Draft charter for Myanmar’s federal transition unveiled; UN Ambassador urges decisive action on R2P

Draft charter for Myanmar’s federal transition unveiled

The National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC) and the National Unity Government (NUG) held a press conference on Sunday to introduce a draft of the “Articles of Federal Transitional Arrangements” in Mae Sot, Thailand. The NUCC was established by 33 groups opposed to the military coup on March 8, 2021. It’s an advisory body to the NUG, which is an interim administration led by lawmakers ousted during the coup.

The NUG Minister for Federal Union Affairs Lian Hmung Sakhong told DVB that this draft charter proves that resistance forces in Burma are united in building a federal democratic union as an alternative to military rule. The press conference also noted the increased use of airstrikes carried out by the Burma Air Force nationwide following the inauguration of regime leader Min Aung Hlaing as president on April 10.

The NUCC has temporarily suspended the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), a group of lawmakers elected in 2020 but ousted in the coup, from meetings since November due to “minor internal disputes.” Eight resistance groups, including the Karen National Union (KNU) and the Karenni National Progressive Party (KNPP), temporarily suspended their NUCC memberships last year.

UN Ambassador urges decisive R2P action

In a stinging address before the U.N. General Assembly, Burma’s Permanent Representative to the U.N. Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun called on the international community to urgently invoke the “Responsibility to Protect” (R2P) doctrine to halt what he described as a system-wide campaign of mass atrocities committed by the military in Burma.

Speaking on July 6 during a plenary debate on R2P and the prevention of genocide and war crimes, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun warned that international inaction has fostered complete impunity for the military, leaving millions of civilians vulnerable to devastating violence. He presented updated, grim metrics detailing the scale of the crisis since the 2021 coup.

According to the data cited in his address, more than 8,100 people have been killed by the military with over 3.7 million people forced from their homes, who are now internally displaced. Between April 20 and June 30—a period of just 70 days—the military intensified its campaign, launching 1,147 aerial attacks and conducting 20 massacres against civilians.