More

    Rights Expert Urges Banks to Stop Financing Myanmar Junta Weapons Trade

    CSRCorporate governanceRights Expert Urges Banks to Stop Financing Myanmar Junta...
    - Advertisment -

    Rights Expert Urges Banks to Stop Financing Myanmar Junta Weapons Trade

    Foreign banks are allegedly helping Myanmar’s military junta acquire weapons and military supplies, facilitating a “campaign of violence and brutality” as the civil war there grinds on, according to an independent UN human rights expert.

    In a new report released last week, Tom Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, has identified 16 banks in seven countries that processed transactions linked to the Myanmar junta’s military procurement over the past two years.  

    Additionally, 25 banks provided correspondent banking services to Myanmar’s state-owned banks under junta control.

    “With the junta on its heels, it is critical that financial institutions take their human rights obligations seriously and not facilitate the junta’s deadly transactions,” he said.

    He highlighted that banks involved with Myanmar State-owned banks are at high risk of enabling military attacks on civilians and emphasized their fundamental obligation to avoid facilitating crimes, including war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    - Advertisement -

    Since the February 2021 coup, over 5,000 civilians have been killed, at least three million displaced. More than 20,000 political prisoners remain incarcerated. Military airstrikes against civilian targets have increased five-fold in the last six months, even as the junta loses military outposts, territory, and troops to resistance forces.

    Good and bad news

    He noted a decline in the Myanmar military’s annual procurement of weapons and military supplies through the formal banking system, from $377 million to $253 million in the year ending March 2023.

    However, he warned that the junta circumvents sanctions by exploiting gaps, shifting financial institutions, and leveraging inadequate coordination and enforcement among member states.

    “The good news is that the junta is increasingly isolated … the bad news is that the junta is circumventing sanctions and other measures by exploiting gaps in sanctions regimes, shifting financial institutions, and taking advantage of the failure of Member States to fully coordinate and enforce actions,” the Special Rapporteur said.

    Shift from Singapore to Thailand

    The report Banking on the Death Trade: How Banks and Governments Enable the military Junta in Myanmar examined “a dramatic shift” in the role of two Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) countries as sources of weapons and military supplies.  

    Following last year’s identification of Singapore as a significant source, the Singaporean government investigated the entities involved, resulting in a 90 per cent drop in weapons flowing to Myanmar from Singapore-registered companies.

    Conversely, military procurement through Thailand has moved in the opposite direction, the news release noted.  

    The junta imported nearly $130 million in weapons and military supplies from Thailand-registered suppliers in the year ending March 2024 – more than double the total from the previous year.  

    Thai banks have played a crucial role in this shift. The Siam Commercial Bank, for instance, facilitated just over $5 million in transactions related to Myanmar military in the year ending March 2023, but that number rose sharply to over $100 million the following year.

    Political will needed

    “Singapore’s example demonstrates that a Government with sufficient political will can make a significant difference toward shutting down the Myanmar death trade,” Mr. Andrews stressed.

    “Thailand has an opportunity to follow this powerful example by taking action that will deal a huge blow to the junta’s capacity to sustain its escalating attacks on civilian targets. I urge it to do so,” he concluded.

    Appointed by the Geneva-based UN Human Rights Council, and forming of a part of its Special Procedures, Special Rapporteurs are mandated to monitor and assess the rights situation in certain thematic or country situations.

    They work voluntarily, are not UN staff and do not receive a salary.

    UN food warehouse looted

    Amidst the ongoing conflict, a warehouse of the UN emergency food relief agency was looted and set on fire in Maungdaw, northern Rakhine province last Saturday.

    It was holding 1,175 metric tons of life-saving food and supplies, enough emergency food to sustain 64,000 people for one month. However, due to increased conflict in the region, its staff have not been able to access the warehouse since late May.

    The UN World Food Programme (WFP) strongly condemned the incident, stressing that the seizure of humanitarian goods and destruction of facilities undermined its food support programme to conflict-affected populations in Myanmar.

    It called on all parties to the conflict to uphold their obligations under international humanitarian law to respect and protect aid facilities and assets and ensure humanitarians have unfettered access.  

    WFP is gathering details of the circumstances surrounding the incident, the agency said.

    Image: ADB

    - Advertisement -

    LEAVE A REPLY

    Please enter your comment!
    Please enter your name here

    Latest news

    Sri Lanka’s Elephant Corridor Plan ‘Unscientific’

    Nearly 5,000 elephants and 1,600 people have been killed in the last 15 years in clashes between elephants and humans in Sri Lanka, home to one of the largest remaining populations of Asian elephants, according to official figures.

    New Projections Show Extreme Glacier Loss Already at 2°C

    Staying close to 1.5°C on the other hand preserves at least some glacier ice in all regions, even Scandinavia, with 20-30 per cent remaining in the four most sensitive regions; and 40-45 per cent in the Himalayas and Caucuses; stressing the growing urgency of the 1.5°C temperature goal and rapid decarbonization to achieve it.

    Government Extends Interest Relief for Farmers, Reinforces KCC and MISS as Pillars of Agricultural Credit

    Through the KCC framework, farmers benefit from revolving credit facilities for up to five years. This flexible structure allows them to draw and repay funds as per their seasonal requirements without having to reapply for loans each season.

    Legal Battle Brews Over Rampant Illegal Sand Mining in Meghna River

    The massive profits coupled with a weak legal framework have drawn influential individuals with political connections into the sand mining business, making it dangerous for environmental activists and journalists to speak out.
    - Advertisement -

    Yunus Warns of ‘War-Like Situation’ Amid Political Crisis and Rising Tensions

    The high-stakes meeting brought together 20 leaders from various political parties and organisations in two separate sessions, as Yunus sought to shore up support amid reports of internal tensions within his interim government and growing external pressure.

    Vice President Calls for Direct Subsidies and Agri-Entrepreneurship at Madhya Pradesh Conclave

    He urged agro-based industries, NGOs, MPs, and MLAs to adopt villages and help build agri-entrepreneurial ecosystems.

    Must read

    Sri Lanka’s Elephant Corridor Plan ‘Unscientific’

    Nearly 5,000 elephants and 1,600 people have been killed in the last 15 years in clashes between elephants and humans in Sri Lanka, home to one of the largest remaining populations of Asian elephants, according to official figures.

    New Projections Show Extreme Glacier Loss Already at 2°C

    Staying close to 1.5°C on the other hand preserves at least some glacier ice in all regions, even Scandinavia, with 20-30 per cent remaining in the four most sensitive regions; and 40-45 per cent in the Himalayas and Caucuses; stressing the growing urgency of the 1.5°C temperature goal and rapid decarbonization to achieve it.
    - Advertisement -

    More from the sectionRELATED
    Recommended to you