UN must impose arms embargo on Myanmar junta for persecution of Muslims: Rights group
Burma Human Rights Network has called on the United Nations to impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar’s military rulers
NEW YORK, United States (MNTV) – The Burma Human Rights Network has called on the United Nations to impose a global arms embargo on Myanmar’s military rulers amid continued persecution of the country’s Muslims.
The group urged the UN Security Council to “end its inaction and refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court,” and impose “a binding global arms embargo,” including a ban on security assistance, arms sales, dual-use technology, and aviation fuel supplies.
It also called on the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to reject the junta’s upcoming “sham elections” later this month and bar Myanmar from all ASEAN meetings. Although Myanmar is a member of the bloc, it has been excluded from high-level summits since the 2021 coup.
The group urged neighboring countries — including India, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangladesh — to create a coordinated regional response to the refugee crisis, provide protection and legal assistance to those fleeing Myanmar, and authorize emergency cross-border aid for internally displaced people.
Marking the anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the group said Myanmar’s Muslims continue to face persecution more than seven decades after the document’s adoption. Fundamental rights such as safety, dignity and equal protection have been “systematically violated for decades” by the military through dispossession, segregation, and violence.
It detailed abuses including forced displacement, denial of citizenship, mass killings, and destruction of religious sites and entire communities. Muslim communities continue to face targeted attacks, airstrikes on villages, surveillance of religious life and raids on gatherings, alongside the demolition of cemeteries for military projects.
The group urged global governments to target the junta’s supply chains and financial networks, support international legal action — including Gambia’s genocide case at the ICJ — and pursue prosecutions under universal jurisdiction while increasing engagement with democratic and resistance groups.
The Rohingya, a mostly Muslim minority, face discrimination and statelessness and frequently attempt dangerous sea crossings to escape hardship. More than 1.3 million have sought refuge in Bangladesh since 2017.
Myanmar remains engulfed in civil war since the 2021 military coup.
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