The U.N.’s Myanmar human rights expert Wednesday, sharply condemned the U.S. decision to lift sanctions on allies of Myanmar’s ruling generals and their military-linked companies, calling the move “unconscionable.”
The sanctions were removed shortly after the junta leader sent a glowing letter of praise to President Donald Trump earlier this month.
Tom Andrews, the U.N. special rapporteur on Myanmar, described the rollback as a “shocking” shift in U.S. policy that could embolden the junta and its supporters by rewarding those who have supplied weapons, equipment and other resources fueling ongoing abuses.
“This is a major step backward for international efforts to save lives by restricting the murderous junta’s access to weapons,” he said in a statement.
“It is unconscionable to undermine these efforts by rolling back sanctions on Myanmar arms dealers and junta cronies.”
Myanmar has been engulfed in a brutal conflict since February 2021, when Min Aung Hlaing’s military wrested power from the civilian government of Aung San Suu Kyi.
The coup sparked a civil war that has killed thousands, leaving 3.5 million displaced and half the nation in poverty.
Earlier this month, the junta chief sent a letter to Trump, responding to his threat of tariffs by lauding his presidency with praise, including for shutting down U.S.-funded media outlets covering the conflict.
Andrews said the companies removed from U.S. sanctions lists had all been implicated in the arms trade, including brokering the junta’s acquisition of weapons, raw materials and supplies.
“The junta’s use of weapons of war to attack civilians has been devastating — and this is a fact that the Trump administration has recognized by calling out the military junta for these attacks and other grave human rights violations,” Andrews said.
“What makes this action even more appalling is that sanctions against the junta are proving to be effective.
“The volume of military equipment that the junta was able to import declined by over 30% from 2023 to 2024, in part because of sanctions imposed by the United States and other nations.”
Andrews, a Democrat and former U.S. congressman, urged the Trump administration to reconsider.
“It is literally a matter of life and death,” he said.
Special rapporteurs are independent experts mandated by the U.N. Human Rights Council. They do not speak for the United Nations itself.
