To Members of the United Nations Security Council

1 February 2024

Re: Urgent call for swift action against the military junta to end its war of terror and protect civilians in Myanmar

Your Excellencies,

As we mark the third anniversary of the Myanmar military junta’s coup attempt on 1 February 2021, we, 462 civil society organizations, express in the strongest terms our utmost disappointment in the ineffectiveness and inaction of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) in response to the military junta’s war of terror against the people of Myanmar. We urgently call on the UNSC to act in accordance with its mandate for peace and security and take concrete actions against the Myanmar military junta. These actions must reflect the gravity of the mass atrocity crimes committed by the junta for which the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights has called on the UNSC to, among other measures, refer the crisis in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court.

We find that the UNSC’s adoption of Resolution 2669, which passed its one-year mark in December 2023, not only came too little and far too late – after decades of atrocities by the Myanmar military – but also produced no concrete progress towards halting the military’s genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity, which have only intensified since the adoption of the resolution.

Since its adoption, the military junta has launched at least 909 airstrikes,[1] killing more than 364 civilians including scores of children, and torched nearly 80,000 houses. Over the last year, it is undeniable that the military junta’s violence has become more targeted against civilian populations with blatant attacks on villages, towns, internally displaced persons (IDPs) camps, religious sites where IDPs were seeking refuge, schools, and hospitals. Since the coup attempt, the military junta has killed at least 4,450 people and arrested more than 25,900 people, with more than 19,900 individuals still detained, including President U Win Myint and State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi. Inhuman conditions, ill treatment, torture, sexual and gender-based violence, and extrajudicial killings remain ubiquitous in junta-controlled prisons and detention centers.

Furthermore, the military junta has insisted on a pilot repatriation project for the Rohingya, despite the UNSC expressing concern that the situation in Myanmar poses challenges for a safe, voluntary, sustainable, and dignified return. Resolution 2669 does not recognize the Myanmar military as a government or a de facto authority to carry out such a repatriation project. A sustainable, safe, and dignified return of Rohingya is impossible while the illegitimate Myanmar military junta continues to conduct a nationwide campaign of terror, including in Rakhine State where many more Rohingya are being forced to flee overland and by sea – with 2023 being the deadliest year for Rohingya’s sea crossings since 2014.

Your Excellencies,

The UNSC has wrongly relied on ASEAN and its failed Five-Point Consensus (5PC), instead of upholding its responsibility to pursue meaningful and effective measures to address the military’s unprecedented violence targeting civilians. This approach has only proven harmful to Myanmar’s people – all the while civil society has repeatedly called out its total ineffectiveness. ASEAN’s futile 5PC has only served to allow the junta to buy time and continue its war of terror, and the world to evade taking concrete, meaningful action. Even though Myanmar’s crisis is an ongoing threat to regional peace and stability, ASEAN has shown time and again that it lacks the political will and institutional capacity to address the unfathomable devastation in Myanmar caused by the military junta. For the two and a half years since the adoption of the 5PC, this approach has failed to yield any meaningful results, and the people of Myanmar have paid the price. The time is long overdue for the UNSC and the wider international community to take the lead – no longer deferring to ASEAN – and act decisively to end the junta’s widespread, systematic violence and atrocity crimes.

Today, dire humanitarian needs are alarmingly increasing across the country, with more than 2.6 million people having been displaced – a number that is likely a gross underestimation given the military junta’s intensified attacks on civilians and constraints on access to IDP communities. Civil society has repeatedly called on international actors, including ASEAN, UN agencies, and international non-governmental organizations, to cease any attempts at partnership with the junta in the name of humanitarian aid. Partnering with the military junta only exacerbates the crisis at hand, including by allowing the junta to continue to block aid from reaching the populations under its attacks. While fueling the junta’s notorious weaponization of aid, partnering with the junta also undercuts the effective and efficient work of countless local frontline humanitarians, as well as civil society organizations, community-based organizations, and ethnic organizations providing lifesaving assistance on the ground.

Excellencies, the UN’s and ASEAN’s continued push for dialogue involving the military junta fails to acknowledge the Myanmar military as the root cause of the crisis, thus empowering the junta to continue to commit atrocity crimes with complete impunity and prolonging its oppression of the people. Further, pursuing dialogue with the military junta, while enabling its ongoing war of terror against the people, only undermines the Myanmar people’s unprecedented sacrifices and efforts to build genuine federal democracy from the ground up.

On the third anniversary of the Myanmar military junta’s attempted coup, we are reminded once again of the absence of substantial, meaningful actions from the international community to stop the military’s genocide, war crimes, and crimes against humanity – ongoing for decades against ethnic communities and being committed with greater intensity against Myanmar’s people today.

Thus, without delay, we call on the UNSC to live up to its mandate and fulfill its primary responsibility to protect the people of Myanmar by urgently adopting a new resolution under the Chapter VII of the UN Charter. Such a resolution must require a referral of the crisis in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or the establishment of an ad hoc tribunal; a comprehensive global arms embargo to block the military junta’s access to arms, ammunition, dual-use technology, and jet fuel; and targeted economic sanctions against the military junta, its affiliates, and its sources of revenue that fund its crimes.

There shall be no excuses to delay this action. With its track record of resolutions focused on the protection of civilians across the world, including Resolutions 1325 and 2147, among others, the UNSC certainly can and has taken concrete steps in accordance with its global mandate. It must now afford the same resolve and action to the people of Myanmar and their earnest pursuit of inclusive, sustainable peace.

Furthermore, we call on China and Russia – as permanent members of the UNSC who agreed to Resolution 2669 – to cease providing political, technical, and material support to the military junta for its relentless war of terror against the people and instead support the people’s efforts for a genuine federal democracy.

Myanmar’s future can only be defined by the will of the people, not the misguided initiatives of the international community. The people of Myanmar have bravely and courageously proven their aspirations and determination to end the military’s decades-long violence and to achieve long-lasting peace in Myanmar where people of diverse backgrounds can co-exist with equal rights and dignity in a truly inclusive federal democracy. It is time for the international community, particularly the UNSC, to align itself with the will of the people of Myanmar through swift, meaningful action. We reiterate our demand for a new UNSC resolution on Myanmar under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.

For more information, please contact:

• Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; info@progressive-voice.org
• Elena, General Strike Committee of Nationalities; gscn2021@gmail.com
• Myay Latt Tun, CDM Medical Network; contact@cdmmn.org
• Wai Wai Nu, Women’s Peace Network; info@womenspeacenetwork.org

Signed by 462 civil society organizations, including 84 organizations that have chosen not to disclose their names because the junta continues violence in Myanmar.

• 5/ of Zaya State Strike
• Action Against Myanmar Military Coup (Sydney)
• Action Committee for Democracy Development (Coalition of 14 grassroots networks)
• Action Committee of Basic Education Students (ACBES)
• Active Youths Kalaymyo
• Ah Nah Podcast – Conversations with Myanmar
• All Aung Myay Thar San Schools Strike Force
• All Burma Student Democratic Front – Australia Branch
• All Young Burmese League (AYBL)
• Alliance of Students’ Union – Yangon (ASU-Yangon)
• ALTSEAN-Burma
• Anti-coup Forces Coordination Committee (ACFCC – Mandalay)
• Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon-AJAY
• Anti-Myanmar Dictatorship Movement
• Anti-Myanmar Military Dictatorship Network (AMMDN)
• Arakan Rohingya National Union (ARNU)
• Arakan Rohingya Society for Peace and Human Rights (ARSPH)
• ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
• Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
• Asian Health Institute (AHI)
• Asia-Pacific Solidarity Coalition (APSOC)
• Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP)
• Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters
• Association of United Nationality in Japan (AUN)
• Association Suisse Birmanie (ASB)
• Associazione per l’Amicizia Italia Birmania “Giuseppe Malpeli”
• Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
• Aung San Suu Kyi Park, Norway
• Australia Burma Friendship Association, Northern Territory
• Australia Karen Organization WA Inc.
• Australia Myanmar Doctors, Nurses and Friends
• Australia Myanmar Youth Alliance (AMYA)
• Australian Burmese Muslim Organisation
• Australian Chin Community (Eastern Melbourne Inc)
• Australian Coalition for Democracy in Burma
• Australian Karen Organisation (AKO)
• A-Yar-Taw People Strike
• Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation – AWDO (Magway)
• Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation – AWDO (Nagphe)
• Arakan Youths Peace Network (AYPN)
• Bamar Community Tasmania
• Basic Education Students & Youths Association (BESYA)
• Bee House
• Beyond Borders (Malaysia)
• Blood Money Campaign (BMC)
• Boston Free Burma
• Burma Campaign UK
• Burma Civil War Museum (BCM)
• Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
• Burma Lawyers’ Council (BLC)
• Burma Refugee Saving Association (B.R.S.A)
• Burma Support
• Burmese Community – South Australia
• Burmese Community Development Collaboration (BCDC)
• Burmese Community Support Group (BCSG)
• Burmese Friendship Association
• Burmese Medical Association Australia (BMAA)
• Burmese Relief Center Japan
• Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
• Burmese Women’s Union (BWU)
• Campaign for a New Myanmar
• Canberra Karen Association
• CAN-Myanmar
• CDM Medical Network (CDMMN)
• Center for Action Point (Kyaukpadaung)
• Chaung Oo Township Youth Strike Committee
• Chin Community – South Australia
• Chin Community in Norway
• Chin Community of Japan (CCJ)
• Chin Community of Western Australia Inc.
• Chin Community Tasmania
• Chin Human Rights Organization
• Chin Youth Organization
• Chin Youth Organization of Japan (CYO-JP)
• CIVICUS: World Alliance for Citizen Participation
• Civil Information Network (CIN)
• Civil Rights Defenders
• Coalition Strike Committee – Dawei
• Colorful Spring (ရောင်စုံနွေဦး)
• CRPH & NUG Support Team Germany – Deutschland
• CRPH & NUG Supporters Ireland
• CRPH Funding Ireland
• CRPH Support Group, Norway
• CRPH/NUG Support Group Australia
• Dawei Youths in Japan (DYJ)
• Dawei Youths Revolutionary Movement Strike Committee
• Defend Myanmar Democracy (DMD)
• Democracy for Burma
• Democratic Youth Council
• Depayin Township Revolution Steering Committee
• Dhobama (2021 Generation)
• Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
• Dragon Dawn
• Education and Wisdom Development for Rohingya Women
• Education Garden of Rohingya (EGR)
• Educational Initiatives Prague
• Equality Myanmar (EQMM)
• Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee (Mandalay)
• Falam Community – South Australia
• Federation of Workers’ Union of the Burmese Citizens in Japan (FWUBC)
• Fortify Rights
• Free Burma Campaign (South Africa)
• Free Rohingya Coalition
• Freedom and Labor Action Group (FLAG)
• Friends of the Earth Japan (FoE Japan)
• Future Light Center
• Future Thanlwin
• Gender Equality Network (GEN)
• General Strike Collaboration Committee (GSCC)
• General Strike Committee of Basic and Higher Education (GSCBHE)

• Basic Education General Strike Committee (BEGSC)
• Basic Education Worker Unions – Steering Committee (BEWU-SC)
• Representative Committee of University Teacher Associations (RC of UTAs)

• General Strike Committee of Nationalities (GSCN)
• Generation Wave
• GenY For Revolution Japan
• Global Myanmar Spring Revolution – Japan
• Global Myanmar Spring Revolution (GMSR)
• Grass-root People
• History Carriers (HC)
• Honesty Federal School
• Hope For Youth – Kyushu Japan
• Human Rights Educators Network
• Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
• Human Rights Now
• India 4 Myanmar
• Industrial Training Centre (ITC) Family Sydney
• Info Birmanie
• Initiatives for International Dialogue (IID)
• Institute for Asian Democracy
• Institute of Chin Affairs
• Integria, z.u. (Prague)
• Inter Pares
• International Association, Myanmar-Switzerland (IAMS)
• International Campaign for the Rohingya
• International Karen Organisation
• International Society of Myanmar Scholars and Professionals (Japan)
• Italia-Birmania.Insieme
• Japan Campaign to Ban Landmines (JCBL)
• Japan Myanmar Future Creative Association (JMFCA)
• Japan Myanmar Help Network (JMHN)
• Joint Action Committee for Democracy in Burma (JACDB)
• Justice 4 Myanmar – Hope & Development
• Justice For All
• Justice for Myanmar
• Kachin Affairs Organization – Japan (KAO (Japan)
• Kachin Association Norway
• Kachin Association of Australia WA Inc.
• Kachin State Civilian Movement (KSCM)
• Kachin Student Union
• Kachin Women Association Thailand (KWAT)
• Kalay Township Strike Committee
• Kansai Group Japan
• Karen Community – South Australia
• Karen Human Rights Group
• Karen National League Japan (KNL)
• Karen Peace Support Network
• Karen Swedish Community (KSC)
• Karenni Association – Norway
• Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN)
• Karenni Community of Western Australia Inc.
• Karenni Federation of Australia
• Karenni Human Rights Group
• Karenni Humanitarian Aid Initiative
• Karenni National Society (KNS) Japan
• Kayan New Generation Youth
• Kayan Rescue Committee
• Kayan Women Organization
• Kayin Community Tasmania
• K’cho Ethnic Association
• Keng Tung Youth
• KnowUsMoreMyanmar (KUM)
• Kobe Myanmar Community (KMC)
• KontraS
• Kyae Lak Myay
• Kyain Seikgyi Spring Revolution Leading Committee
• Kyauktada Strike Committee
• Latpadaung Region Strike Committee
• League For Democracy in Burma (L.D.B Japan)
• LGBT Alliance

• LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kalay Region)
• LGBT Alliance Myanmar (Kyaukse Region)
• LGBT Community Yangon
• LGBT Union – Mandalay
• Monywa LGBT Strike

• Local Development Network
• Magway People’s Revolution Committee
• Magway Region Human Rights Network (MHRN)
• Mandalay Medical Family (MFM)
• Mandalay Regional Youth Association Revolution Core Group
• Mandalay Strike Force (MSF)

• Chanmyatharzi Township People’s Strike
• Co-operative University Mandalay Students’ Strike
• Daung Sitthe Strike
• Industries Strike
• Maharaungmyay Township People’s Strike
• Mandalay Alliance Coalition Strike
• Mandalar University Students’ Strike
• Mandalay Youth Strike
• Mandalay-based People’s Strike
• Multi-Religions Strike
• Mya Taung Strike
• Myanmar Institute of Information Technology Students’ Strike
• 12 Basic Education Branch High School ( Maharaungmyay) Students’ Union
• Samgha Sammaga-Mandalay
• Seinpann Strike

• Mandalay-Based University Students’ Unions (MDY_SUs)
• Matu Burma Foundation
• Matu Chin Community – South Australia
• MayMyo Strike Force
• Mekong Watch
• Metta Campaign
• MilkTeaAlliance Calendar Team
• MilkTeaAlliance Friends of Myanmar
• Min Hla Farmers Group
• Minbu Farmers Group
• Mindat Chin Community NSW
• Mindat Community – South Australia
• Minority Affairs Institute (MAI Myanmar)
• Mizo Community – South Australia
• Mon Association – Norway
• Mon Families Group
• Mon National Council (MNC)
• Mon State Development Center (MSDC)
• Mon Youth For Federal Democracy (MYFD)
• Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee

• All Burma Federation of Student Unions (Monywa District)
• Civil Society Organizations Coordination Committee (Monywa)
• Former Political Prisoners and New Generation Group – Monywa
• Network of University Student Unions – Monywa
• The 88 Generation Peace and Open Society (Monywa)
• Thakhin Kodaw Mhine Peace Network (Monywa)

• Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Leading Committee
• Muslim Youth Network
• Myanmar Accountability Project
• Myanmar Action Group Denmark
• Myanmar Baptist Churches in Norway
• Myanmar Buddhist Community of South Australia
• Myanmar Campaign Network
• Myanmar Catholic Community In Norway
• Myanmar Community Coffs Harbour (MCC)
• Myanmar Community in Italy
• Myanmar Community in Norway
• Myanmar Cultural Research Society (MCRS)
• Myanmar Democracy and Peace Committee (Australia)
• Myanmar Democratic Movement (MDM)
• Myanmar Development Support Group (MDSG)
• Myanmar Diaspora Group Finland
• Myanmar Engineering Association of Australia (MEAA)
• Myanmar Hindu Community – Norway
• Myanmar Labor Alliance (MLA)
• Myanmar Muslim Organization – Norway
• Myanmar Muslim Revolution Force (MMRF)
• Myanmar Nationalities’ Support Organization – JP (MNSO)
• Myanmar People Alliance (Shan State)
• Myanmar People Residing in Canberra
• Myanmar Policy Institute
• Myanmar Refugee Policy Group
• Myanmar Spring Revolution Japan (MSRJ)
• Myanmar Students’ Association Australia (MSAA)
• Myanmar Tozan Club (MTC)
• Myanmar Youth and Student Association, Japan (MYSA)
• Myanmar’s Youth Association Hokkaido (MYAH)
• Myaung Youth Network
• MyaYar Knowledge Tree
• Myingyan Civilian Movement Committee
• National Alliance Bangkok
• Netherlands-Myanmar Solidarity Platform
• Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma)
• New Myanmar Foundation
• New Power Generation
• New Rehmonnya Federated Force (NRFF)
• NLD Organization Committee (International) Norway
• NLD Solidarity Association (Australia)
• No Boundary Support Group
• No Business With Genocide
• Norway Falam Community
• Norway Matu Community
• Norway Rawang Community
• NPO Africa Japan Forum
• NSW Karenni (Kayah) Communities
• Nway Oo Guru Lay Myar
• Nyan Lynn Thit Analytica
• Okinawa Myanmar Association (OMA)
• Oway Institute
• Padauk Finland-Myanmar Association
• Pakokku Youth Development Council
• Palaung National Society Japan, PNS-Japan
• Palaw Supporting Group Japan
• Pale Township People’s Strike Steering Committee
• Parents, Families and Friends of LGBTIQA+ in Myanmar (PFLAG – Myanmar)
• Patriotic War Veterans of Burma (PWVB)
• People’s Hope Spring Revolution (PHSR)
• Perth Myanmar Youth Network
• Power of Rohingya Youth (PRY)
• Progressive Voice
• Punnyakari Mon National Society Japan, PMNS-Japan
• Pwintphyu Development Organisation
• Pyi Gyi Tagon Strike Force
• Pyit Taing Htaung Social Club
• Queensland Kachin Community (QKC)
• Queensland Myanmar Youth Collective (QMYC)
• Queensland Rohingya Community
• Rangoon Scout Network (RSN)
• Red Campaign Nirvana Exhortation Group
• Remonya Association of WA (Mon Community)
• Revolution Tokyo Myanmar (RTM)
• Rohingya Action Ireland (RAI)
• Rohingya Christian Youth Union (RCYN)
• Rohingya Community in Norway
• Rohingya Education Development Plan (REDP)
• Rohingya Progressive Network (RPN)
• Rohingya Southeast Asia Network (RAISA)
• Rohingya Student Union
• Rohingya Women Association for Education and Development (RWAED)
• Rohingya Women Empowerment and Advocacy Network
• Rohingya Women for Justice and Peace
• Rohingya Youth for Legal Action
• Rohingya Youth’s Rights (RYR)
• Save and Care Organization for Ethnic Women at Border Areas (SCOEWBA)
• SEA Junction
• Shan Community in Japan (SCJ)
• Shan MATA
• ShizuYouth For Myanmar
• Shwe Pan Kone People’s Strike Steering Committee
• Shwe Youth Democratic Alliance (SYDA)
• Sisters 2 Sisters
• Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation
• Social Garden
• Sone See Yar (Volunteer Group)
• Sone Yay Foundation
• Southcare Medical Centre
• Southern Dragon Myanmar
• Southern Monitor
• Spring Revolution Restaurant (SRR)
• Spring Sprouts
• Spring Traveller
• Support for Myanmar
• Support Group for Democracy in Myanmar (Netherlands)
• Swedish Burma Committee
• Sydney Friends for Myanmar Unity
• Synergy – Social Harmony Organization
• Ta’ang Women’s Organization
• Tai Youths Network Japan (TYNJ)
• Tamar Institute of Development
• Taze Strike Committee
• Thailand 4 Burma
• The European Rohingya Council (ERC)
• The Institution of Professional Engineers Myanmar (IPEM)
• The Ladies
• Try Together At Japan (TTAJ)
• Twitter Team for Revolution (TTFR)
• S. Campaign for Burma
• Union of Myanmar Citizen Association – Japan
• United Myanmar Community of South Australia
• University Students’ Unions Alumni Force
• Victorian Burmese Care Community (VBCC)
• Victorian Myanmar Youth (VMY)
• Voice For Justice
• Volunteers in Myanmar
• We Are One Saga MOSA
• We for All
• We Pledge CDM (Australia)
• We Support
• Western Australia Myanmar Community (WAMC)
• Western Australia Myanmar Democratic Network (WAMDN)
• Wetlet Revolution Leading Committee
• White Coat Society Yangon (WCSY)
• Women Action Committee – Myanmar
• Women Activists Myanmar (WAM)
• Women Advocacy Coalition – Myanmar (WAC-M)
• Women Alliance Burma (WAB)

• Chindwin (West) Villages Women Strike
• Dawei (Ashaetaw) Women Strike
• Depayin Women Strike
• Gangaw Women Strike
• Kalay Women Strike
• Mandalay Women Strike
• Monywa Women Strike
• Monywa-Amyint Road Women Strike
• Taze Women Strike
• Thayat Chaung Women Strike
• Wetlet Twonship Women Strike
• Yangon Women Strike

• Women Lead Resource Center (WLRC)
• Women’s Peace Network
• Yadanabon University Students’ Union (YDNBUSU)
• Yadanar Foundation
• Yasakyo Township People’s Strike Steering Committee
• Yaw Funding Japan
• Yinmarpin and Salingyi All Villages Strike Committee
• Yokohama Pamphlet Campaign – Myanmar
• Youth Empowerment (YE)
• Youth for Democratization of Myanmar (UDM)
• Youth Heart Beams
• Youths for Rohingya Development (YRD)
• Zo Community – South Australia
• Zomi Association Australia Inc.
• Zomi Christian Fellowship of Norway
• Zomi Community – South Australia
• Zomi Community Norway
• Zomi Community Queensland
• ကော့သောင်းခရိုင်နိုင်ငံရေးအင်အားစု
• ဂျပန်ပြည်မှတွဲလက်များ
• တွဲလက်ညီ
• ဒို့မြေကွန်ရက် – LIOH
• ပွင့်ဖြူလယ်ယာမြေကွန်ရက်
• မြန်မာမွတ်စလင်အစည်းအရုံး (BMA)
• မြိတ်ခရိုင်နိုင်ငံရေးအင်အားစု
• မဟာမြေပြင်ထောက်ပို့တော်လှန်ရေးအားမာန်
• မေတ္တာညီကိုပရဟိတအသင်း
• ရပ်ဝန်းသစ် (YWT)
• ရောင်နီသစ်ဆီတက်လှမ်ချီ
• လမ်းပြကြယ်ထောက်ပို့
• လီဆူအမျိုးသမီးများအဖွဲရှမ်းပြည်နယ်
• လူသားချင်းစာနာထောက်ပံ့ရေး
• အနာဂတ်သစ်ပန်းတိုင်ဆီသို့
• အနာဂတ်အလင်းရောင်
• အမှာင်ကိုခွင်းအလင်းရောင်ရှိ