UN leaves Taliban and Myanmar juntas out in the cold

The UN Credentials Committee opts to postpone deliberations over who should speak for the two countries within the body.

Kyaw Moe Tun last February issued an appeal to the UN General Assembly to take the ‘strongest possible action’ to end the junta. Picture: Facebook

The UN has locked the Taliban and Myanmar junta out for now, dealing a blow to both regimes ­efforts to gain international legitimacy, by deferring a decision on who should represent Kabul and Naypyidaw at the world body.

The UN Credentials Committee opted on Thursday to postpone deliberations over who should speak for the two countries within the body, despite lobbying by the Myanmar junta — which seized power in a February 1 coup d’etat — and the Taliban, which toppled the Afghan government in August after a deadly 20-year insurgency.

The deferred decision means the ambassadors appointed by the respective nations’ ousted democratic governments will likely maintain their seats – potentially for as long as another year, some diplomats have suggested.

The move comes as the UN Development Program on Wednesday issued dire new economic predictions for both countries. The UNDP said nearly half of Myanmar’s population would be living below the poverty line by early next year, roughly double the number from five years ago.

It made similarly catastrophic predictions in a separate report on Afghanistan, forecasting the country’s gross domestic product would contract 20 per cent within a year – representing one of the worst economic meltdowns in history.

Per-capita income in Afghanistan, already the poorest country in Asia, would likely drop to $US350 next year from $US500 in 2020, and $US650 a decade ago.

Both reports attributed the disastrous declines to the ­pandemic-induced economic slump and the crises triggered by the ousting of the previous recognised governments.

Claims for UN seats have been made for both countries, with rights groups and representatives of the countries’ ousted administrations arguing that allowing their oppressors to take over the postings would be tantamount to granting inter­national recognition for the violent regimes.

In the days leading up to Thursday’s decision, however, the Taliban’s nominated UN envoy, Suhail Shaheen, urged the committee to put aside its “political preferences” in making its decision.

“We have all the conditions needed for occupying the seat of Afghanistan at the UN,” he posted on Twitter in Nov­ember.

In a statement on Wednesday, Mr Shaheen wrote: “To have an independent Afghanistan is the legitimate right of the people of Afghanistan.

“Why they should be target of sanctions, pressures and deprived of seat at UN because they wanted an Afghanistan free of occupation and able to have positive relations with any country of the world based on mutual interest?”

The Myanmar junta has also demanded the country’s UN ambassador, Kyaw Moe Tun, appointed by the ousted Aung San Suu Kyi government, make way for its own envoy, army veteran Aung Thurein. The junta sacked Kyaw Moe Tun and charged him with high treason after he issued an appeal to the General Assembly last February in the wake of the coup to take the “strongest possible action” to end the junta and its oppression of civilians.

Since then, Myanmar’s security forces have killed 1300 civilians, and is detaining some 7668 more in an ongoing crackdown on mass resistance to its rule.

In August, US authorities were forced to step up security for Kyaw Moe Tun after he was targeted in an assassination plot by two Myanmar citizens alleged to have been working on behalf of the junta.

Anna-Karin Enestrom, Sweden’s ambassador to the UN and chair of the Credentials Committee, said d on Thursday the decision had been deferred and that “the report of the committee would be made public once it’s been issued for the consideration of the General Assembly”.

She would not say when the issue would again be considered, or when the report would be made public. The committee — which includes China, the US, Russia, the Bahamas, Bhutan, Chile, Namibia, Sierra Leone and Sweden – traditionally makes decisions on credentials for all 193 member countries by consensus.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has said the Taliban’s desire for international recognition is the only leverage other countries have to press for inclusive government and respect for rights, particularly for women, in Afghanistan.

Former UN special envoy to Myanmar Christina Schraner-Burgener also warned ahead of her departure in November that no country should legitimise the junta and doing so would only push the country towards further instability and violence.