UN stops short of calling for global arms embargo against Myanmar

Special envoy Christine Schraner Burgener warns that ‘the risk of a large-scale civil war is real’ in the country following February 1 military coup.

The UN General Assembly has stopped short of calling for a global arms embargo against Myanmar’s military, even as it took the rare step of urging member states to “prevent the flow of arms” into the violence-wracked country following the February 1 coup. The resolution condemning the coup also demands that the military “immediately stop all violence against peaceful demonstrators.” It was approved on Friday by 119 countries, with 36 abstaining including China, Myanmar’s main ally. Only one country, Belarus, voted against it. It was sponsored by 50 countries.