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OHCHR report highlights $1 Billion USD arms trade operating in UN member states, including Singapore, despite embargo

UN Special Rapporteur, Tom Andrews, reveals an ongoing billion-dollar arms trade to Myanmar’s military, implicating entities in UN member states, including Singapore. Despite claims of strict arms transfer regulations, Singapore is highlighted for its crucial role in facilitating these transactions, contrasting with Singaporean authorities’ assertions of adherence to international obligations. The conflicting narratives leave unanswered questions about Singapore’s arms embargo enforcement.

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1 year ago

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On 17 May 2023, Tom Andrews, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, released an extensive report that sheds light on the ongoing arms trade to Myanmar’s military, which has continued since the coup in February 2021.

The report, published by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), provides evidence that the military has imported at least $1 billion USD worth of arms and raw materials for the manufacturing of weapons.

The brutal attack on Pazigyi Village in the Sagaing Region on 11 April 2023, which resulted in the death of approximately 170 people, including 40 children, is a chilling testament to the devastating impact of unrestricted arms trade with the Myanmar military.

In his report, Andrews calls out UN Member States, including Singapore, for their role in enabling this trade through complicity, lax enforcement of bans, and the simple evasion of sanctions. He emphatically emphasizes the urgent need for Member States to act decisively and advocates for a complete prohibition on the sale or transfer of weapons to Myanmar’s military.

The report, named “The Billion Dollar Death Trade: International Arms Networks that Enable Human Rights Violations in Myanmar,” represents the most exhaustive study on post-coup arms transfers to the military.

It reveals significant networks and companies engaged in these transactions, operating out of Russia, China, Singapore, Thailand, and India.

Russia and China emerged as the chief suppliers of advanced weapon systems to Myanmar’s military, contributing over $400 million and $260 million respectively since the coup.

However, the report also shed light on the crucial role of Singapore, with entities based in the city-state instrumental to the Myanmar military’s lethal weapons factories.

According to the report, Singapore has become a major jurisdiction for the transit of spare parts, raw materials, and manufacturing equipment.

From February 2021 to December 2022, $254 million USD worth of supplies were dispatched from various Singaporean entities to the Myanmar military, often involving Singaporean banks.

Entities in Singapore are critical to the operation of Myanmar’s Directorate of Defense Industries’ weapons factories (commonly referred to as KaPaSa, the Burmese acronym for DDI).

The Special Rapporteur has received no information indicating that the Singapore Government has approved, or is involved in, the shipment of arms and associated materials to the Myanmar military.

Singapore banks have likewise been used extensively by arms traffickers operating within Singapore and outside of it, with payments for hundreds of millions of dollars of arms transfers moving through Singapore banks.

The Special Rapporteur has decided not to list the names of Singaporean entities transferring arms to the Myanmar military in order to allow time for the Singapore Government and other UN Member States to take action.

The Singapore government has previously voiced its policy to “prohibit the transfer of arms to Myanmar” and has pledged not to approve the transfer of dual-use items that could potentially have military applications in Myanmar.

Andrews contended that if Singapore were to halt all shipments and facilitation of arms and associated materials to the Myanmar military, it would significantly disrupt the junta’s capacity to commit war crimes.

The report further recorded transfers from Thai-based entities, totalling $28 million USD, and Indian-based entities supplying $51 million worth of arms and related materials to Myanmar’s military since February 2021.

Andrews underscored the need to target primary sources of foreign currency that the Myanmar junta depends on for arms purchases, including the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise.

He pointed out that no Member State has imposed sanctions on the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB), a crucial institution for the junta to receive foreign currency and buy arms. Andrews called for international sanctions against MFTB, suggesting it could greatly disrupt the arms trade.

Singapore prohibit arms transfers and denies transfer of dual-use items to Myanmar

However, Singapore’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Dr Vivian Balakrishnan, presented a contrasting viewpoint in response to questions raised by Workers’ Party Member of Parliament for Hougang SMC, Mr Dennis Tan, on 14th February 2023 about Singapore functioning as a “strategic transit point” for materials contributing to Myanmar’s military production.

Referring to a statement from former Minister for Foreign Affairs George Yeo in 2007, Dr Balakrishnan asserted that Singapore has not substantially contributed to Myanmar’s defence sales and has not been involved in any defence sales to Myanmar in recent years. He reiterated that this policy still holds, even after 16 years, countering the claims of the recent UN report.

He emphasized Singapore’s strict adherence to its international obligations concerning international arms sales and transfers, and its commitment to UN sanctions and embargoes.

He also clarified that Singapore, despite the non-binding nature of the UN General Assembly Resolution 75/287, decided to prohibit arms transfers to Myanmar and deny the transfer of dual-use items with potential military applications.

While Dr Balakrishnan’s February statements may offer some reassurance to the international community, the UN report’s findings raise questions about Singapore’s efforts to maintain the arms embargo. It remains to be seen how these contrasting perspectives will be resolved.

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Civil Society

FORUM-ASIA condemns Myanmar junta’s forced conscription expansion, urges international action

FORUM-ASIA condemns Myanmar’s military junta for expanding forced conscription, calling it a desperate bid to maintain power. The policy, affecting men aged 35 to 60, adds to a long list of human rights violations, including forced labor and the use of civilians as human shields.

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4 September 2024

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The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) has condemned the Myanmar military junta’s recent decision to expand the age limit of its forced conscription policy, calling on the international community to stand in solidarity with the people of Myanmar.

The move is seen as a desperate attempt by the junta to maintain control in the face of a growing pro-democracy resistance movement.

On 25 August 2024, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing announced the introduction of a new “security system with public participation.”

This system would require men aged 35 to 60 to serve as guards, potentially placing them on the frontlines of conflict. The announcement follows the formation of the Central Supervisory Committee for People’s Security and Anti-Terrorism on 16 August, tasked with organizing military training and overseeing “people’s security and anti-terrorism” groups at various administrative levels.

The junta’s plan builds upon the forced conscription policy it implemented on 10 February 2024, invoking the 2010 People’s Military Service Law.

The law mandates men aged 18 to 35 and women aged 18 to 27 to serve two years in the military, with professionals like doctors and engineers potentially serving up to five years. Those who evade service or assist others in doing so face up to five years in prison. As part of this policy, the junta planned to conscript 5,000 individuals monthly from April 2024.

Civilians as Human Shields and Forced Labor

FORUM-ASIA has condemned the junta’s forced conscription policies, highlighting the military’s history of using civilians as human shields and forcing them into hard labor.

The International Labour Organization’s Commission of Inquiry found in October 2023 that the military continues to impose forced labor amidst the ongoing armed conflict, a practice that has escalated since the 2021 coup attempt.

Local news and human rights groups have reported that the junta is also abducting and arresting citizens to use as human shields, further contributing to the human rights violations in Myanmar. Many youths, rather than being conscripted into fighting for a regime they oppose, have fled their homes to join the resistance.

United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has expressed concern over the junta’s detention and recruitment of Myanmar youth. Meanwhile, Tom Andrews, UN Special Rapporteur on Myanmar, noted the junta’s increasing use of powerful weapons against civilians as troop losses and recruitment challenges mount.

Call for Action

FORUM-ASIA is calling on the Myanmar military junta to immediately halt its forced conscription, abductions, forced labor, and the use of civilians as human shields.

“FORUM-ASIA urges the international community, including the UN and ASEAN, to thoroughly investigate the Myanmar military junta’s long list of human rights violations. The junta should be held accountable for all its crimes through sanctions and other punitive measures,” said Mary Aileen Diez-Bacalso, Executive Director of FORUM-ASIA.

“The international community must urgently isolate the junta and support the people of Myanmar in their struggle for justice and freedom,” Bacalso added.

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Myanmar

Sembcorp Industries suspends Myingyan Power Plant operations amid escalating unrest in Myanmar

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4 weeks ago

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14 August 2024

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Singapore-based Sembcorp Industries, backed by the government-owned investment firm Temasek, announced on Monday the temporary suspension of operations at its Myingyan Independent Power Plant in Mandalay, Myanmar.

The decision follows escalating civil unrest in the region, including in the Myingyan township, where the US$300 million, 225-megawatt (MW) gas-fired power plant is located.

The Myingyan power plant, which began operations in 2018, is one of the largest independent gas-fired plants in Myanmar, employing over 70 workers and supplying electricity to five million people.

Built under an agreement with Myanmar’s Ministry of Electricity and Energy, the plant was expected to play a key role in meeting the country’s growing demand for electricity. Sembcorp Myingyan Power Company had agreed to operate the plant for 22 years before transferring it to the Myanmar government.

The recent suspension of operations comes after People’s Defence Force (PDF) forces launched attacks in the Taungtha, Natogyi, and Myingyan townships on Saturday, including an attack on a junta base located only about six kilometers (four miles) from the power plant. Sembcorp cited these escalating security concerns as the reason for halting operations, noting that they will resume as soon as conditions are deemed safe.

“Sembcorp will look to resume operations at the Plant as soon as reasonably practicable once conditions are safe,” the company said in a statement.

However, the exact timing of the suspension remains unclear. The Yangon Electricity Supply Corporation indicated that Sembcorp’s plant, along with another nearby one, ceased operations around noon on Tuesday. The company warned of reduced power supplies as a result.

The temporary closure of the Myingyan plant is expected to exacerbate the already unstable power supply in Myanmar.

Aung Myo Lat, a former Myingyan member of parliament for the ousted National League for Democracy, told Radio Free Asia (RFA) that significant power cuts could be anticipated.

“Now that Sembcorp has been suspended, the amount of power supplied nationwide will be significantly reduced,” he said. “There may be more power cuts than before, and the electricity may decrease a lot. That’s just something else we’ll have to deal with.”

The Sembcorp Myingyan plant has previously come under scrutiny due to allegations of indirectly supporting the Myanmar military’s weapons industry.

In October last year, the advocacy group Gutzy raised concerns about the plant’s connection to the Myingyan No. 1 Steel Mill, which is believed to produce steel for the Defence Industry (DDI), managed by the Myanmar junta.

Gutzy questioned Sembcorp about whether it was aware of this connection and how it responded to allegations of indirectly supporting the junta’s weapon production.

In response, Sembcorp clarified that “The power generated from the Sembcorp Myingyan Independent Power Plant is sold to the Electric Power Generation Enterprise, a power department within the Ministry of Electricity and Energy. The Ministry of Electricity and Energy is responsible for the transmission and distribution of electricity to consumers in Myanmar.”

This post was first published on Gutzy.asia

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