UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar Tom Andrews’ will release a report documenting how and why actions by Member States to pressure the military junta of Myanmar, including through the imposition of economic sanctions, are failing.
According to a media advisory, Andrews will be speaking at a press conference on Wednesday, May 17, 2023, at 11 am., at the media briefing room, United Nations Headquarters in New York and online.
Arms dealers and other entities linked to the military junta are able to easily circumvent sanctions, for example, by using front companies or creating new ones.
The report exposes the result: over $1 billion USD worth of arms, dual use goods, raw materials, and manufacturing equipment have been transferred to the junta since the coup.
The report identifies many of the major networks and companies involved in these transfers and the jurisdictions in which they operate, namely Russia, China, Singapore, Thailand, and India.
The report includes a series of recommendations to defend the human rights of the people of Myanmar by cutting off the junta’s key sources of revenue.