The United Nations (UN) has condemned the cut in U.S. aid to Myanmar, warning that it will lead to hunger. However, it has not offered to provide food itself nor taken any meaningful steps to end the war.
And, of course, the UN refuses to send peacekeepers, waiting instead for an invitation from the military junta—the very regime responsible for killing civilians and persecuting ethnic populations. Worst of all, any aid that does reach Myanmar is funneled through the junta, which does not direct it to the 3.5 million internally displaced people (IDP) suffering in the jungle.
The UN has a dismal track record in preventing wars and an equally poor record in peacekeeping. Now, in addition to its failures in conflict resolution, it has been exposed for serious staffing issues. First, it was discovered that the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) had employed Hamas militants.
Now, it turns out that the UN Special Envoy for Myanmar has ties to Beijing and its financial interests in the country.
China perpetuates the war in Burma to secure its own economic and strategic goals, including access to the Bay of Bengal and a steady flow of cheap raw materials and energy. Beijing, along with Russia, supplies the junta with weapons, military aid, helicopters, and fighter jets—without which the war would likely have ended long ago. Now, revelations about the UN Special Envoy’s connections to the Chinese government raise serious concerns about impartiality and whether the UN is further enabling China’s interests at the expense of the Burmese people.
In 2023, it was discovered that Myanmar’s military had imported over $1 billion in arms and raw materials since the 2021 coup, with Russia and China as the primary suppliers. Russia has provided over $400 million in advanced weapons systems, while China has contributed $260 million, much of it from state-owned enterprises.
Despite existing sanctions, arms dealers have been able to evade restrictions by using front companies and alternative financial networks. Singapore, in particular, has been a major hub, with $254 million in supplies shipped to Myanmar’s military between February 2021 and December 2022, and its banks extensively used by arms dealers.
If the UN had enforcement authority, it could prohibit arms transfers to Myanmar, and cutting off these shipments would significantly disrupt the junta’s military operations.
The study “The Billion Dollar Death Trade” highlights how lax enforcement and loopholes in international sanctions have allowed Myanmar’s military to continue committing war crimes and crimes against humanity. It calls for coordinated global action to strengthen sanctions, cut off foreign currency sources, and impose penalties on Myanmar’s state-run banks, particularly the Myanma Foreign Trade Bank (MFTB), which is being used to finance arms purchases. While the UN issues strong warnings, it remains powerless to enforce these measures.
More recently, A coalition of 290 Myanmar, regional, and international civil society organizations has called on UN Secretary-General António Guterres to immediately investigate conflicts of interest involving Julie Bishop, the UN Special Envoy on Myanmar, and to end her mandate. The groups also urge the UN General Assembly (UNGA) to revoke the position entirely and for the Secretary-General to take a direct leadership role in addressing the crisis in Myanmar.
The letter raises concerns over Bishop’s business ties to the mining industry and Chinese state-owned companies, including Shenghe Resources and China Communications Construction Company—entities with commercial interests in Myanmar. Given China’s military support for the junta, her connections raise serious questions about impartiality and the risk of endangering the Myanmar people.
The organizations criticize the UN’s inaction, stating that decades of peace-brokering efforts and “dialogues” have failed to bring meaningful change, instead emboldening the junta to commit atrocity crimes with impunity. They argue that the Special Envoy role is outdated and ineffective and demand that the UN take decisive action to end the junta’s rule, ensure international accountability, and support Myanmar’s transition to an inclusive federal democracy.
The UN’s appointment of a Special Envoy with ties to the enemy is reminiscent of the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA), which has faced serious allegations of employing individuals affiliated with Hamas.
Notably, in August 2024, the UN reported that nine UNRWA employees “may have been involved” in the October 7 attack on southern Israel by Hamas, leading to their dismissal. Additionally, Israeli intelligence reports have accused UNRWA staff of participating in militant activities, including the October 7 attacks, and claimed that approximately 10% of UNRWA’s 12,000 employees in Gaza had links to Palestinian militant groups.
The UN has failed in both Gaza and Myanmar.
Without urgent international action, the Myanmar junta will continue to access the resources needed to suppress opposition and wage war on ethnic and civilian populations. UN member states must step up enforcement efforts and cut off arms flows to Myanmar’s military to prevent further atrocities.
However, the UN has proven itself either incapable or unwilling to end the war in Burma. Real action will require international leadership—likely from the United States. Unfortunately, Americans are weary of overseas wars and entanglements.
President Trump has been right in his criticism of the UN’s ineffectiveness, as the organization repeatedly fails to enforce its own resolutions.
Perhaps if the U.S. were to reduce defense funding for Ukraine, it could redirect even a fraction of that money to pro-democracy forces in Myanmar, giving them a fighting chance to win the war.
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