13 January 2007
Lack of U.N. Action Will Not Deter U.S. Push for Reform in Burma
Security Council resolution fails due to jurisdictional dispute, U.S. envoy says
United Nations -- The United States will continue to press for democratic reform, the release of political prisoners and improved human rights conditions in Burma despite the Security Council's failure to pass a resolution on the deplorable situation in the country, U.S. Ambassador Alejandro Wolff says.
Vetoes by China and Russia January 12 defeated a resolution sponsored by the United States and United Kingdom that would have called on Burma's military regime to release all political prisoners and end human rights abuses.
Security Council members agreed on the urgent need for change in Burma and expressed support for the Burmese people, but did not agree that the Security Council was the proper U.N. entity to deal with the situation. China, for example, did not see the Burmese situation as a serious threat to the region and said U.N. Under Secretary-General Ibrahim Gambari, who has undertaken two "good offices" missions to Burma, should be the one to continue working with that country's government. The issue also already is being addressed through the General Assembly's Third Committee.
"The United States is deeply disappointed by the failure of the council to adopt this resolution," Wolff said in a speech to the council after the vote.
"The resolution would have been a strong and urgently needed statement by the Security Council about the need for change in Burma, whose military regime arbitrarily arrests, tortures, rapes and executes its own people, wages war on minorities within its own border, and builds itself new cities while looking the other way as refugee flows increase, narcotics and human trafficking grow, and communicable diseases remain untreated," said Wolff, the acting head of the U.S. delegation. (See related article.)
There was no disagreement on the content and substance of the resolution, the ambassador noted.
All Security Council members recognized that "there are problems in the areas of human rights, social issues, political freedom," Wolff told journalists after the meeting.
The main point of the resolution was to show the international community's continued and unyielding support for the people of Burma, he said. "We count on all council members, including those who did not vote in favor of this resolution, to use all their influence to press the Burmese regime for change."
15 VOTES FOR THE PEOPLE OF BURMA
"The people of Burma should not feel disheartened by this. This was an effort to bring the situation to the attention of the world community and to send a clear signal that we have not forgotten you and we won't forget you," the U.S. ambassador said.
Wolff said that there were "15 votes for the people of Burma" even though the resolution failed.
The United States will "work on every day and every manner we can" to call for reform, democratization, inclusive national dialogue and the release of political prisoners," Wolff said. "We will continue to work through the secretary-general's good offices missions and in every other element of this organization including, if people want, through the Human Rights Council."
British Ambassador Emyr Jones-Parry said the intention of the council was clear despite the veto. "We did the right thing for the people of Myanmar (Burma)," he said.
"We all share a deep concern about the plight of the beleaguered people ... concern about the lack of political progress, the poverty, the disease, the detentions, the fact that democratically elected leaders are actually imprisoned -- all those are shared by members of the council," Jones-Parry said.
"This agenda item is with us," he said, adding, "We will continue to monitor the situation and it will be reviewed again."
The Security Council officially put Burma on its agenda in September 2006.
The draft resolution called on the regime to release democratic leader Aung San Suu Kyi and all political prisoners, lift restraints on all political leaders and citizens, allow all political parties to operate freely, end military attacks on ethnic minorities, and allow international aid organizations to help the people of Burma without restrictions.
The draft resolution expressed "deep concern at the slow pace of tangible progress in the process towards national reconciliation" and welcomed the efforts of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) "to expedite a peaceful transition to democratic rule." It also recalled the recent General Assembly resolution expressing concern at the large-scale human rights violations in the country, "including unlawful killings, torture, rape, forced labor, the militarization of refugee camps, and the recruitment of child soldiers."
The resolution received nine votes in favor, the number needed to pass, but was stopped by the vetoes of permanent members China and Russia. South Africa also voted against the resolution; Indonesia, Qatar, and the Republic of Congo abstained. The last time a resolution received multiple vetoes was in 1989. The last time China and Russia both vetoed a resolution was in 1972.
A transcript of Ambassador Wolff's remarks is available on the Web site of the U.S. Mission to the United Nations.
For more information on U.S. policies, see U.S. Support for Democracy in Burma.
(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)
