Concept note: Arria formula meeting on Myanmar

Friday 9 April 2021, 10am (EST)

On 1 February, Myanmar’s military launched a coup that halted abruptly the country’s
democratic transition. The military prevented the convening of the democratically elected
parliament and arbitrarily detained the country’s civilian leaders, including State Counsellor
Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint. The reaction of the people of Myanmar has
been resolute – hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters have taken to the streets to
demand that the outcome of November’s election is respected and to call for the reversal of
the coup.
The Arria meeting provides a platform for Myanmar voices to brief the Security Council on
the current situation from their perspectives and those of the people that they represent. It
will be an opportunity to understand the objectives of the pro-democracy movement,
including the 31 March Federal Democracy Charter and the movement’s ongoing
engagement with ethnic groups and religious minorities.
Recent events constitute a setback for democracy in Myanmar. They also risk exacerbating
existing challenges and pose a serious threat to regional instability: the plight of the
Rohingya and prospects for their voluntary, safe and dignified return; an already bleak
humanitarian and economic situation; continued conflict in regions across the country; and
the displacement of thousands fleeing military attacks into neighbouring countries. The Arria
meeting is an opportunity to consider the increasing risks to international peace and security
as the situation continues to deteriorate.
Briefers:
Sai Sam Kham: The military coup has had a deep impact on ethnic communities in
Myanmar's border areas, igniting new conflicts in areas that had been relative stability. Sai
Sam Kham is a scholar and civil society leader, and PhD student at the Institute of Social
Studies in The Hague. His current focus is on land politics, food security and climate change.
Previously he was the Executive Director of the Metta Development Foundation. His briefing
will focus on the impact of the coup on conflict dynamics and ethnic communities in
Myanmar.
Richard Horsey: Richard is a Senior Advisor working on Myanmar for International Crisis
Group, an independent organisation providing independent analysis on conflicts across the
globe. He will brief on the risks the military coup presents for further bloodshed, economic
damage, humanitarian emergency, refugee flight to neighbouring countries and ultimately for
regional stability and international peace and security.
Daw Zin Mar Aung: Following the military coup, Myanmar’s democratically elected
representatives established the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH) with a
political vision to end military rule and build a federal democracy. After weeks of consultation
with Political Parties, Ethnic Armed Organisations and Civil Society, the CRPH published a
Federal Democracy Charter on 1 April. Daw Zin Mar Aung will brief on CRPH’s perspective
on ways forward following the release of the Charter.
Guiding questions

 What further steps can the UN, including the Security Council, take to support
democracy in Myanmar?
 How can the UN, including the Security Council, prevent a further deterioration of the
situation in Myanmar and the associated threat to regional stability and international
peace and security?
 What steps can the UN, including the Security Council, take to protect the ethnic and
religious minorities in Myanmar?
Format
The UK Permanent Representative will open and chair the virtual meeting. The meeting will
take place on Friday 9 April 2021 at 10am (EST).

In addition to hearing from the briefers, Security Council members and Myanmar will be
invited to make statements. We request Security Council members limit their interventions to
five minutes. We are pleased to accept written statements from non-Security Council
Member and Observer States submitted to UKMisNewYorkSecurityCouncil@fco.gov.uk by
5pm on Friday 9 April 2021.

The meeting will take place in English without simultaneous interpretation, and will be
broadcast on UNTV and will subsequently be available on YouTube.