Topic: 2025 – Situation in Myanmar
Country: Sierra Leone
Delegate Name: Meira Gable
The long history of conflict in Myanmar has presented the nation with many difficulties entering the 21st century. Ethnic conflicts, resource exploitation, and corrupt military rule have exacerbated a poor economy, leading to foreign influence in political squabbles. With natural disasters like the March 2025 earthquake on the rise and a refusal from the Tatmadaw to adhere to a ceasefire, humanitarian efforts are needed now more than ever, and yet the junta continues to block aid from reaching citizens in resisting areas. To make matters worse, an enormous number of Rohingya are being forced to flee persecution in neighboring countries like Bangladesh, who are overwhelmed by the migration. UN initiatives to increase humanitarian aid and support through UNICEF and UNHCR have been largely unsuccessful and underfunded, running into military controlled transportation channels and unable to reach struggling areas (both physically and technologically due to internet blockages by the junta).
The actions taken by the Tatmadaw are reprehensible. Sierra Leone has firmly voiced its support for The Gambia in its case against Myanmar in the ICJ. However, this isn’t enough. Resolving ethnic conflict and providing systems for humanitarian aid to be received by minority ethnic groups is essential to ensuring long term stability in Myanmar. Sierra Leone supports the Five-Point Consensus as outlined by ASEAN in 2021, which aims to cease violence, resolve the conflict, and provide humanitarian aid to groups affected by the war. Despite an agreement to this plan from all ASEAN countries, military groups in Myanmar have continued to undermine these efforts. As a nation with its own complicated past, Sierra Leone recognizes the difficulties in establishing a stable and unified democratic regime. Similarly, Sierra Leone understands the potential benefits of foreign aid in allowing infrastructure developments and economic stability. Foreign involvement that worsens political conflict is unacceptable, but restricting all foreign aid from nations with resources to help potentially undercuts the good that can result from it.
Overall, the SPECPOL committee must address this crisis. The primary focus of discussion on this topic should be around increasing aid and helping the people affected by the conflict in Myanmar. In addition to gaining funding and increasing international help on this matter, providing resources and money to neighboring nations like Bangladesh is imperative to relieving this crisis in the short term. Enabling non-political NGOs to provide aid, increasing the economic and infrastructural capacities of countries receiving refugees, and, most importantly, continuing to call for changes in the Tatmadaw’s tactics are some important ways to tackle the humanitarian aspect of the crisis. Beyond this, Sierra Leone believes that in order to promote long term stability in Myanmar, encouraging religious tolerance is essential. Working on post-junta solutions that incentivize the establishment of semi-autonomous states should be another topic discussed in this committee. Finally, the UN must increase its monitoring and reporting mechanisms to prevent human rights violations and hold Myanmar accountable for its genocidal actions against the Rohingya.
The delegation of Sierra Leone is looking forward to collaborating with the delegates of SPECPOL on a comprehensive paper to address this crisis.
Bibliography-
https://ccprcentre.org/files/media/Findings_Paper_EN_CCPR.pdf
https://asean.org/wp-content/uploads/Chairmans-Statement-on-ALM-Five-Point-Consensus-24-April-2021-FINAL-a-1.pdf
https://press.un.org/en/2024/sc15652.doc.htm
https://www.ids.ac.uk/opinions/humanitarian-crisis-in-myanmar-after-the-earthquake-challenges-under-the-military-junta/
https://www.icj-cij.org/sites/default/files/case-related/178/178-20191111-PRE-01-00-EN.pdf
https://hhi.harvard.edu/news/2025/09/humanitarian-crisis-rohingya-refugees-bangladesh-issues-their-living-and-host
https://www.hrw.org/news/2022/04/22/myanmar-aseans-failed-5-point-consensus-year
