10 December 2024
1. Today marks the 76th Anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) that was adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 10 December 1948. Amongst the military junta’s inhumane violation of human rights, the people of Myanmar are now decisively moving forward to their vision for their freedom, democracy and human dignity. The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw and the elected lawmakers are jointly involved in the enterprise to establish our federal democratic union where human rights are fully enjoyed by the Myanmar’s people.
2. Citizens across the world are suffering human rights violations and violence during as effective legal action against the perpetrators has not been able to be applied and they commit such crimes with impunity. This undermines respect for law, further weakens the rule of law and provides and emboldens them to commit more crimes. With this context of impunity in Myanmar, military top dictators seized power in 2021 and to thus day continue to commit heinous crimes against humanity countrywide.
3. Throughout history, the military dictators have waged violence against ethnic minorities and the Rohingya population. In addition to usurping power in 2021, the junta has committed a range of crimes including arbitrary arrests, massive killings, the destruction of several villages and indiscriminate airstrikes. The military junta has increased air attacks in 2024, targeting villages and cities where civilians live and schools, monasteries, churches and IDP camps where the displaced persons live.
4. The terrorist acts of the military junta have killed at least 6,000 people and destroyed around 100,000 pieces of civilian infrastructure. Over 3 million people have been displaced and 18.6 million including women and children are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance. The illegal military coup and the onslaught of violence by the military junta’s terrorist council must be ended to bring a return to our country’s stability and for an end of the people’s sufferings.
5. We, the elected representatives, hereby, welcome for International Criminal Court (ICC) Prosecutor’s application to the ICC for a warrant of arrest against terrorist military’s leader Min Aung Hlaing, for atrocities committed against the Rohingya people and call for international cooperation for his arrest and legal action application if the warrant ensues. We urge the judges of the International Criminal Court (ICC) to accept the warrant application and quickly issue an arrest warrant for Min Aung Hlaing. We will intensify our efforts to take actions against the military council through domestic and international laws.
6. Given that Min Aung Hlaing has been singled out by the ICC’s Prosecutor seeking such a warrant we can say that he is a marked man. Therefore, we would like to inform all countries that engagement and cooperation with his terrorist military council not only has the effect of supporting the continued violence and crimes of the terrorist military council in Myanmar, but brings opprobrium to those who choose to support Min Aung Hlaing. We also call on countries across the world to help end the crimes committed by the terrorist military council in Myanmar by immediately ceasing relationships and cooperation that have been established with the terrorist military council.
7. The 2020 general election reflected the will of the people of Myanmar, and the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) has recognized that the elected representatives of the parliament are carrying out their legislative duties. The terrorist military dictators are at the root cause of all of Myanmar’s problems, and their planned elections will not resolve the current political problems. However, it will only prolong the current conflict and keep peace far away.
8. As elected representatives elected in the 2020 elections, we are working in various sectors to restore peace, stability, and development in Myanmar, despite the dangers of human rights violations by the military junta. On International Human Rights Day which falls today, we urge all parties to support the soonest end to the illegal military rule and the establishment of a federal democratic system in order to restore democracy, peace, human rights, and justice in Myanmar.
The Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw
