Chronology of UN Visits to Burma
A duty to investigate arises as soon as a UN member state or a designated global monitor such as the ICRC receives verifiable information that heinous crimes are occurring. Since 1990, eight envoys have been appointed by the United Nations system to facilitate dialogue between the junta and the pro-democracy forces, and to carry out fact-finding missions in Burma. The timeline below, created by ALTSEAN, chronicles the visits and reports of UN envoys to Burma, all of which have been met with silence.
Download the full PDF version of the Chronology of UN Visits and Reports compiled by the Alternative ASEAN Network on Burma (ALTSEAN)
In his March report to the Commission on Human Rights, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan said that the National Convention did not adhere to the recommendations made by successive resolutions of the UN General Assembly and the UN Commission on Human Rights. Annan appealed to the SPDC to "resume without delay a substantive political dialogue with the representatives of all ethnic nationality groups and political leaders, including Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, to help achieve a genuine process of national reconciliation."
In December, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan designated UN Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari to conduct the first-ever briefing on Burma at the UN Security Council. The UNSC heard the briefing on Burma on 16 December. Gambari became the UN Secretary General envoy for Burma.
CHR, 61st session, 7 March 2005, E/CN.4/2005/130
UNGA, 60th session, 12 August 2005, A/60/221