Verbatim report of proceedings

Thursday, 7 October 2021 - Strasbourg

Human rights situation in Myanmar, including the situation of religious and ethnic groups

  Heidi Hautala, author. – Mr President, eight months have passed since the military organised the coup in Myanmar and the horrific human rights violations towards civilians – all civilians, including ethnic and religious minorities – continue.

The European Parliament should today reiterate that the only legitimate representatives of the democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar are the committee representing the sidelined Parliament, the CRPH, and the National Unity Government. We should encourage and demand that the EU representatives form a very close relationship with these two bodies.

Sanctions may not always have an immediate impact, but they are the best means that we have in our toolbox. So the European Parliament is today most likely to be calling for a fourth round of sanctions against those economic and financial entities that guarantee the money flows to the junta. We are talking about two state—owned banks, the Myanmar Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB) and the Myanmar Investment and Commercial Bank (MICB), through which all foreign currency is collected, and we need finally to add the state—owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE) to the list of sanctioned economic entities. And let us not forget the personal sanctions against those who have been perpetrators of the violence against the Rohingya minority. The European enterprises also have their responsibility, and that’s why they are prohibited from having any dealings with the sanctioned entities. We should call for very clear consequences and sanctions against the breaches of those sanctions.

Perhaps there is no quick fix to this terrible situation in Myanmar, but we should very much cooperate with international organisations. ASEAN has been a big hope, but unfortunately a very big disappointment as well. They do not seem to be able to recognise how important cooperation with the National Unity Government is, and I hope this will change in the forthcoming ASEAN Summit at the end of the month.