UK foreign secretary highlights Myanmar crisis on 5th anniversary of military coup

Mizzima

The UK government has marked the fifth anniversary of the Myanmar military coup, calling for a resolution of the crisis.

In a statement, Foreign Secretary Yvette Cooper said: Five years on from the military’s coup, the people of Myanmar face a deepening crisis. By overthrowing Aung San Suu Kyi’s democratically elected government, the will of the people was overturned and their political freedom taken away.

Amidst this crisis, the UK remains committed to supporting a stable future for the people of Myanmar. In the past year we have supported over 1.4 million people with humanitarian assistance and provided 1.3 million people with essential health services. We will continue to stand by those most affected.

Yet conditions on the ground remain dire. Half of Myanmar’s children are now out of school, while women and girls face persistent violence. Crimes that affect us in the UK, like drug production and cyber scams, have flourished.

The recent military-run elections were neither free nor fair. For the aspirations of the Myanmar people to be met, there is much that still needs to be done.

We continue to urge all parties to protect civilians. We call on the military regime to end its airstrikes; to allow unhindered humanitarian access; to release all political prisoners including Aung San Suu Kyi, and to engage in genuine dialogue towards a democratic and peaceful transition.

Today and always, we stand in unwavering solidarity with the people of Myanmar.

Wider background:

Since the coup, the UK has provided more than £190 million in life-saving humanitarian assistance, emergency healthcare and education support, and work to support civil society and local communities.

The UK consistently uses its role as penholder at the UNSC to maintain a spotlight on Myanmar, convening five UNSC meetings in 2025 – most recently in December -addressing human rights violations and calling for humanitarian action.

The UK has co-sponsored a number of Human Rights Council resolutions on Myanmar, including most recently in April 2025. The resolution condemned human rights violations against the people of Myanmar, including the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities.

The UK continues to push for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi as well as other political prisoners and maintain international awareness on the topic. In November 2025 we co-sponsored a UN General Assembly resolution on Myanmar and delivered a statement calling for the release of those unduly detained by the military regime.

We continue to support ASEAN’s leadership on the crisis, including the full implementation of the Five Point Consensus and the work of the Special Envoy.