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United Nations’ (UN) special envoy to Myanmar, Noeleen Heyzer, will be stepping down in June 2023, according to an announcement by UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric, AFP reported.
Heyzer will be leaving her post on Jun. 12 after almost 20 months, as her contract would end by then, said Dujarric on May 31.
The 75-year-old Singaporean sociologist was appointed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres in October 2021 following the military coup in Myanmar on Feb. 1, 2021.
She was also the first woman to serve as the Executive Secretary of the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific from 2007 to 2014.
Dujarric added that Guterres was thankful to Heyzer “for her tireless efforts on behalf of peace and the people of Myanmar" and said that a new special envoy will be appointed, according to AFP.
First mission to Myanmar
During her tenure, Heyzer made her first trip to conflict-torn Myanmar in August 2022, during which she met with military leader General Min Aung Hlaing.
She called on him to “urgently halt all violence, support a political path back to civilian rule and democracy”, and permit Aung San Suu Kyi to return home as well as meet her, Associated Press (AP) reported.
Heyzer said in a statement that the general and her had “agreed to engage in frank conversations, focusing on the need for inclusive solutions to a peaceful and democratic Myanmar, reflective of the will of the people.”
She also expressed concern for Suu Kyi’s health and her wish to meet her as soon as possible, as the latter was “ a critical stakeholder for my dialogue with all parties concerned.”
The 77-year-old former leader of Myanmar’s democratically-elected government currently faces 33 years of jail time and is imprisoned in Naypyidaw.
No sign of progress
After Heyzer's visit, no further action was taken by the Myanmar's junta, AFP reported.
This added on to their lacking efforts in implementing the Five-Point Consensus agreed in April 2021.
She addressed the 193-member UN General Assembly in March 2023 after the situation showed no sign of abating, according to a later report by AP.
Heyzer said that the impact of the February 2021 military takeover had been “devastating”, while violence continued at “an alarming scale”.
She pointed out that the military continued to target civilians while heavy fighting had spread to more areas of the country.
Though there was “no prospect for a negotiated settlement” between the parties of the conflict, Heyzer expressed that they could not give up.
“At the end of the day, what we want is a movement towards a more just and a more democratic union of Myanmar for all,” she said.
Current situation
In March 2023, Myanmar’s military government disbanded Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy for failing to register for an upcoming election, although the timeline is not yet known, according to Reuters.
A month later, the Myanmar Armed Forces conducted an airstrike on Pa Zi Gyi Village in the northern part of the country, leading to strong condemnation from Singapore and Asean.
Singapore holds the stance that Myanmar remains a part of Asean, but that fundamentally, the regional association is not the "rate limiting factor" for the crisis' resolution.
Though the political crisis in Myanmar is way already past its second year, there remains without a resolution in sight.
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Top image via Getty - Bloomberg