The UN envoy for Burma, Christine Schraner Burgener, told the Security Council on Friday 5 March that the "
repression must end
", without however going so far as to ask him for international sanctions against the military junta, as mentioned. Wednesday.
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"
Your unity is needed more than ever on Burma
", she added during a closed meeting of the Security Council, according to her speech broadcast to the media.
She once again asked the international community not to "
give legitimacy or recognition
" to the military regime responsible for the February 1st coup.
No joint statement from the Council will be released on Friday, diplomats told AFP on condition of anonymity, referring however to negotiations to come next week on a British draft text.
"
We must show firmness and opportunism to push for an end to violence and the reestablishment of democratic institutions in Burma
", also argued Christine Schraner Burgener.
"
We must denounce the actions of the military, who continue to seriously undermine the principles of this Organization and ignore our clear signals to ensure that they are respected,
" insisted the Swiss woman.
“
We must act now.
Return to isolation will bring economic and political suffering that people do not deserve
"and"
regional implications are imminent,
"she warned, asking the Council to heed the"
desperate appeals
"of the Burmese people. .
“
The time for half measures is over.
The future of Burma, as a prosperous, stable, unified and open State, cannot be built on the suppression or exclusion of minorities or vulnerable communities
”, also affirmed the emissary, evoking the fate of the Muslim minority of the Rohingyas, victims in 2017 of a "
genocide
", according to the UN.
"
Possible measures
"
On Wednesday, during a press conference, Christine Schraner Burgener called on "
Member States (of the UN to) take very strong measures
".
She had specified that she had had a discussion with the army to warn it that "
the Security Council could take important, strong measures
".
The junta's response was "
We are used to sanctions and we have survived these sanctions in the past,
" the envoy then reported.
Read also: Burma: Pope Francis calls for an end to the repression
"
We are not yet at the stage where sanctions from the Security Council are possible,
" said a diplomat on condition of anonymity, struggling to imagine a consensus currently with China and Russia, Burma's main supporters.
"
We will explore new national sanctions and are ready to consider possible measures under the Charter of the United Nations if the situation deteriorates further,
" the British Ambassador to the UN said on Friday after the meeting. , Barbara Woodward, behind the Friday Security Council meeting.
But "
any other measure would require the agreement of all members of the Council
", she noted, implicitly evoking the difficulty of getting them accepted by several member countries of the body, such as China, Russia, 'India or Vietnam.
His Chinese counterpart, Zhang Jun, recalling that China was "
a friendly neighbor
", stressed before the Council that his country "
did not want to see instability or chaos in Burma
".
"
The messages and actions of the international community should urge the parties in Burma to overcome the differences and resolve the problems, and avoid escalating tensions or further complicating the situation,
" he added, calling for to an increased role of the regional Asian association Asean, according to a statement from the Chinese mission.
The UN envoy, who has been banned from returning to the country by the junta so far, said on Friday that he was planning an upcoming tour in Asia, if the Covid-19 pandemic allows.
According to his mission, the Ambassador of Estonia to the UN, Sven Jürgenson, for his part insisted before his 14 counterparts for "
an immediate and unconditional release of those arbitrarily arrested
".