53 companies added to Burma Campaign UK ‘Dirty List’

Burma Campaign UK on 20 July added 53 companies to its ‘Dirty List’, which names and shames international companies linked to the Burmese military or human rights violations and environmental destruction in Burma. The total number of companies on the ‘Dirty List’ is now 228. Companies added to the ‘Dirty List’ include: Halliburton, SLV (formerly Schlumberger), Fortinet, CISCO, Oracle, Space X, and Microsoft. 18 American companies have been added to the ‘Dirty List’, mostly from the oil and gas and tech sectors. The high number of American companies exposes the gaps and loopholes in current US sanctions against the Burmese military, which still allow sanctioned Burmese military-owned companies to run on US tech, and still allow American companies to work in the Burmese gas sector despite sanctions against the military-controlled Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise. Gas is a major source of revenue to the Burmese military. Companies from 17 countries have been added, including 4 from EU member states and one from the UK, both of which have limited sanctions in place but stopped bringing in new sanctions against the Burmese military in 2024. 16 tech companies, mostly American, and 14 oil and gas companies have been added to the ‘Dirty List’. The Burmese military is dependent on international finance and arms in order to try to cling on to power as it faces fierce resistance since the latest coup in 2021. The aim of the ‘Dirty List’ is to pressure international companies to cut their links to the Burmese military, be they large or small. There is no acceptable level of support to the Burmese military, which stands accused of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity by United Nations investigators. “Companies all over the world are providing support to the Burmese military, ranging from earning them money, selling arms and equipment, providing technology and allowing their platforms to be used for propaganda,” said Mark Farmaner, Director of Burma Campaign UK. “No company can claim to have ethical or socially responsible policies and at the same time be linked to the genocidal Burmese military.” Burma Campaign UK has written to every company but one (which has no published address) stating they were considering adding them to the ‘Dirty List’ and giving them the opportunity to respond in case our information was incorrect or out of date, and to give them the opportunity to cut their links to the Burmese military and avoid being placed on the ‘Dirty List.’ Companies are placed on the ‘Dirty List’ based on open-source information. Burma Campaign UK research has revealed that a large number of Burmese military-owned companies are using American and other international technology to run their operations. Burmese military companies have been sanctioned by the USA, UK, EU and Canada for their role in financing the Burmese military and thereby enabling the human rights violations they commit. “Big tech are the new big tobacco, operating without ethics, seemingly happy to provide services to the Burmese military regardless of their human rights record,” said Mark Farmaner. “The Burmese military carries out an airstrike every two and a half hours. That’s incredibly expensive and the Burmese military couldn’t do it without help from international companies which help arm them, finance them, and provide technology to them.” The Burmese military has one of the worst human rights records in their world, oppressing the people of Burma for decades, whilst at the same time creating a corrupt, nepotistic crony dominated economy which has enriched senior members of the military and their allies whilst at the same time devastating the economy and development in Burma. Since the 2021 coup, more than 100,000 people have been killed in conflict, there are more than 14,000 political prisoners and the Burmese military has deliberately targeted civilians to terrorise and create a humanitarian crisis, with around 5 million people internally displaced and hundreds of thousands more fleeing the country. The Burmese military largely depend on airpower for their survival, and deliberately target hospitals, schools and civilian villages. This year they began to switch tactics, shifting to multiple aircraft carrying out attacks and using deadly ‘double tap’ attacks to target responders. “It is inexplicable that so many companies appear unconcerned that they are providing assistance to a military which on average kills a child every 29 hours,” said Mark Farmaner. The updated ‘Dirty List’ is available here: https://burmacampaign.org.uk/take-action/dirty-list/