Amnesty International and more than 200 other non-governmental organisations have called for a global arms embargo on Myanmar given the continuing violent crackdown by the military on protesters following the coup there in February.
“It is time for the UN Security Council to use its unique powers to impose a comprehensive global arms embargo in order to try and end the military’s killing spree,” Lawrence Moss, senior UN Advocate for Amnesty International, said on Wednesday.
Mere condemnation by the international community has so far had no effect, he said.
The groups called on the United Kingdom, the Security Council’s designated drafter of Myanmar texts, to “immediately open negotiations at the Security Council on a draft resolution authorising an arms embargo”.
“No government should sell a single bullet to the junta under these circumstances,” the group added. “Imposing a global arms embargo on Myanmar is the minimum necessary step the Security Council should take in response to the military’s escalating violence.”
The country has been in turmoil since the military deposed civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi on February 1, triggering a mass uprising of daily protests and a nationwide boycott from civil servants.
So far, nearly 770 people have been killed in deadly crackdowns, according to a local monitoring group and more than 4,500 people have been imprisoned. The military government has reported a far lower death toll which it blames on “rioters”.
‘Time for statements passed’
The appeal echoes a February 24 declaration by more than 100 non-governmental organisations, which urged the Security Council to act swiftly to halt the flow of weapons to the military government.
The Security Council has issued several statements since the coup, calling on the military to restore democracy and halt the excessive use of force against protesters.
But the group of NGOs said that “time for statements has passed”.
“The Security Council should take its consensus on Myanmar to a new level and agree on immediate and substantive action,” said the group.
“An arms embargo would be the centrepiece of a global effort to protect the people of Myanmar from further atrocities and help bring an end to impunity for crimes under international law,” it added.
Speaking from the UN Headquarters in New York, Al Jazeera’s Kristen Saloomey said that the group believed the international community had so far failed to resolve the situation in Myanmar.
“The UN Security Council has met on Myanmar at least fiv
