Briefing by the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar

“Briefing by the Special Envoy on Myanmar” 
Tuesday, 10 June 2025 
Statement by International IDEA

Excellencies, 

International IDEA acknowledges and expresses its thanks to the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Ms. Julie Bishop for her briefing and her efforts in navigating the challenges of her mandate.  

Since the 2021 military coup, Myanmar has been in polycrisis with more than 14,000 civilian fatalities and 80,000 total fatalities recorded, more than 3,5 million internally displaced and over 100,000 houses torched. The March earthquake in Myanmar has compounded the already devastating humanitarian situation, and the military junta continues to fly airstrikes as part of its campaign against anti-junta forces and Myanmar’s people, despite a cease fire announcement.

The plight of the Rohingya has only worsened since the 2021 coup. Those who have been forcibly deported from Myanmar face an uncertain future, with life-saving support to refugees significantly reduced, while Rohingya inside Myanmar face continuing persecution, displacement, and denial of human rights amidst an intensifying conflict. We urge UN member states at the upcoming UN High Level Rohingya Conference in September 2025 to increase their support for the humanitarian needs of the Rohingya people. The safe, voluntary and dignified return to Myanmar of displaced Rohingya must be strongly anchored in human rights guarantees, and their eventual reintegration into Myanmar’s society must be at the heart of a future democratic Myanmar that restores citizenship and respects equality of rights of all individuals and groups.

June 2025 will mark four years since the General Assembly’s last plenary resolution on Myanmar’s situation (75/289). We welcome the recent UN Human Rights Council’s adoption of a new consensus resolution on Myanmar (58/20) on 3 April, which calls on the Myanmar military to accept that all national institutions, including the military, must serve under a democratically elected fully representative civilian government. We underline that Myanmar’s struggle to break free from military rule—the same military behind the crimes against the Rohingya in 2016 and 2017—is also a fight for justice for the Rohingya people. 

International IDEA would like to highlight that the protection of the 2020 election results, and the support of Myanmar’s legitimate interim government institutions, are essential to ensure that future elections are free, fair, and fully inclusive—particularly for the Rohingya and other marginalized communities. It is already evident that the planned December 2025 elections orchestrated by the junta will be neither legitimate nor fulfill democratic standards. The international community must be vigilant to the junta’s efforts to instrumentalize international support, in an attempt to give their so-called elections a veneer of legitimacy based on their false narrative of electoral manipulation.  

We commend the recent efforts to repeal the 1982 citizenship law by Myanmar’s interim parliament and the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), as part of ongoing efforts by Myanmar’s interim democratic institutions to act on the human rights principles enshrined in the Federal Democracy Charter. These steps demonstrate the continued commitment of Myanmar’s interim government institutions to building a democratic federal system grounded in human rights, the rule of law, and non-discrimination. The National Unity Government (NUG)’s ongoing engagement with the Rohingya community, and its commitment to their reintegration, are important steps that deserve international support.

International IDEA stands with the people of Myanmar. We urge the international community to protect the dignity of Myanmar’s people through continued and active international engagement, financial support and dialogue. The objectives of promoting peace and working towards a future democratic union must be advanced in tandem, to help the people of Myanmar navigate their current challenges and set the stage for a better democratic future.

Thank you.