Myanmar faces European force at UN to condemn coup
11 February, 2021
The United Nations' top human being rights body is to look at a resolution on Fri (Feb 10) drafted by Britain and europe that could condemn Myanmar's armed service coup and demand urgent access for monitors, a text seen by Reuters shows.
However, diplomats explained Human Rights Council participants China and Russia - who both possess ties to Myanmar's armed forces - are expected to improve objections or try to weaken the text.
Procedural wrangling commenced on Mon, with Beijing and Moscow increasing objections over digital voting as officials met to plan both council's four-week session from Feb 22 and Friday's special session on Myanmar.
The UN Reliability Council last week needed the release of elected head Aung San Suu Kyi and other folks detained by the armed service but stopped short of condemning the coup.
Protesters took to the streets for a fifth evening on Wednesday, vowing to maintain demonstrations against the coup even after a female was first shot and critically wounded.
"It's only a subject of time until you will find a big-level confrontation," a UN official told Reuters of the protests.
The request by Britain and the EU received formal support from 19 members, including Myanmar's fellow Asian nations Japan and South Korea, at the 47-member forum.
"We have to continue the pressure," a good European diplomat said.
The United States, which backed convening Friday's session, is imposing new sanctions on those behind the coup and any linked entities.
The draft resolution condemns the ousting of the civilian government and demands its restoration and the unconditional release of these "arbitrarily detained".
It urges the military to avoid using violence against calm protesters, while ensuring flexibility of expression and an start internet.
Thomas Andrews, the U.N. investigator on individual rights in Myanmar, ought to be granted urgent, unrestricted gain access to, it says.
Andrews, in a assertion on Wednesday, said reliability forces and law enforcement have a duty to avoid using excessive power against calm demonstrators and that "following orders is zero defence for committing atrocities".
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