EU urged to act as products end up in Myanmar despite ‘everything but arms’ sanctions
- Companies from France, Germany and Austria among those named in report by human rights group Special Advisory Council for Myanmar
- European governments and firms have ‘moral and legal responsibilities’ to ensure their products are not facilitating human rights violations in Myanmar, group says
Companies from at least 13 countries, including France, Germany and Austria, were named in the January 2023 report by Special Advisory Council for Myanmar (SAC-M), an independent group of former UN officials seeking to fight for human rights, justice and accountability in Myanmar.
“Foreign companies and their home states have moral and legal responsibilities to ensure their products are not facilitating human rights violations against civilians in Myanmar,” said Yanghee Lee, former UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, and a founding member of SAC-M.
“Failing to do so makes them complicit in the Myanmar military’s barbaric crimes.”
Coordinator for SAC-M Isabelle Todd said the companies and their governments had not yet responded to the report, likely because they were unaware their products were being used by Myanmar’s junta, which seized power nearly two years ago when it ousted the elected government led by Aung San Suu Kyi.
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“These supply chains are quite complex. People who are buying these products aren’t necessarily who they say they are,” Todd said.
