Call for sanctions on firms linked to Myanmar military

By Hannah Abdulla

The United Nations is calling upon world leaders to impose targeted financial sanctions on companies that are linked to the military in Myanmar – including several garment manufacturers.

The UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar establishes in detail the degree to which the military has used its own businesses, foreign companies and arms deals to support brutal operations against ethnic groups that constitute serious crimes under international law, bypassing civilian oversight and evading accountability.
It is now urging the international community to sever ties with Myanmar's military and the vast web of companies it controls and relies on. The Mission says the revenues the military earns from domestic and foreign business deals substantially enhances its ability to carry out gross violations of human rights with impunity.
More than 700,000 Rohingya fled Myanmar's Rakhine state into neighbouring Bangladesh amid a military-led crackdown in August 2017 that the UN and Western countries have said included mass killings and gang-rapes.
The report mentions at least three garment manufacturers: Guotai Guohua Garment Myanmar Ld owned by Jiangsu Guotai Guohua Shiye; Perfect Gains Garments Manufacturing Ltd (Myanmar) owned by Evergain Trading Garments; and Sewell Garment Myanmar Industrial Co.
The report found that at least 15 foreign firms have joint ventures with the Tatmadaw – the official name of the armed forces of Myanmar – while 44 others have some form of commercial ties with Tatmadaw businesses. These foreign companies risk contributing to, or being linked to, violations of international human rights and humanitarian law. 
"At a minimum, they are contributing to supporting the military's financial capacity. All companies doing business in or buying goods from Myanmar should conduct heightened due diligence to ensure they are not benefiting the Tatmadaw," the report says.
The 111-page report released in Geneva today (5 August) aims to encourage countries to cut financial ties with all army-linked companies.
"The implementation of the recommendations in this report will erode the economic base of the military, undercut its obstruction of the reform process, impair its ability to carry out military operations without oversight and thus reduce violations of human rights and international humanitarian law, and serve as a form of accountability in the short-term," said Mission chair Marzuki Darusman.
The European Union has threatened to pull Myanmar's Everything but Arms trade preference tariff in response to the alleged ethnic cleansing of the Rohingya.
And earlier this year, the Ethical Trading Initiative issued a four-point guide aimed at helping brands and retailers to continue to source responsibly from the country.