PRESS RELEASE : UN HRC54 – UK Statement on Myanmar [September 2023]
The press release issued by the Foreign Office on 11 September 2023.
Statement for the Interactive Dialogue on the Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar. As delivered by the UK Human Rights Ambassador, Rita French.
Thank you, Mr President.
The UK is grateful for the Mechanism’s continued work to facilitate justice and accountability in Myanmar. Its latest report brings to light the scale of the Myanmar military’s brutal tactics. The reporting of the military’s brutal actions against the people of Myanmar, including indiscriminate targeting and killing of civilians through airstrikes and the large-scale burning of homes, is truly alarming.
Accountability is the only way to end the culture of impunity in Myanmar.
And the UK is committed to supporting this goal – providing £500,000 to the IIMM (Independent Investigative Mechanism on Myanmar), establishing the Myanmar Witness programme, and leading efforts to secure the first ever UN Security Council Resolution on the situation in Myanmar, urging all parties to respect human rights and end violence.
To successfully collect evidence and continue to meet its mandate, the Mechanism relies on the cooperation of all UN and international partners. Without the cooperation of all UN entities, the Mechanism would not be able to undertake vital activities to hold the Myanmar military to account.
High Commissioner, Mr President,
What more can Member States do to facilitate the Mechanism’s collection of evidence and witness statements?
Thank you.
