By 
17-01-2025
Stella Liantsi
South East Asia Researcher
Global Human Rights Defence
On January 6, 2025, a joint statement by the European Union, the United States, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Timor-Leste, and the United Kingdom expressing deep concern about the worsening humanitarian and human rights crisis in Myanmar was released.
The coalition condemned Myanmar’s military regime’s ongoing violent repression citing reliable reports of grave human rights violations including:
- Abduction and forced recruitment of children and members of ethnic and religious minorities;
- Military’s indiscriminate aerial bombardments which caused the death of civilians and destruction of infrastructure;
- Gender-based and sexual violence;
- House fires and attacks on humanitarian workers and facilities;
- Restrictions placed on humanitarian access by different armed factions and the military authority.
Over 3.5 million people have been displaced as a result of the fighting and over 15 million of them are severely food insecure. Medical aid has been hampered and illness outbreaks, notably cholera, were exacerbated by the lack of humanitarian access. It was also mentioned that the situation in Rakhine State is getting worse, impacting all populations, including the Rohingya. The Rohingya are allegedly the victims of international law crimes, and the military has a history of inflaming tensions among these communities.
The coalition called on all armed parties, including the military actors to:
- Reduce violence while making sure they adhere to international human rights and humanitarian standards;
- Allow complete, secure, and unhindered humanitarian access;
- As part of a political solution address the root causes of the Rohingya’s cruel treatment and underlying discrimination ;
- Put into effect UN Security Council Resolution which demands the immediate cessation of all kinds of violence and the release of detainees who have been unlawfully held;
- Recognize the efforts of the UN Secretary General’s Special Envoy and support ASEAN’s pivotal role in resolving the situation in accordance with the Five-Point Consensus ( In December 2024, Thailand held regional negotiations to settle Myanmar’s civil conflict with Myanmar and its neighbors, Bangladesh, China, India, and Laos. Despite these efforts, the Myanmar military did not adhere to ASEAN’s “Five Point Consensus” for peace).
Sources & Further Readings:
Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office. (2025, January 6). Myanmar human rights and humanitarian situation: joint statement, January 2025. GOV.UK. Retrieved January 17, 2025, from https://www.gov.uk/government/news/joint-press-statement-on-the-human-rights-and-humanitarian-situation-in-myanmar
SAKSORNCHAI, J. (2024, December 19). Thailand hosts regional talks to find solutions to Myanmar’s bloody civil war. AP News. https://apnews.com/article/myanmar-conflict-asean-diplomacy-8b05c4d22e649f88aeb1449bcf052710
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