UN Human Rights Council calls for aviation fuel embargo against Myanmar

The UN Human Rights Council adopted resolutions Thursday to call on UN member states to refrain from supplying jet fuel to the Myanmar military. The council also extended the mandates of the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Iran and Myanmar and the independent international fact-finding mission on Iran.

All members from the council, excluding China, adopted the resolution to call on all UN member states to: " refrain … from the export, sale or transfer of jet fuel, surveillance goods and technologies and less-lethal weapons, including “dual-use” items, when they assess that there are reasonable grounds to suspect that such goods, technologies or weapons might be used to violate or abuse human rights, including in the context of assemblies."

Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research Montse Ferre welcomed the resolution, claiming that the resolution is urgently needed amid the escalating conflict that lasted for more than three years after the military coup that caused mass internal displacement. Ferre further called on member states to take all necessary actions to prevent entities from supplying aviation fuel to the Myanmar military within their jurisdictions, noting the military’s ability to bypass international restrictions.

Previously, in November 2022, Amnesty International published its findings on the involvement of global enterprises in providing aviation fuel to the Myanmar military, enabling them to launch air strikes that targeted civilians, protected cultural properties and medical facilities. Amnesty International alleged these strikes amounted to war crimes under customary international humanitarian law. Accordingly, the UK, the US, Canada, the EU and Switzerland imposed sanctions on the entities involved in Myanmar and Singapore