Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya at the UN General Assembly meeting on Myanmar

Statement by the Permanent Representative of Ukraine to the UN Sergiy Kyslytsya at the UN General Assembly meeting on Myanmar

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Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at the UN General Assembly meeting on Myanmar

(February 26, 2021)

Mr. President,

Before I make a statement in my national capacity, while we align ourselves with the statement delivered by the European Union, I do salute my colleague, Ambassador of Myanmar for his courage and appeal on behalf of his people.

Ukraine is deeply concerned about the situation in Myanmar. The election of November 2020 was an important milestone in the path towards democratic transition. The will of the people must be respected and any disputes with regard to validity and credibility of the results have to be resolved by peaceful means.

We are also deeply concerned about the detention of Myanmar’s political leaders, civil society activists, human rights defenders, journalists and media workers. We call for an immediate and unconditional release of all those detained, to end the state of emergency, as well as to restore the rule of law.

The reports of the ongoing violence, intimidation and harassment by security forces, as well as the restrictions on information flows, are alarming. Civilians, including civil society and the media, must not be subject to reprisals in any form.

It is paramount to ensure respect for country`s international human rights obligations, including freedom of opinion and expression, association and peaceful assembly.

We also call for safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to all people in need, including the Rohingya and other minorities.

We echo the UN Secretary-General’s recent call on the Myanmar military to stop the repression immediately, including the use of lethal force, intimidation and harassment against peaceful demonstrators.

Ukraine expresses its support to the activities of regional organizations, in particular the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Special Envoy of the Secretary-General on Myanmar for her good offices.

In this regard, we underline the importance to allow the Special Envoy, Ms. Christine Schraner Burgener, to visit Myanmar to assess the situation on the ground.

Ukraine knows how painful it is when a choice of people is stolen by a corrupt regime, hence we stay strong with the democratic forces of Myanmar, its people who are entitled to live according to their choice under the leadership they elect.

I commend the brave statement of the Ambassador of Myanmar and reiterate our offer of friendship that I made to him during our conversation when he arrived to New York.

I recall that an important country of the Security Council paid a visit to Myanmar a fortnight before the military coup and we would like to hear from it if they can exercise their influence on the military regime to return the country to the path of democracy as they had meetings with its military leadership during the visit.

Thank you.