Report by the Blood Money Campaign, Myanmar

 Press Release: The ongoing international support for the criminal junta’s airstrikes has devastated the lives, homes, and livelihoods of civilians—including women, children, and the elderly—resulting in catastrophic challenges in meeting their most basic survival needs

No. 1/2025

January 10, 2025

The Blood Money Campaign calls on ASEAN member states, United Nations member states and corporations around the world to immediately cease the export, sale, or transfer of weapons, ammunitions, aviation fuel, aircrafts, equipment, and technologies to the Myanmar military junta

According to the research report by the Blood Money Campaign, it has found that international support for the Myanmar military junta’s perpetual aerial attacks has resulted not only in the loss of civilian lives but also in dire consequences on daily livelihoods. 

The report "Close the Sky: The Dire Consequences of Inaction on Aviation Fuel in Myanmar" involved firsthand accounts from civilians who narrowly escaped death while fleeing aerial attacks. The report highlights the devastating impacts of continuous airstrikes, relentless aircraft flights, and forced displacement, including loss of access to education and healthcare services, food shortages, psychological trauma, and the severe destruction of livelihoods, particularly those reliant on agriculture and the ongoing challenges currently being faced. 

Since seizing power nearly four years ago, the junta has been exploiting and manipulating the country's economy and finances to serve its interests. It has also been using aviation fuel intended for civilian (passenger) airlines for military purposes, targeting civilians in its attacks. According to findings, the junta’s airstrikes frequently target crowded public spaces such as markets, donation areas, festivals, religious events, hospitals, clinics, and schools.

To date, international sanctions on aviation fuel have primarily targeted domestic companies within Myanmar. However, no action has yet been taken against the key international companies supplying these domestic entities. Due to weak enforcement mechanisms and ineffective monitoring systems, the junta continues to access aviation fuel, aircraft, aircraft parts, and technical maintenance services from international sources. Additionally, the junta has been exploiting commercial civilian aviation and aviation fuel for military purposes.

The junta has completely disregarded the rules of war by violating international humanitarian laws (IHL) outlined in chapter 2 and 3, which explicitly prohibits indiscriminate attacks that fail to distinguish between civilians and military targets. Meanwhile, international governments and companies continue to supply aviation fuel and related equipment, thereby becoming complicit in these violations.

International governments must immediately impose sanctions on entities involved in the export, sale, and transfer of aviation fuel to Myanmar, including the Chinese-flagged ship HUITONG78, Vietnamese petroleum storage terminal operator Hai Linh Co.Ltd, Chinese state-owned entity (SOE) CNOOC Trading (Singapore) Pte. Ltd., Singapore-based Sahara Energy International Pte. Ltd, and British shipment insurance companies providing insurance coverage services for fuel shipments. Additionally, Airbus SE (European aerospace corporation) must cease its collaboration with China’s state-owned The Aviation Industry Corporation of China, Ltd. (AVIC), which is complicit in war crimes, and takes the necessary urgent measures and actions to end its involvement in such violations.

International companies and governments involved in each and every node of the aviation fuel supply chain to Myanmar must, before allowing for the export, sale, and transfer of aviation fuel, investigate whether the fuel is likely be abused to commit international crimes. Alternatively, targeted sanctions should be imposed to halt all aviation fuel export, sale, and transfer to Myanmar. The Blood Money Campaign calls for the establishment and effective enforcement of robust monitoring mechanisms among countries and companies to oversee the aviation fuel export, sale, and transfer to Myanmar.

Mulan, spokesperson for Blood Money Campaign, says: “Currently, International governments designated sanctions on aviation fuel against Myanmar’s military junta have only been applied to domestic companies. However, international companies are the supplier of aviation fuel. 

No government action has been taken so far against the primary suppliers: international fuel companies and maritime insurance companies facilitating these fuel supply chains. Aviation fuel being shipped from international is causing daily deaths, including those of children and women. It results in destruction of civilians' livelihoods in their daily lives.

International governments, instead of issuing statements to the military junta to stop airstrikes, must immediately halt the sale and supply of aviation fuel, aircraft-related materials, and technologies to the junta. Only when this support stops will the airstrikes truly come to an end. Urgent action is needed immediately to prevent further destruction and loss of life ”

The full report in English can be downloaded by this link 

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XXkMVnb2CeHBuZhwH7sIfwuhkofVbs4w/view 

For more information, please contact:

Blood Money Campaign  - bloodmoneycampaign21@protonmail.com 

Nay San Lwin | co-founder, free rohingya coalition