Mr Bullitt, CC BY-SA 3.0 <http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/>, via Wikimedia Commons
Organizer: Foreign Correspondent Club-Thailand
This session will be moderated live from the FCCT clubhouse and streamed on FCCT Facebook and YouTube, although most speakers will join us remotely.
The United Nations General Assembly opens its 76th session on Sept. 14 as a battle rages over who will occupy Myanmar’s UN seat – the representative of the junta that seized power on Feb. 1, or the representative of the democratically elected, ousted government.
The stakes are sky high as the National Unity Government (NUG), which styles itself as the parallel authority to the military-controlled State Administration Council, intensifies its worldwide lobbying effort for diplomatic recognition. No state has recognized the NUG, although many have met with the group’s representatives and some have actively supported its outreach. In recent meetings, some key UN bodies including the UN Human Rights Council and the World Health Organization have given neither the NUG nor the SAC a seat.
Ahead of the UNGA’s General Debate from Sept. 21, a nine-country credentials committee – appointed by the General Assembly at the beginning of each session -- meets to consider credentials of new representatives of member states. It is rare, though not unprecedented, for the committee to accept the credentials of an envoy of an ousted government that does not hold power nor control territory. In Myanmar’s case, it is also possible that the committee could defer the decision, leaving the incumbent representative, Kyaw Moe Tun, in place for another year. How do the two opposing bodies square up in their claims to legitimacy and their respective bids to represent Myanmar? Regardless of the outcome from the UNGA debate, what comes next for the country still in the grip of the Covid-19 pandemic, escalating civil war, and near economic paralysis? To launch this timely discussion, the United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar, Christine Schraner Burgener, will join the FCCT by video link to discuss her outlook for Myanmar and take questions. She will be followed by a panel of experts in the region and abroad.
Speakers:
Christine Schraner Burgener, United Nations Special Envoy on Myanmar
Nyantha Maw Lin, independent Myanmar analyst
Richard Horsey, independent political analyst and Myanmar advisor to International Crisis Group
Moe Thuzar, Fellow and co-coordinator, Myanmar Studies programme, ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, Singapore
Thompson Chau, editor-at-large, Frontier Myanmar
Moderator: Gwen Robinson, FCCT past president, editor-at-large, Nikkei Asia
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