Myanmar poses no threat and should not be on Security Council agenda, minister says

Security Council Member States have misused their mandate by placing Myanmar on the Council’s agenda because the country does not pose a threat to regional peace and security, Myanmar’s Foreign Minister U Nyan Win told the General Assembly today.

Speaking during the annual debate at UN Headquarters in New York, Mr. Win said “the attempts by some strong and powerful States to impose their will on developing countries” had created an environment of hostility.

“The founders of the UN did not intend the world body to become a forum where some members with political and economic clout could gang up against a Member State, and label it for what it is not,” he said.

Mr. Win said Myanmar enjoyed close relations with all of its neighbours and had done nothing to undermine the peace and security of any country. Therefore it was a “glaring abuse of the mandate” to suggest that it poses a threat to the region.

He urged other Member States to help Myanmar or other countries in the same situation “resist attempts by those powerful States to influence the Security Council.”

The Foreign Minister also called for the expansion of the Council’s membership, both permanent and non-permanent, to “reflect today’s political and economic realities.”