failure to do so in the future will only lead to further violence, instability and loss of life. 4 The UK Government’s Response to the Myanmar Crisis 1 Introduction 1. In February 2021, the Myanmar military staged a coup which led to the deposition and detention of the country’s democratically elected representatives, and the military taking control of the country. The protests and violence that have followed the coup have led to hundreds of deaths, thousands of disappearances, and tens to hundreds of thousands of displaced people. Evidence from diaspora groups paints a harrowing picture: many speak of family members who have been unlawfully detained and many others who are beyond contact.1 2. The Tatmadaw2 staged this coup and declared a state of national emergency following their claims that the 2020 General Election was compromised by mass voter fraud. It has provided no evidence for these claims.3 The election has been found by international observers to “reflect the true will of the electorate”.4 3. While there has been much international condemnation of the coup and the military junta’s violence against protestors, there has been little substantial action taken. Months on from the coup, clear proof that the junta is committing serious crimes against the Myanmar people continues to surface regularly. Statements of condemnation have not and will not prevent these crimes—only clear action will. 4. The need for this action is urgent. Dr Sasa, the Minister for International Cooperation in the democratically elected National Unity Government (NUG), said: It is a pivotal movement in our history. The darkest hour in our history which was heading to the great civil war and genocide. Some 54 million brave people of Myanmar are facing the cruellest military junta.5 The UK has a unique role to play. As the United Nations Security Council ‘penholder’ on Myanmar, and as an accepted Dialogue Partner to the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN),6 there are several fronts on which the UK can exert further diplomatic influence. This crisis is also a major test of the effectiveness of the UK’s tilt to the Indo- Pacific region, as announced in the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy.7 If the Government is serious about building its influence in the region it should show a willingness to take moral leadership and prevent further conflict and loss of life. This report sets out what more the UK Government could and should do. 1 NUG Campaign UK (MYA0035) para 8 2 Although the military is called the Tatmadaw, we generally use the term ‘junta’ throughout this report, recognising that the military’s control is illegitimate and achieved only through force. The junta have threatened legal action against foreign news organisations using this term, evidencing the regime’s insecurity and the effectiveness of publicly questioning their legitimacy. See: Reuters, Myanmar’s army rulers threaten those who call them junta, 30 June 2021 3 BBC News, Myanmar election: No evidence fraud in 2020 vote, observers say, 17 May 2021 4 Asian Network for Free Elections, ANFREL RELEASES 2020 MYANMAR GENERAL ELECTIONS FINAL OBSERVATION MISSION REPORT, 17 May 2021 5 Q3 [Dr Sasa] 6 Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (MYA0020) para 23 7 HM Government, Global Britain in a Competitive Age: the Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy, March 2021, p 66 The UK Government’s Response to the Myanmar Crisis 5 Box 1: Explainer: Penholders and Dialogue Partners The Penholder System: The Security Council ‘penholder’ on a specific country is responsible for drafting outcomes, holding emergency meetings, organising debates, and chairing negotiations over drafts and speaking first whenever the Council discusses the issue. The UK is the penholder for Myanmar. ASEAN Dialogue Partner: Dialogue Partner status is conferred to countries with strong ties to ASEAN, but which are located outside of Southeast Asia. The Government considers Dialogue Partner status to “give the UK high-level access to ASEAN reinforced by deeper practical cooperation” and “further build the UK’s strong relationships across the ASEAN region”. Source: Security Council Report, The Penholder System, 21 December 2018; Gov.uk, UK seeks to boost ties with Southeast Asia through ASEAN, 5 June 2020 5. In this short inquiry, we held a single oral evidence session. We received 55 submissions, publishing 36.8 We are grateful to all those who gave evidence. 6. Chapter 2 of this report addresses the multilateral and diplomatic action required of the UK Government. Chapter 3 addresses measures needed to strengthen the UK’s approach to sanctions. Chapter 4 outlines the steps needed to ensure adequate humanitarian support reaches those affected by the crisis. Chapter 5 explores ways of holding the junta accountable in the future, and Chapter 6 outlines measures to support Myanmar nationals in the UK. 8 Those withheld from publication were at the
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