Activist groups are calling for a UN investigation into their relationship with Chinese companies, citing conflicts of interest.
The United Nations is facing a call to investigate the special envoy of Myanmar Julie Bishop on the relationship between consulting firms interested in the Southeast Asian country and Chinese mining and construction companies.
The prominent advocacy group, Myanmar Justice, wrote to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing a report in Australia’s Saturday paper detailing its connections with Chinese state-owned enterprises. By Tuesday, many other groups of activists had also joined the inquiry.
Links with China and other companies operating in Myanmar create “unacceptable conflicts of interest that must be thoroughly investigated,” Myanmar Justice wrote in Guterres.
The group urged the UN chief to “examine the bishop’s business activities and disclose the findings, taking into account the appropriateness of her continued UN involvement.”
Bishop, former Australian foreign minister and current prime minister of Australian National University, has not addressed the allegations publicly. She was appointed UN envoy to Myanmar in April.
In a statement sent to an Australian newspaper, Bishop’s company said it was “a private company engaged in providing strategic analysis and guidance.”
It added that “it does not involve the role of a trustee or enforcement and does not provide legal, corporate or financial advice,” and that “potential or actual disputes will be declared and examined.”
Myanmar Civil War
Myanmar has been caught up in a civil war since the military expelled the democratically elected government of Nobel Prize San Suu Kyi in 2021, and has relied heavily on construction projects for China’s collateral mining and revenue.
China is also a major supplier of weapons for Myanmar’s military rulers.
In the letter, Myanmar justice argued for the bishop’s relationship with businesses that undermine her role as a UN envoy, especially given her mission to engage in civil society.
“The loss of trust in Myanmar’s civil society is an important issue for the envoy’s position,” group spokesman Yadanar Maung told The Associated Press.
According to a paper on Saturday, Bishop’s company advised Melbourne-based energy transition minerals. It is a key Chinese-backed rare earth company that includes Shenge Resources, a partially state-owned enterprise believed to source Myanmar’s rare earths.
The UN has granted the judicial receipt of Myanmar’s letters but declined to comment further, the Associated Press reported.
