Situation in Myanmar Got Worse Since Election: UN Envoy

Conditions on the ground in Myanmar continue to get worse, UN Special Envoy on Myanmar Julie Bishop warned last Friday, contradicting claims by the military regime that the situation has improved following a widely criticized election.

Bishop told the UN General Assembly that Myanmar remains trapped in a deepening political, humanitarian and security crisis.

“Tragically, the ground realities show that conditions in Myanmar continue to deteriorate. Records are being set for all the wrong reasons,” she said.

“The narrative from the authorities in Naypyitaw after the military-administered election contrasts starkly with the accounts of communities who claim indiscriminate aerial bombing and a denial of essential services continued throughout the process.”

The envoy has visited Myanmar four times and met with coup leader-turned-president Min Aung Hlaing on three occasions, most recently on May 21.

She also held meetings with representatives of the National League for Democracy (NLD), the National Unity Government (NUG), ethnic groups, civil society organizations and recently with the new Steering Council for the Emergence of a Federal Democratic Union (SCEF).

She pointed out that the UN “neither supported nor observed the election process,” while “many on the ground described low voter turnout, exclusion of opposition parties and voting carried out amid ongoing armed conflict.”

Beyond the political crisis, she warned Myanmar is becoming a growing threat to regional stability, emerging as “a global epicenter for cybercrime,” where “transnational scam syndicates have expanded their human trafficking networks across Asia, Africa and the United States”.

The humanitarian situation, she said, has reached alarming levels, with more than 3.7 million people are internally displaced and another 1.6 million fleeing abroad. Myanmar is also now among the world’s six most severe hunger hotspots.

Bishop said 2025 was “the deadliest year for children in Myanmar since the military takeover,” with airstrikes becoming the leading cause of civilian casualties.

She warned that forced conscription is increasing among both military forces and armed resistance groups, pushing many young people to flee the country and exposing them to trafficking, exploitation and illicit criminal economies.

The situation of the Rohingya also remains cause for alarm. “Almost 10 years after their forced displacement, the Rohingya—most of whom are stateless—still face immense obstacles to a safe, voluntary, dignified, and sustainable return to Myanmar,” she said.

Bishop also renewed calls for the immediate release of detained leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

“There have been no independent, verifiable reports of her circumstances for years. Today, on her 81st birthday, I urge others to join with me in calling for her release. In the eyes of many, there can be no progress to peace while State Counselor [Daw Aung San Suu Kyi] is held prisoner,” she said.

The special envoy added that repeated calls by both the UN General Assembly and the UN Security Council for an end to violence, humanitarian access and political dialogue have been “ignored” by Myanmar’s military authorities.

In the same session, the EU endorsed and sharpened Bishop’s assessment, saying the Myanmar military “continues to inflict unimaginable suffering that has even increased since we met here a year ago.”

“The military’s staged elections, that were neither free nor fair and conducted in a climate of violence, repression and exclusion, followed by the rebranding of military rule under a nominally civilian administration, do not confer legitimacy,” it insisted.

In a list of eight demands, the bloc called for a global arms embargo on Myanmar, including an end to transfers of weapons and military equipment.

It also urged accountability through international mechanisms including the International Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice, saying justice is “essential” for lasting peace and reconciliation.