Myanmar/Burma: Council adds 4 persons and 2 entities to EU sanctions list

The Council approved additional restrictive measures against four persons and two entities, in view of the continuing grave situation in Myanmar/Burma.

The listings include a Union Minister, two other members of the State Administrative Council (SAC), and a commander responsible for airstrikes targeting civilians in particular in Kayah state. Two companies generating income for the military regime and providing arms and other equipment used by the armed forces - Star Sapphire Group of Companies and Royal Shune Lei Company Limited - will also be subject to restrictive measures.

Those listed under the sanctions regime are subject to an asset freeze and the provision of funds or economic resources, directly or indirectly, to them or for their benefit is prohibited. Additionally, a travel ban to the EU applies to the natural persons listed.

Other EU restrictive measure remain in place: the embargo on arms and equipment and export restrictions on equipment for monitoring communications which might be used for internal repression, the export ban on dual-use goods for use by the military and border guard police, and the prohibition of military training and cooperation with the Tatmadaw.

The restrictive measures come in addition to the withholding of EU financial assistance directly going to the government and the freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the junta.

The EU remains deeply concerned by the continuing escalation of violence in Myanmar and the evolution towards a protracted conflict with regional implications. The EU condemns the continuing grave human rights violations by the Myanmar armed forces, including torture, sexual and gender-based violence, the persecution of civil society actors, human rights defenders and journalists, and attacks on the civilian population, including ethnic and religious minorities.

The continuous obstruction of the State Administration Council to engage in an inclusive dialogue with relevant stakeholders comes in the face of a rise in indiscriminate violence against unarmed civilians, notably through repeated air strikes. In the absence of progress in the situation in Myanmar/Burma, the EU has expressed several times its readiness to adopt further restrictive measures against those responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law and for the serious human rights violations taking place in the country.

The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union.

Background

In February 2021, the Council adopted conclusions condemning in the strongest terms the military coup carried out in Myanmar/Burma.

On 31 January 2023, the High Representative issued a declaration on behalf of the EU on the 2nd anniversary of the military take-over stating that, in the absence of any swift progress on the situation in Myanmar, the EU stood ready to adopt further restrictive measures against those directly responsible for and those abetting the undermining of democracy and the serious human rights violations in the country.

The Council has imposed restrictive measures against those responsible for the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the subsequent military and police repression against peaceful demonstrators on 22 March, 19 April and 21 June 2021, 21 February and 8 November 2022, 20 February and 20 July 2023.