EU threatens economic action over treatment of Myanmar’s Rohingya

The European Union is considering trade sanctions against Myanmar over its repression of Rohingya Muslims despite warnings that it will hit thousands of young women working in the clothing sector.

The EU’s foreign policy wing is considering ending tariff-free access to the world’s largest trading bloc in a significant ramping up of pressure against the regime because of its failure to meet humanitarian or democratic targets.

Campaign groups criticised the plan as “completely daft” as it would not hurt senior military figures responsible for the ethnic cleansing of the Muslim minority in the southeast Asian nation.

“It makes no sense on any level,” said Mark Farmaner, director of the Burma Campaign UK. “There’s almost 20 things they could do to target the military that might make an impact. Instead they are considering something that no-one is calling for.”

Opinion is split within the EU over the plans, according to the Reuters news agency which first revealed details of the proposals and would require approval from the leaders of the 28-nation bloc.

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UN humanitarian coordinator urges action on Rohingya refugees

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Despite the early stages of the plan, the EU’s ambassador to Myanmar raised the potential sanctions with factory owners in the capital Yangon, according to campaigners. The garment sector is one of the largest foreign currency earners for Myanmar and employs thousands of young women, many of whom carry out work for European fashion chains.

The EU has been accused of doing little to confront Myanmar with only travel bans and asset freezes on several members of the military over the 2016 genocide. The bloc has stopped short of imposing sanctions on Myanmar’s commander-in-chief who the UN says should be prosecuted along with five others for genocide and crimes against humanity.

The story in numbers

This is how many recognised sects Lebanon is home to, along with about four million citizens

450,000

More than this many Palestinian refugees are registered with UNRWA in Lebanon, with about 45 per cent of them living in the country’s 12 refugee camps

1.5 million

There are just under 1 million Syrian refugees registered with the UN, although the government puts the figure upwards of 1.5m

The percentage of stateless people in Lebanon, who are not of Palestinian origin, born to a Lebanese mother, according to a 2012-2013 study by human rights organisation Frontiers Ruwad Association

18,000

The number of marriages recorded between Lebanese women and foreigners between the years 1995 and 2008, according to a 2009 study backed by the UN Development Programme

77,400

The number of people believed to be affected by the current nationality law, according to the 2009 UN study

4,926

This is how many Lebanese-Palestinian households there were in Lebanon in 2016, according to a census by the Lebanese-Palestinian dialogue committee