Myanmar Is Another U.N. Failure

Human rights are being violated every day in U.N. member countries by the leaders of those countries who enjoy mingling with the advocates of human rights in New York at every one of the hollow global get-togethers of leaders to celebrate something or other just as meaningless and hollow as the previous soiree. This was again on display in New York last week. This is nothing new. The Myanmar oppression and killing fields was not stopped by the U.N. notwithstanding the speeches by world leaders condemning the crackdown and killing of peaceful protestors. No different than the genocide in Darfur.

The military junta in Myanmar took power in 1988 after crushing the democracy movement. In 1990, it refused to hand over power when Aung San Suu Kyi’s political party won a landslide election victory and has kept her in detention for nearly 11 years, despite worldwide condemnation and calls for her freedom along with that of hundreds of other political prisoners. It’s a dictatorship I had the great displeasure in meeting on several occasions in the mid-1990s to explore business opportunities. My favorite generals to converse with while trying to keep a straight face were the heads of the various “brainwashing” departments masquerading as television executives. Another example of U.N. sanctions not working. Their house arrest of Suu Kyi, Nobel Peace laureate and democratically elected leader, human rights abuses against the country’s 55 million people, and persecution and ongoing war with the Karen, Shan and other ethnic minorities with impunity is another mind- boggling example of how useless the U.N. is. Myanmar, like Sudan, uses rape as a weapon against its own people. Gender-based sexual violence obstructs peace and development.

Systematic sexual violence became visible in Myanmar when the Shan Women’s Action Network and the Shan Human Rights Foundation (SHRF) published License to Rape, a report that documents 625 cases of rape committed by the military in eastern Myanmar between 1996 and 2001. It noted that no one had been prosecuted for those crimes.

A nation that oppresses women, neglects children, exploits its people and abuses its minorities does not deserve recognition. The U.N. Charter was the first international agreement to proclaim gender equality a fundamental human right. Nearly all nations have signed this charter and thus committed themselves to accept these standards.

The U.N. Security Council is unable to pass a resolution condemning the regime because of China and Russia’s veto powers.

Myanmar is China’s most important ally in Asia. Myanmar has become the cornerstone of China’s revised Southeast Asia strategy in the face of what Beijing regards as the growing and unwanted influence of America in the region. More than a million Chinese ─ farmers, workers and businessmen ─ have crossed into Myanmar in the last 10 years and are working and living there. Chinese leaders worry that any upheaval would cause these people to flee back across the border, creating increased industrial and social unrest in the border regions.

Sanctions are not the solution for Myanmar, notwithstanding president Bush’s and Suu Kyi’s insistence and endorsement. Her personality-driven style isn’t working either. Her unbending, uncompromising leadership mindset must be replaced by the emerging, more moderate monks and younger pro-democracy groups.