Rights groups demand ASEAN set benchmarks to end Myanmar airstrikes

Mizzima

On 19 May, human rights groups, including the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development, called on ASEAN after the 48th Summit to establish benchmarks to stop Myanmar military airstrikes and violence against civilians, and rejecting the junta’s recent elections.

The text of the joint statement is as follows.

Our joint call comes after the 48th ASEAN Summit held in Cebu on 8 May 2026 under the chairship of the Philippines. The Summit once again exposed the catastrophic failure of ASEAN’s response to the Myanmar crisis. In fact, the Chair acknowledged the “minimal progress on the implementation of the ASEAN Leaders’ Five-Point Consensus (5PC).”

We urge ASEAN to take concrete steps to fulfill its commitments—to good governance, the rule of law, and cessation of violence—by cooperating with global and regional criminal accountability mechanisms against the Myanmar military leadership. Justice for crimes against humanity and the Rohingya genocide are essential not only to guarantee non-recurrence of crimes but also to secure regional human security.

We strongly condemn the Myanmar military’s relentless and systematic attacks against civilians, its deliberate and systematic obstruction of humanitarian aid, and its commitment of crimes against humanity and war crimes.

We call on ASEAN to stand unequivocally and unconditionally with the people of Myanmar in their struggle for an equitable federal democracy grounded in human rights, justice, and accountability.

Problems with 5PC

We raise the alarm over how ASEAN chooses to use 5PC as its “primary reference” to address the junta-made polycrisis in Myanmar.

The 5PC was adopted at a special ASEAN Leaders’ Meeting in Jakarta in April 2021, three months after the Myanmar military’s illegal coup attempt.

More than five years since the 5PC’s adoption, the junta has completely disregarded its implementation. From the outset, the 5PC was already fatally compromised. By treating the junta as a legitimate interlocutor, ASEAN implicitly legitimized the coup.

While the junta’s violence has only further intensified, ASEAN under the chairship of the Philippines has not formally nor meaningfully engaged with the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic resistance organizations (EROs), and genuine civil society representatives. The special envoy process has been a diplomatic failure and humanitarian assistance has been weaponized.

Five Counter Points

We have long called on ASEAN and the international community—particularly the United Nations and Myanmar’s neighbouring countries—to move decisively beyond the 5PC.

As civil society, we proposed the Five Counter Points in 2023 as a principled and people-centred alternative that genuinely reflects the will and aspirations of the people of Myanmar.

The Five Counter Points calls on ASEAN to urgently review and reframe its current approach to the Myanmar crisis. It urges ASEAN to do the following:

1) Establish an immediate action plan to halt the military’s violence and atrocity crimes, with a minimum benchmark to end airstrikes as a matter of urgency.

2) Initiate formal and meaningful consultations with key stakeholders, including the NUG, the National Unity Consultative Council, the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, EROs, and civil society.

3) The ASEAN Special Envoy should serve all ASEAN members collectively, with a mandate rooted in the principles of human rights, do-no-harm, justice, and accountability. The position must be made full-time, with its term extended to three years. It should be granted independence and sufficient authority to act without being delayed by infrequent ASEAN high-level meetings.

4) Restrategize its humanitarian support plan to ensure the immediate removal of the military junta’s representation from the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management Centre’s Governing Board.

5) The UN Special Envoy on Myanmar must also cut ties with the military junta and open formal communications and engagement with key stakeholders

Sham election

Min Aung Hlaing’s orchestration of a sham election, conducted in three fraudulent phases between December 2025 and January 2026, represents yet another attempt by the illegal military junta to manufacture international legitimacy.

The so-called electoral process was conducted amidst an ongoing conflict with increased aerial and ground attacks. Political prisoners remain under detention as the country’s political environment continues to lack inclusivity.

The said election was not free, fair, nor credible. It was built on a foundation of disinformation; intimidation; and threats against voters, candidates, and civil society.

ASEAN must unequivocally reject all institutions and representatives emerging from the sham election.

The junta remains illegitimate

Over 3.7 million people were displaced from their homes and more than 12 million people are facing acute food insecurity due to military violence. The people of Myanmar are paying for ASEAN’s inaction with their lives.

The junta is an illegitimate entity with no democratic mandate nor popular support, it has no place at any negotiating table.

As the ASEAN welcomed “the release of prisoners as a positive step towards inclusive national dialogue among all parties in Myanmar,” it actually risks legitimizing the junta. The release of 292 political prisoners as part of the junta’s “New Year Amnesty” must not be mistaken for genuine reform.

ASEAN must not be deceived by Min Aung Hlaing’s carefully choreographed gestures designed to legitimize the junta’s sham “civilian” administration and to manufacture the appearance of progress for foreign governments.

Reports concerning the release of President U Win Myint and the relocation of State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remain deeply troubling and unverified, according to the NUG.