ASEAN foreign ministers, meeting in Jakarta, must take decisive action to address the conflict in Myanmar and the displacement of millions of people as a result of the violence, the Malaysian Advisory Group on Myanmar said today. 

Chairman Syed Hamid Albar called on Asean to assert stronger pressure on the Myanmar military to immediately cease violence against civilians. 

“The Myanmar crisis is expected to deteriorate further in 2023, with the United Nations (UN) estimating that 17.3 million people will be in need of humanitarian assistance,” the former foreign minister said in a statement today. 

According to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), 1.5 million people had fled their homes as of December 26, 2022, with 1.2 million newly displaced inside the country since the February 2021 coup, including more than 250,000 children. 

Schools and hospitals continue to be targeted, and children are further endangered as human shields.

Most of the internally displaced are in the northwest and southeast regions. 

Syed Hamid said the conflict hampers efforts to find durable solutions for the displaced and renders any effort for safe, dignified and voluntary repatriation of Myanmar refugees, including Rohingya, impossible. 

“We call on Asean to press the military junta to allow the immediate and unhindered provision of humanitarian aid and protection without discrimination to those most affected by the conflict.

“This includes the Rohingya human rights crisis and protracted displacement as a key area of focus within the framework of the Asean Five-Point Consensus. 

“We also call on Asean states hosting refugees from Myanmar to halt all deportations of asylum seekers and refugees, regardless of their UNHCR status,” he said. 

Syed Hamid also said the advisory group commends the Asean Chair’s announcement of the opening of an office of the Asean Special Envoy on Myanmar. 

“Yet we also emphasise that this must be just the first step in taking decisive action to address the crisis and that Asean must in no way legitimise the Myanmar military. 

“Asean must design clear benchmarks for the Five Point Consensus, engage all Myanmar stakeholders to bring an end to the violence and facilitate the immediate protection of those most affected, including women, children and displaced persons,” he said. 

He said that the advisory group also urges Asean member states to adopt a unified stance against any proposals for new elections by the Myanmar state administration council (SAC), which would be against the will of the majority of Myanmar’s population and only push the country into further violence. 

He said the warnings issued by the United Nations secretary-general and the UN special envoy to Myanmar must be taken seriously, and Asean must take all necessary measures to prevent the situation from escalating. 

He said Asean cannot afford to fail the people of Myanmar.

“Already, the inability to pressure the Myanmar regime to address this humanitarian tragedy reflects badly on Asean and the world,” Syed Hamid said. – February 3, 2023.