SpaceWar.com - Your World At War
UN General Assembly to consider call for Myanmar arms embargo
United Nations, United States, May 16 (AFP) May 16, 2021
The UN General Assembly on Tuesday is set to consider a draft non-binding resolution calling for "an immediate suspension" of the transfer of weapons to the military junta of Myanmar, a UN official said Sunday.

Unlike Security Council resolutions, General Assembly resolutions are non-binding but carry strong political significance.

If an approval by consensus cannot be reached then the full General Assembly -- 193 member states -- will vote on the measure.

Introduced by Liechtenstein, with support from the European Union, Britain, and the United States, the measure will be considered at the plenary meeting set for Tuesday at 1900 GMT.

The draft resolution calls for "an immediate suspension of the direct and indirect supply, sale, or transfer of all weapons, munitions, and other military-related equipment to Myanmar."

"The meeting will be in person," a UN spokesman told AFP.

The draft, which has been under negotiation for weeks, is co-sponsored by 48 countries, with South Korea the sole Asian country.

It also calls on military to "end the state of emergency" and immediately stop "all violence against peaceful demonstrators," as well as "immediately and unconditionally release President Win Myint, State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi" and everyone who has been "arbitrarily detained, charged or arrested" since the February 1 coup.

The draft adds a call to "swiftly implement" a five-point consensus reached with leaders from the 10-country Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on April 24, to "facilitate the visit" of the special UN envoy to Myanmar, and to provide "safe and unimpeded humanitarian access."

Several NGOs have long been calling for an arms embargo on Myanmar.

Since February 1, the Security Council has unanimously adopted four statements on Myanmar, but each time, they have been watered down in negotiations, notably by Beijing.


ADVERTISEMENT




Space News from SpaceDaily.com
BlackSky plans new satellite network for large-scale AI-driven Earth observation
Meteosat-12 begins prime service delivering enhanced weather data for Europe
Satellite expands Chinas disaster warning network through global electromagnetic monitoring

24/7 Energy News Coverage
Unprecedented new device at PPPL will help to unravel the mysteries of the universe
New Zealand targets leadership in superconducting space tech with new research alliance
Boeing says focus at air show on 'supporting customers', not orders

Military Space News, Nuclear Weapons, Missile Defense
Building - and delivering - a nuclear weapon
Spain pushes back against mooted 5% NATO spending goal
Khamenei vows Iran will never surrender, hypersonic missiles target Israel

24/7 News Coverage
Ethical and legal clarity urged as planetary defense faces asteroid threats
Millennium Space Ships TRACERS Spacecraft to Launch Site for NASA Mission
"If we want truly intelligent robots, improving the design of their bodies is essential."



All rights reserved. Copyright Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.