Yangon/New York: Since February 1, 2021, when the Military junta of Myanmar usurped power in a bloodless coup, at least 930 people — many of them women and children — have been killed at the hands of security forces, while thousands more have been injured.
Since then, women and girls have been at the frontlines as leaders of civil society organisations, civil servants, activists, journalists, artists and influencers, exercising their fundamental rights to express their hopes for the future of the country.
Even as the military in Myanmar extended the state of emergency and elections until mid—2023, a six months since the takeover, the precarious situation, the wider implications, threatening regional stability, have been made even worse by the COVID—19 outbreak. And for us, a unified international response remains paramount. At least 3,000 people remain under detention — this includes politicians, authors, human rights defenders, teachers, health-care workers, civil servants, journalists, monks, celebrities and ordinary citizens.
The UN Population Fund (UNFPA) and UN-Women in Myanmar have warned that the compounded political and health crisis, coupled with an intensification of fighting, is putting more women and girls this year at risk. They also said today that the deteriorating socioeconomic situation means that hundreds of thousands more people now are in need of humanitarian aid.
The protracted crisis has impacted humanitarian access to people in need, as well as education, health and the fight against COVID-19. It has also, of course, affected the basic rights of the people of Myanmar to express themselves and have a government that represents them, the UNI secretariat said.
While the United Nations team in Myanmar has reaffirmed its solidarity with the people of the country in their pursuit for democracy, peace, human rights and the rule of law, six months after the Myanmar military seized control over the democratically elected government, for their part, in New York, Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesman for the Secretary-General, today said that six months since the takeover, the precarious situation, the wider implications, threatening regional stability, have been made even worse by the COVID—19 outbreak. “And for us, a unified international response remains paramount,” he added.
– global bihari bureau
