Myanmar UN envoy urges safeguards against UNFPA-UN Women merger risks

Mizzima

Myanmar’s UN Ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, urged the UNDP/UNFPA/UNOPS Executive Board on 8 June to protect the unique roles of UNFPA and UN-Women, cautioning that merging them could jeopardize vital services for the population.

The ambassador’s statement continues below.

The operational efficacy of UNFPA and UN-Women is literally a matter of survival for our country and the people, especially those living in the challenging humanitarian settings.

Since February 2021, the destruction of public infrastructure has been weaponized by the illegal military junta. The healthcare sector has collapsed, and the civilian population has been deliberately targeted throughout these years.

The scale of these manufactured horrors is staggering as of mid-2026.

The junta’s relentless violence and deliberate obstruction of aid have pushed the number of internally displaced persons to over 3.7 million. Today, an unprecedented 16.2 million people, nearly one-third of our entire population, including 5 million children, require life-saving humanitarian assistance, with more than 12 million facing acute food insecurity.

The military junta has shown absolutely no change in attitude. They continue to bomb on civilian areas perpetrating war crimes and crimes against humanity until now.

Moreover, we have seen daily how women and girls bear the heaviest brunt of this man-made crisis. Gender-based violence (GBV) has escalated exponentially in conflict zones, while access to life-saving sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) services has been severely curtailed. In this dire landscape, the targeted humanitarian assistance and protection programs provided by both UNFPA and UN-Women are indispensable lifelines.

On this realization, the people of Myanmar are actively shaping an inclusive and democratic future despite these overwhelming challenges.

We recognize that sustainable peace cannot exist without structural gender equality. To this end, the National Unity Government (NUG) and major Ethnic Resistance Organizations established the Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF) on 30 March 2026, paying priorities among others to ensuring gender perspectives, transitional justice for survivors of violence, and women’s leadership.

Accordingly, we support the Secretary-General’s overarching vision to reduce institutional fragmentation and maximize efficiency. However, we all need to make sure not diluting their highly specialized, distinct mandates.

We are concerned that under a single entity, the specialized focus on SRHR championed by UNFPA and the normative gender equality standards led by UN-Women could be compromised, particularly at a time when global funding for women’s rights faces severe pressure.

Therefore, to ensure any restructuring enhances field-level impact, we call on the Board to guarantee four safeguards in the ongoing assessment:

1. Preserve Mandate Integrity: Protect the distinct pillars of the ICPD and Beijing Platforms so that SRHR services are never deprioritized.

2. Optimize Field-Level Delivery: Establish agile, cross-border mechanisms that partner directly with local women-led civil society and parallel administrative structures.

3. Ring-Fence Core Funding: Ensure this restructuring protects, rather than reduces, core budgets dedicated to women and girls.

4. Institutionalize Inclusive Consultations: Transparently include grassroots networks from conflict-affected recipient countries in the assessment process.

The women of Myanmar are at the vanguard of a historic transition. We expect the United Nations to stand firmly with them, ensuring that any reform to this institution strengthens, rather than diminishes, their protection and empowerment.