NEW YORK CITY, New York: On April 5, Antonio Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), appointed former Australian Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as his special envoy to Myanmar.
She replaces Noeleen Heyzer, a former UN undersecretary-general for Singapore, who left after 20 months at the end of her contract in June 2023.
As the country’s conflict escalated into the worst violence since the military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021, the post has been vacant for ten months.
In her assessment to the UN General Assembly before leaving, Heyzer said the impact of the military takeover has been “devastating,” with violence continuing “at an alarming scale.”
Despite its superior armament and manpower, the military has been unable to quell the resistance movement in the country. It has been routed in northern Shan state over the past five months, as well as conceding swaths of territory in Rakhine state in the west.
Khaled Khiari, Assistant Secretary-General for Political Affairs, told the UN Security Council that the intensifying conflict is negatively affecting human rights, fundamental freedoms, and the basic needs of millions of people and has “alarming spillover effects” in the region.
Amid reports of indiscriminate bombing by Myanmar’s armed forces and artillery shelling by various parties, the civilian toll keeps rising, Khiari said.
UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric said Bishop “brings extensive political, legal, management and senior leadership experience to the role.”
From 2013 to 2018, Bishop served as Australia’s foreign minister. She previously held other cabinet positions and was a member of the Australian Parliament from 1998 to 2019. She is also the current chancellor of the Australian National University.
