Statement by the Department of Foreign Affairs on the one-year anniversary of the coup in Myanmar

Today marks the one-year anniversary of the military coup in Myanmar. For the past year, the Myanmar people have been subject to grave human rights violations. Civilians have been deliberately and brutally targeted.

The Myanmar military must recognise the harrowing impact of their unconscionable actions. The evolution towards a protracted conflict is of grave concern and poses a threat to regional stability. Since the coup, Ireland has led calls in the United Nations Security Council for the military to end violence, to release all those arbitrarily detained and to demonstrate full respect for human rights and compliance with international law. Ireland will continue to support the critical work of the UN and ASEAN in seeking to end violence in Myanmar.

The people of Myanmar have been resolute in rejecting the coup. Ireland commends all those who continue to advocate for their rights, for a democratic and inclusive political future. We support the leadership of women and their calls for equal and meaningful participation in all political processes.

Ireland is deeply concerned by the worsening humanitarian crisis and calls on all actors to ensure rapid, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to all people in need across Myanmar. Ireland provided almost €3 million in funding last year in humanitarian aid and civil society support and we will continue to play our part and focus on those most in need. We remain deeply concerned for the Rohingya people, especially those within IDP camps.

We welcome yesterday’s statement by HR/VP Borrell and will support the European Union in adopting further restrictive measures if no positive progress is achieved. Equally, we commit to supporting international efforts to hold the perpetrators of the coup to account.

Today, Ireland stands with the people of Myanmar and supports their efforts to restore the country’s democratic path.

Notes

Ireland strongly condemns the coup carried out by the Myanmar military and its attempts to legitimise the military regime. The coup is a reversal of the progress made towards democracy and rule of law in Myanmar that has taken years to establish.

Ireland is actively engaged on the crisis in Myanmar in the context of our role on the United Nations Security Council. The Security Council has considered the situation in Myanmar eight times since the coup, most recently on 28 January 2022.

Ireland supports the EU's adoption of sanctions against the perpetrators of the coup and the economic entities that sustain them and endorses the strong and comprehensive approach set out in the Council Conclusions adopted by the EU Foreign Affairs Council on February 22 2021.

Ireland has also voiced its concern at four sessions of the Human Rights Council since February 2021 and has consistently supported international efforts towards ensuring accountability and justice, including through the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, the International Court of Justice and the International Criminal Court.

Ireland has provided direct funding of over €7.1m to the Rohingya crisis in both Bangladesh and Myanmar since 2017. In 2021, the EU allocated €24.5 million in humanitarian aid to address the immediate needs of displaced and conflict-affected communities and related to COVID-19, as well as €65 million in support of basic needs of the civilian population, including education and livelihoods.