20 Nov 2024
Mdm Chair,
1 Singapore has always taken a principled and consistent approach to abstain on all country-specific resolutions. In the context of this approach, we would like to take the floor to explain our position on the situation in Myanmar.
2 Singapore deeply regrets the lack of progress on the Five-Point Consensus that the leader of the Myanmar military authorities had agreed to with ASEAN Leaders more than three years ago. The ASEAN Leaders recently reviewed the situation in Myanmar where they denounced the continued acts of violence and called out the substantially inadequate progress on the Five-Point Consensus. They reaffirmed the Five Point Consensus as the basis of ASEAN’s response and urged ongoing efforts to be expedited, including the informal consultation mechanism consisting of current, previous and incoming ASEAN Chairs, and for the safe, effective and transparent delivery of ASEAN humanitarian assistance by the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on disaster management (also known as the AHA Centre).
3 ASEAN’s work continues to focus on improving ground conditions in the Rakhine State to create conducive conditions for the safe, voluntary and dignified repatriation of refugees, including through the AHA Centre. In this regard, we wish to also recognise and commend the efforts of the Bangladeshi government to facilitate this outcome, and urge Bangladesh and Myanmar, as well as other relevant partners to continue engagement and dialogue on the repatriation process.
Mdm Chair,
4 ASEAN and Singapore will continue to work with our external partners, including the UN, to facilitate a peaceful and durable solution to the ongoing crisis in Myanmar. We look forward to working closely with the UNSG Special Envoy on Myanmar who was appointed in April this year.
5 Thank you, Mdm Chair.
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