Myanmar/Burma: EU prolongs sanctions

The Council of the European Union has announced that it has prolonged restrictive measures in place on Myanmar/Burma for one year, until 30 April 2020.

It notes that the sanctions regime ‘includes an embargo on arms and equipment that can be used for internal repression, an export ban of dual-use goods for use by the military and border guard police, and export restrictions of equipment for monitoring communications that might be used for internal repression. It also prohibits the provision of military training to and military cooperation with the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw).’

The extension also covers targeted restrictive measures on 14 individuals ‘for serious human rights violations, or association with such violations, committed against the Rohingya population, ethnic minority villagers or civilians in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan States. These individuals are high-ranking officials from the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) and the border guard police.’

In its conclusions of December 2018, the Council expressed deep concern over the findings of the independent international fact-finding mission of the UN Human Rights Council, which concluded that gross human rights violations were committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States, in particular by the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw)’ and called upon the government of Myanmar/Burma ‘to take, without further delay, meaningful action and to make progress in all areas of concern set out in its previous conclusions of 26 February 2018.’