The Myanmar ambassador to the United Nations suggested the UN Security Council take decisive action against the military junta by exercising universal jurisdiction to hold them accountable for their past and ongoing atrocities.

Speaking to the 6th Committee of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, Kyaw Moe Tun said that the application of the principle of universal jurisdiction is important, sometimes necessary, to be exercised particularly when states are unable or unwilling to conduct credible prosecutions for serious crimes.

He also said that universal jurisdiction is needed to hold the perpetrators accountable, or when the domestic rule of law has been destroyed and widespread impunity is not addressed by the competent international bodies like the UN Security Council.

“We believe that in the absence of timely and decisive action from the UN Security Council and the ICC to save lives of innocent civilians, the application of the principle of universal jurisdiction at the international level will not only complement the work of the UN Security Council and the ICC but also encourage the further strengthening effectiveness and timeliness of the UN Security Council’s action on the matters related to ending impunity and bringing perpetrators accountable,” said the ambassador.

The military junta forces have killed over 4,100 civilians since the coup in February 2021. The military’s indiscriminate attacks have forced about 1.7 million to flee, and the total number of internally displaced persons is now nearly 2 million.

Along with multiple massacres, the military burnt downed or destroyed 75,000 houses across the country.

The United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar (IIMM) has documented the evidence of serious international crimes being committed in Myanmar.

Kyaw Moe Tun added, “We hope the case files and evidence packages prepared by the Mechanism will be made available not only to the current international judicial proceedings, but also to future national and international accountability efforts including universal jurisdiction applications.”

He reiterated the effective action of the Security Council against the Myanmar military to save lives of innocent civilians and not to fail the country.