''Stop Arms Flows In Myanmar'': UN Calls On Member States

The UN General Assembly called for an end to the supply of weaponry to Myanmar, on Friday, and asked the military to accept the results of the November elections and release political detainees, including Myanmar leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

Four months after the military toppled Aung San Suu Kyi's elected government in a coup, the General Assembly adopted a resolution with the backing of 119 nations. Belarus asked that the document be put to a vote and was the only country to vote against it, with 36 countries abstaining, including China and Russia.

Rest of the 37 members of the General Assembly did not vote.

Earlier on Friday, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged the General Assembly to act, telling reporters: "We can't live in a society where military takeovers are the norm. It's really irresponsible."

The military cited the government's failure to confront what it claimed was election fraud in November as the cause for the coup. The ballot was deemed fair by international observers.

An early draught of a United Nations resolution featured harsher wording calling for a weapons embargo against Myanmar. Nine Southeast Asian countries, according to a plan reviewed last month, wanted that wording deleted. "All member nations are urged to halt the flow of armaments into Myanmar," according to the compromise wording.

Resolutions of the General Assembly are not legally obligatory, but they have political clout. In contrast to the 15-member Security Council, no country has veto power in the General Assembly.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners, the junta's soldiers have murdered around 860 individuals since the February 1 coup. According to the junta, the figure is significantly lower.

The UN resolution urges Myanmar's military to "immediately cease all violence against peaceful demonstrators" and to lift internet and social media restrictions.

The General Assembly also urged Myanmar to promptly execute a five-point agreement reached in April between the junta and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to cease violence and begin a dialogue with its opponents.

Brunei, Cambodia, Laos, and Thailand did not vote at the General Assembly, whereas Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore, the Philippines, and Vietnam did. Myanmar's UN Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, who represents the country's elected civilian administration, also voted in favour of the resolution.