UN Expert Urges Myanmar Aid Outside Military Control, Calls for Arms Embargo

PRAGUE, Czech Republic — The United Nations should expand humanitarian assistance through channels outside Myanmar’s military control and pursue an arms embargo to help protect civilians, the UN’s human rights expert on Myanmar told Myanmar Global Media.

In an exclusive interview in Prague, Kelley E. Currie, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, urged greater cooperation with local organizations and more flexible cross-border aid delivery.

“There actually are a number of things that the United Nations could do that they have not,” Currie said when asked what the UN could do to help stop the military’s bombing.

She identified assistance to communities beyond military control as a priority, calling for approaches that would allow lifesaving aid to reach people through local partners.

Currie also called for a UN Security Council arms embargo. Such a measure would require a council resolution without a veto from Russia or China, she said.

But the prospect of a veto should not prevent countries supporting an embargo from introducing a resolution, she argued. Those governments need the courage to act, even if the proposal is blocked.

So far, she said, countries have been unwilling to take that risk.

Currie Says Military Cannot Accommodate 2026 Visit

Currie said she had sought access to Myanmar, contacting both military authorities and representatives of the opposition National Unity Government in Geneva and New York.

The military authorities responded that they were too busy to accommodate a visit in 2026, she said.

Currie plans to submit another request. She also hopes to visit areas outside military control, although cross-border access would require permission from authorities on both sides of the border.

Currie said she began serving as special rapporteur on May 1, 2026. Her initial work included consultations with Myanmar civil society organizations documenting human rights violations and supporting efforts to protect civilians inside the country.

Her message to Myanmar’s people was direct: “You are not forgotten.”

She said people in the international community continue to defend human rights, draw attention to military abuses and push back against what she described as a trend toward “unprincipled engagement with the military.”

Photo credit: MGM, Forum 2000, Prague, Czech Republic