Open Letter: The UNGA Must Adopt a New Resolution to Reject the Illegal Junta’s Sham Election, Enforce Minimum Engagement, Advance Accountability, and Support Myanmar Peoples’ Efforts to Build a Genuine Federal Democratic Myanmar

Endorsed by 191 civil society organizations, including German Solidarity Myanmar (GSM).

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To: Member States of the United Nations General Assembly

United Nations Secretary-General

3 July 2026

Open Letter: The UNGA Must Adopt a New Resolution to Reject the Illegal Junta’s Sham Election, Enforce Minimum Engagement, Advance Accountability, and Support Myanmar Peoples’ Efforts to Build a Genuine Federal Democratic Myanmar

Dear Excellencies,

We, the undersigned 191 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations, urgently call upon the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) to adopt a robust new resolution that:

1. Rejects the military junta’s fraudulent election and refuses recognition of any rebranded civilian governance structures.
2. Strictly enforces the UN policy of minimal political engagement with the military junta.
3. Responds effectively to the escalating humanitarian and human rights catastrophe.
4. Restricts the junta’s capacity to commit atrocities by blocking access to aviation fuel, arms, and dual use technologies.
5. Combats the transnational criminal economies that fund the junta’s terror campaign.
6. Advances international accountability across all available legal avenues

Excellencies,

Over the past five years, the illegal military junta has waged a campaign of terror. Since February 2021, over 31,000 democracy activists have been arrested, and documentation records at least 501 massacres. While the junta has launched 9,794 aerial bombardments resulting in 4,853 civilian deaths since the coup, this violence exponentially spiked to manufacture political legitimacy for its sham election. Between December 2025 and January 2026 alone, the OHCHR documented at least 170 civilians killed in 408 military aerial attacks to crush opposition during the voting period. Electoral secrecy was systematically dismantled, and at least 404 people were arbitrarily detained under so called election protection laws. This stark surge in civilian casualties vividly demonstrates that the election was not a political process, but a weapon of war.

Furthermore, the UN Secretary-General’s report confirms the military systematically uses sexual and gender-based violence as tactics of war. Compounding these atrocities, Myanmar has become a regional hub for transnational organized crimes. Cyber scam centers and illicit narcotics production flourish under the junta, generating vital revenue to evade international sanctions and spreading instability globally. In stark contrast, Myanmar’s diverse civil society and democratic resistance groups have bravely established people led governance from the ground up, actively shaping a sustainable federal democracy.

Following this violently coerced process, the junta rebranded itself under a civilian disguise, with Min Aung Hlaing self-appointed as president. The UN Human Rights Council explicitly affirmed these elections were neither free nor fair. Echoing the urgent appeals made by Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, the UNGA must unequivocally reject the sham election and refrain from action that could be interpreted as conferring legitimacy on governance structures emerging from it. The credentials and representation of Myanmar at the United Nations must continue to reflect the will and democratic aspirations of the people of Myanmar and must not be used to confer legitimacy upon military rule. Any recognition of, or engagement that confers legitimacy upon, such structures risks normalizing ongoing violations of international law and undermining international accountability efforts.

We call on the UNGA to step up efforts to stop the flow of arms to Myanmar, including by specifically calling on the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) to impose an arms embargo, and by calling on individual UN members to impose unilateral arms embargoes. Increased international efforts must also be made to prevent equipment and revenue that contributes to the military’s capacity to commit serious violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. The UNGA should call on the UNSC to impose targeted sanctions prohibiting to supply of aviation fuel to the Myanmar military.

Decades of impunity have encouraged and enabled the Myanmar military to continue to violate international law on a daily basis. The Myanmar military have for decades ignored UNGA resolutions calling on them to abide by international law and end violations of international law. UNGA must now go further in efforts to uphold international law in Myanmar. Specifically, UNGA should call on the UNSC to refer the situation in the whole of Myanmar to the International Criminal Court (ICC), call on the UNSC to hold a meeting to address the Myanmar military violating the provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), and welcome the application of universal jurisdiction in UN member states to address violations of international law by the Myanmar military.

Excellencies,

While we acknowledge the UN’s strict policy of minimum engagement with the junta, current operational practice by certain UN Agencies demonstrates  and raises concerns consistency with stated UN principles and policies:

• Indirect Financial Support: Certain operational arrangements may result in financial benefits to the junta-controlled institutions.
• Inconsistent Application: Agencies prioritize engagement with junta-controlled authorities and operations in junta-controlled territories while restricting engagement with resistance-controlled regions.
• Engagement with Military-Linked Businesses: Credible reports indicate continued interactions with companies identified by the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar as having links to the military.
• Coercion of National Staff: Documented reports indicate that Myanmar-based national staff are subjected to pressure and coercion by junta administrators/authorities to engage with military-controlled institutions, placing their safety, independence, and professional responsibilities at risk.
• Compromised Partnerships: Technical collaboration and public engagement with military created front organizations raises concerns regarding the perceived impartiality and credibility of UN engagement.

Serious concerns remain regarding the implementation of the recommendations of the 2019 Rosenthal Report, which identified systemic failure of the UN in its response to the Rohingya crisis. Greater transparency and accountability are needed to ensure these lessons are fully incorporated across the UN system. All UN agencies must strictly enforce the Human Rights Up Front Action Plan by executing these priority institutional measures.

• Enforce Core Principles: Eliminate inconsistent application of neutrality across all programming.
• Reroute Aid: Bypass junta-controlled channels. Directly fund and collaborate with local civil society, the NUG, and EROs.
• Halt Legitimization: Cease all institutional cooperation or public visibility in Nay Pyi Taw that validates the illegal authorities.
• Corporate Due Diligence: Establish robust due diligence and vetting procedures to ensure no UN agency contracts with sanctioned individuals.
• Strengthen Headquarters Oversight and Accountability Mechanisms: Ensure stronger oversight of UN country operations and greater accountability across the UN systems to support humanitarian access and uphold intentional legal obligations.

Excellencies,

For too long, fragmented institutional approaches have allowed the military cartel to exploit international presence. UN Agencies must explicitly align with the UN’s stated resolutions and speak with a unified, principled voice.

Furthermore, because the UN Security Council has repeatedly failed to exercise its authority under Chapter VII of the UN Charter to address the Myanmar crisis—due to certain veto wielding members blocking a new resolution—we urgently call upon the UN General Assembly to assume a stronger leadership role in advancing international action on Myanmar. The UNGA must adopt a robust resolution that reflects the urgency of the crisis, rejects the rebranded military junta’s attempts to legitimize its military rule through the sham election, and supports a rights-based federal democratic future grounded in international law, justice, and accountability.

For more information, please contact:

• Khin Ohmar, Progressive Voice; info@progressive-voice.org
• Tun Khin, Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK; tunkhin80@gmail.com
• Debbie Stothard, ALTSEAN-BURMA; debbie@altsean.org
• Salai Za Uk Ling, Chin Human Rights Organization; zauk@chinhumanrights.org
• Mark Farmaner, Burma Campaign UK; Farmaner@burmacampaign.org.uk

Signed by 191 civil society organizations, including 22 organizations that have chosen not to disclose their names:

1. 5/ Lapantang Strike Column
2. 5/ of Zaya State  Strike Committee
3. 8888 Generation (New Zealand)
4. Action Committee for Democracy Development (ACDD)
5. All Arakan Youth Organizations Network (AAYON)
6. All Burma Democratic Front in New Zealand
7. ALTSEAN-Burma
8. Anti-Junta Alliance Yangon – AJAY
9. Anti-junta Forces Coordination Committee – Mandalay (AFCC – Mandalay)
10. Anyar Pyit Taing Htaung Lay Myar Strike Committee
11. Arakan CSO Network
12. Arakan Youth Peace Network
13. Asia Democracy Network (ADN)
14. Asia Human Rights and Labour Advocates (AHRLA)
15. Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
16. Association of Spring Rainbow (ASR)
17. Association of Human Rights Defenders and Promoters (HRDP)
18. Athan – Freedom of Expression Activist Organization
19. Auckland Kachin Community NZ
20. Auckland Zomi Community
21. Ayadaw Strike Committee
22. Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation (AWDO), Magway
23. Ayeyarwaddy West Development Organisation (AWDO), Nagphe
24. Back Pack Health Worker Team (BPHWT)
25. Blood Money Campaign (BMC)
26. Budalin Strike Force
27. Burma Action Ireland
28. Burma Campaign UK (BCUK)
29. Burma Canadian Network
30. Burma Concern
31. Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN)
32. Burma Medical Association (BMA)
33. Burmese Atheists
34. Burmese Community Group (Manawatu, NZ)
35. Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK (BROUK)
36. Burmese Rohingya Welfare Organisation New Zealand
37. Burmese Women’s Union (BWU)
38. Campaign for a New Myanmar
39. CDM Medical Network (CDMMN)
40. Chin Community of Auckland
41. Chin Human Rights Organization (CHRO)
42. Chindwin Riverside Villages Strike Committee
43. Civil Information Network (CIN)
44. Dagon University Student’s Union (DUSU)
45. Defend Myanmar Democracy (DMD)
46. Doh Atu – Ensemble pour le Myanmar
47. Educational Initiatives Prague
48. Equality Myanmar (EQMM)
49. Ethnic Youth General Strike Committee (Mandalay)
50. Federal Myanmar Benevolence Group (NZ)
51. Federation of Basic Education Worker Unions (FBEWU )
52. Free Burma Campaign (South Africa) (FBC (SA))
53. Gandhi Development Trust
54. General Strike Collaboration Committee (GSCC)
55. General Strike Coordination Body – GSCB
56. Generation Wave (GW)
57. German Solidarity with Myanmar e.V.
58. Greater Equitable Measures (GEM), Malaysia
59. Hpakant Hmawlae Strike Force
60. Human Rights Educators’ Network (HREN)
61. Human Rights Foundation of Monland (HURFOM)
62. India for Myanmar
63. Info Birmanie
64. Inle Women Union
65. International Campaign for the Rohingya
66. International Peace Bureau (IPB)
67. Justice For Myanmar (JFM)
68. Justice & Equality Focus (JEF)
69. Kachin Human Rights Watch (KHRW)
70. Kachin Women’s Association Thailand (KWAT)
71. Kalay Township People’s Strike Steering Committee – KPSSC
72. Kani Township Strike Steering Committee
73. Kantbalu Township Strike Force
74. Karen Human Rights Group (KHRG)
75. Karen Peace Support Network (KPSN)
76. Karen Women’s Organization (KWO)
77. Karenni Civil Society Network (KCSN)
78. Karenni Human Rights Group (KnHRG)
79. Karenni National Women’s Organization (KNWO)
80. Karenni Society New Zealand
81. Kawthoolei Women’s Network
82. Keng Tung Youth
83. Kyae Lak Myay
84. Kyauktada Strike Committee (KSC)
85. Latpadaung Anti-coup Strike Force
86. Latpadaung Region Strike Committee
87. LGBT Alliance Myanmar
88. MAGGA Initiative (MI)
89. Magway People’s Revolution Committee
90. Magway Region Human Rights Network
91. Mandalay Medical Family (MFM)
92. Mandalay Strike Force (MSF)
93. MayMyo Strike Force
94. Metta Campaign Mandalay
95. Monywa People’s Strike Steering Committee
96. Monywa-Amyint Road Strike Committee
97. Myanmar Accountability Project (MAP)
98. Myanmar anti-military coup movement in New Zealand
99. Myanmar Community Group Christchurch New Zealand
100. Myanmar Community Group Dunedin New Zealand
101. Myanmar Emergency Fund-Canada
102. Myanmar Engineers – New Zealand
103. Myanmar Gonye (New Zealand)
104. Myanmar Labour Alliance (MLA)
105. Myanmar Students’ Union in New Zealand
106. Myaung People Strike Steering Committee
107. MyaYar Knowledge Tree
108. Myingyan Civilian Movement Committee
109. Nelson Myanmar Community Group New Zealand
110. Network for Human Rights Documentation – Burma (ND-Burma)
111. New Bloom (Taiwan)
112. New Myanmar Foundation
113. New Zealand Campaign for Myanmar
114. New Zealand Doctors for NUG
115. New Zealand Karen Association
116. New Zealand Zo Community Inc.
117. No Business With Genocide
118. Olive organization
119. Overseas Mon Association. New Zealand
120. Pale People’s Strike Steering Committee
121. People Movement Platform Myanmar
122. People’s Empowerment Foundation (PEF)
123. Political Prisoners Network – Myanmar (PPNM)
124. Progressive Voice (PV)
125. Pyithu Gonye (New Zealand)
126. Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network (RMCN)
127. Rvwang Community Association New Zealand
128. RW Welfare Society (RWWS)
129. Save Myanmar Fundraising Group (New Zealand)
130. SEA Junction
131. Shan Community (New Zealand)
132. Shan MATA
133. Shwebo Strike Force
134. Sisters 2 Sisters
135. Sitt Nyein Pann Foundation (SNPF)
136. Southern Youth Development Organization (SYDO)
137. Spirit in Education Movement (SEM),Thailand
138. Sujata Sisters Group (NZ)
139. Ta’ang Women Organization (TWO)
140. Taiwan Association for Human Rights
141. The Ladies Organization
142. Think Centre
143. S. Campaign for Burma
144. Unitarian Universalist Service Committee (UUSC)
145. University of Medicine Mandalay Student Union Revolutionary Front – UMMSURF
146. University Students’ Unions Alumni Force
147. Volunteers in Myanmar
148. Wetlet Strike Committee
149. White Coat Society Yangon (WCSY)
150. Women Alliance Burma (WAB)
151. Women Lead Resource Center
152. Women’s League of Burma (WLB)
153. Women’s Organization of Political Prisoners (WOPP)
154. Yadanabon University Students’ Union (YDNBUSU)
155. Yain Nweh Par (Rainbow Win The Storm – RIS)
156. Yangon Deaf Group
157. Yinmarbin-Sarlingyi All Villages People Strike Leading Committee
158. Youth Empowerment
159. Youth Resources Strike Committee – Chaung U Township
160. ဂန့်ဂေါဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေးအဖွဲ့
161. ဒို့မြေကွန်ရက် (LIOH)
162. ဒို့မြေပြည်သူ့အကျိုးပြုအဖွဲ့ (တွံတေး)
163. နွေဦးတမာန် နိုင်/ကျဉ်းကူညီရေးအဖွဲ့
164. ပွင့်ဖြူဖွံ့ဖြိုးတိုးတက်ရေးအဖွဲ့
165. ပွင့်ဖြူလယ်ယာမြေကွန်ရက်
166. မင်းဘူးတောင်သူများအစုအဖွဲ့
167. မင်းလှတောင်သူများအစုအဖွဲ့
168. မျိုးဆက်-Generations
169. သမိုင်းသယ်ဆောင်သူများ