ITUC-Asia Pacific welcomes the decision of the South East Asia National Human Rights Institutions Forum (SEANF) to disqualify the Myanmar National Human Rights Commission (MNHRC) from membership, describing it as an important step towards denying the military junta legitimacy and strengthening accountability for human rights violations in Myanmar.
The SEANF Governing Board adopted the resolution by consensus on 1 October 2026, with the decision made public by Malaysia’s Human Rights Commission (SUHAKAM) on 19 October. The decision followed a review which concluded that the MNHRC no longer met SEANF's requirements for an independent national human rights institution. It also bars the MNHRC from assuming SEANF’s rotating chairpersonship in 2027.
Since the military junta seized power through a coup in February 2021, the MNHRC has failed to act independently or hold the military accountable for widespread human rights violations. Its continued inaction, despite mounting evidence of military atrocities and repression, has allowed the junta to maintain the appearance of human rights oversight while victims are denied meaningful protection or access to justice.
ITUC-Asia Pacific General Secretary Shoya Yoshida said:
“Human rights institutions exist to protect people from abuses of power, not to shield those responsible. For more than five years, Myanmar’s workers and trade unionists have faced systematic persecution, including arrests, intimidation, and forced exile, while the junta-controlled human rights commission has failed to defend their rights. The MNHRC's disqualification from SEANF sends a clear message that the military junta cannot claim legitimacy through institutions that have abandoned their mandate to uphold human rights.”
ITUC-Asia Pacific emphasises that the SEANF decision must contribute to broader regional efforts to isolate the military junta and strengthen accountability. The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and its member states must move beyond expressions of concern and take concrete, coordinated measures to end military violence, reject the junta’s attempts to legitimise its rule, and support the restoration of civilian democratic governance.
The exclusion of the MNHRC must also reinforce wider international efforts to hold the military junta accountable, including the implementation of the International Labour Conference's 2025 resolution under Article 33 of the ILO Constitution. ITUC-Asia Pacific calls on governments, employers, and international institutions to fulfil their responsibilities under the resolution, particularly by reviewing their relations with the military authorities to ensure that they do not enable, facilitate, or prolong forced labour or violations of freedom of association in Myanmar.
“Excluding the MNHRC from SEANF is necessary, but accountability must go further. Governments and international institutions must exert sustained political and economic pressure on the military junta, end all forms of support that enable its repression, and take concrete action to hold those responsible for human rights violations accountable. They must also provide meaningful support to the workers, trade unionists, and democratic forces fighting for Myanmar's future,” Shoya Yoshida added.
ITUC-Asia Pacific reaffirms its solidarity with the workers and independent trade union movement in Myanmar in their continued struggle for workers’ rights, democracy, and justice.
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