David Miliband

UNSG Visit to Burma

Ban Ki Moon deserves credit for not taking no for an answer from the Burmese authorities. He refused to postpone his visit  - a visit that he promised to make when he visited the country at the time of Cyclone Nargis to discuss political and economic reform. Ban's closing speech was clear and definitive - the regime's refusal to engage properly was reprehensible.

The easy course would have been to be put off. Now he will report to the Security Council and every member will need to decide how much they care about the refusal of the regime to accept basic international norms. The temptation is to say no visit should go ahead without pre-promising of the results. But sometimes it is worth the risk. This is one such case.

Posted at 12:35 07 July 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[1]

Entente Formidable

The Anglo-French joint work of recent years defies the stereotypes of countries always at each other's throats. I've always thought that made no sense for the modern world, when we have moved closer together through shared experience and the interchange of people. France shows the nonsense of believing that European identity comes at the cost of national identity. It also shows that we have strong allies for those parts of the European project that will remain inter-governmental.

Myself, French Minister of Economic Affairs, Industry & Employment Christine Lagarde and Lord Mandelson  

The Anglo-French summit in Evian today will show the extent of joint working, from the economy to migration to foreign policy. I will be working with Bernard Kouchner on Iran, Burma and Somalia policy amongst others. We are both members of the Security Council. We need to set a strong course together.

Posted at 15:55 06 July 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]

Aung San Suu Kyi on show trial

As I travel to Brussels, Aung San Suu Kyi goes on show trial in Burma. Her house arrest is bad enough; trial rubs it in. Her real case to answer is maintaining a dignified and enduring opposition to regime rule.

Her claim is simple: she won an election and now, along with a range of other groups, is being kept away from fulfilling the will of her people. We will continue to fly the flag for the cause of political and social freedom in Burma.

Posted at 14:47 18 May 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[5]

Burma - Europe does not forget

Yesterday I met the other EU Foreign Ministers in  Luxembourg where,  given the 2 May anniversary of Cyclone Nargis, we  returned to the issue of Burma. Time ticks on for the humanitarian situation to be addressed - the relief operation in the delta, to which the UK has already contributed £45 million, achieved more than ever looked possible in the dark days of May/June 2008. But in many other areas, people continue to endure unacceptable and unnecessary hardships. And the basic facts of political repression are unchanged. Burma faces a critical year in the run up to elections in 2010 that exclude key opposition groups.

More than 2000 political prisoners, including Aung Sang Suu Kyi, remain behind bars.   We have not forgotten the commitments to the Burmese people that we made during their protests in 2007 and as such it was right for the EU to extend its sanctions against the regime for a further 12 months.

Posted at 15:46 28 April 2009 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]

Burma Blogger Jailed

See the article from the BBC about the crackdown in Burma.  10 more journalists have been jailed according to Reporters without Borders. 2008 has been the year without progress in Burma.  The Secretary General of the UN has postponed his trip to the region to seek political progress to follow his humanitarian intervention after cyclone Nargis.  That is a priority for 2009

Posted at 17:39 19 December 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[14]

New UN High Commissioner for Human Rights

The UK supports the UN High Commissioner on Human Rights in order to help raise respect for human rights around the world.  Navanethem Pillay, formerly defence attorney for anti-apartheid activists in South Africa, President of the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda and a Judge on the International Criminal Court, has taken over leadership at an important time.  I met her yesterday.  She has issued very clear statements on Colombia which we welcome. The High Commissioner and her Office also play an important role in places like Burma and Zimbabwe.   We also discussed the absolute necessity for the Durban Review Conference - the follow up to the 2001 United Nations World Conference Against Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance - not to be sidetracked by a damaging dispute over whether anti-semitism is racism.  It clearly is. 

Posted at 16:36 13 November 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[5]

"Saffron on Ice"

Burma has faded from the headlines but the situation gets worse.  The  Washington Post article is a good reprise.  We are on the case: next step is UN re-engagement.

Posted at 16:01 13 November 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[4]

UNGA Re-Cap 4: Burma is not forgotten

It is now a year since the marches on the streets of Rangoon against military rule in Burma. It is also the 20th anniversary of the National League for Democracy. Aung San Suu Kyi remains under house arrest, along with some 2000 political prisoners, despite the release of a small number of them (one was subsequently and quickly rearrested). The demands remain basic: a constitutional settlement involving all the ethnic groups and the opposition.

Posted at 14:18 01 October 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[2]

Burma – still not forgotten

Congratulations to ASEAN for their strong statement on Burma including highlighting the position of the political opposition .

Posted at 16:13 23 July 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[3]

Responsible Sovereignty

The debate about Burma or Kenya or Darfur, not to mention Iraq or Afghanistan, is often couched in terms of interference in the affairs of another country.  And the Chinese doctrine of non interference has been used to draw a distinction with more activist approaches to foreign policy.  But in an interdependent world what is non interference?  We 'interfere' with each economically, politically and environmentally all the time.

That is why I used my speech at Beijing University to advocate an approach I called 'responsible sovereignty' - recognising the continuing central role of the nation state in having a hold on people's affections and for making decisions in the world, but recognising that in its treatment of its own citizens and in its engagement around the world sovereign states have responsibilities that are fettered by a set of universal values (the UN's 2005 Responsibility to Protect gave this legal form).

I built the term from Robert Zoellick's idea of 'responsible stakeholder' that he developed in 2005.  But 'stakeholder' does not have a Chinese translation.  And sovereignty speaks to the reality of the role of nation states. 

Posted at 16:55 03 March 2008 by David Miliband  |  Comments[3]