It is time for the international community to implement R2P to save the lives and future of the Myanmar people, says Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun

Ayeyarwaddy Times July 7 Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, has called on the international community to implement the Responsibility to Protect (R2P) and support the Steering Committee for Federal Democratic Union (SCEF) to save the lives and future of the Myanmar people who are suffering due to the coup regime. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun delivered his speech at the General Debate of the 131st agenda item of the United Nations General Assembly, held on July 6 at the UN Headquarters in New York, under the theme "Responsibility to Protect and the Prevention of Genocide, War Crimes, Ethnic Cleansing, and Crimes Against Humanity." "Time is of the essence. The international community's implementation of R2P to save the lives and future of the Myanmar people has been long delayed, and now is the time to act," Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun stated in his speech, making his demand. The terrorist military junta, since the coup in 2021, has been destroying democratic organizations, the rule of law, and judicial independence, and continues to commit war crimes, crimes against humanity, and mass atrocities. It is known that the serious violations of law by the military junta, which have reached the level of war crimes and crimes against humanity, have been repeatedly documented by UN bodies, including the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) and the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar. Furthermore, the Ambassador informed the UN community that the National Unity Government (NUG) and allied democratic forces are coordinating to establish a transitional justice system through the SCEF, with the aim of ensuring justice and accountability for civilians who have been victims of injustice during the conflict. "I have appealed to the international community to support the efforts of the SCEF in building a federal democratic union that will eradicate the military dictatorship and ensure measures for the prevention and pre-emption of grave crimes," said Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Myanmar's Permanent Representative to the UN. Currently, the terrorist military junta has unlawfully killed over 8,100 civilians, and the number of internally displaced persons has exceeded 3.7 million. It is also known that acts of terrorism targeting civilians have intensified, including 1,147 airstrikes and 20 mass killings, over 70 days from April 20 to June 30 of this year. It is known that the NUG, in response to the severe and widespread crimes being committed by the military junta, declared in July 2021 its acceptance of the jurisdiction of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to address the protection and accountability gaps for civilians across the country. Therefore, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun has urged the ICC to seriously consider the prosecutor's application to arrest the leader of the terrorist military junta and current president, Min Aung Hlaing, who is committing grave crimes against the people of Myanmar. Photo – NUG