ASEAN Leaders issued a statement on the evaluation of the implementation of the Five-Point Consensus (5PC) established in April 2021 to seek a solution for the Myanmar crisis.
The bloc’s leaders reviewed and made decisions during the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summit and related meetings on November 11 in Phnom Penh.
According to the two-page statement, the ASEAN leaders consider that the situation in Myanmar remains critical and fragile, with growing violence affecting not only Myanmar but also ASEAN’s community-building efforts. It said ASEAN is committed to assisting Myanmar to find a peaceful and durable solution to the ongoing crisis.
“With little progress achieved in the implementation of the 5PC, it is therefore incumbent on the Myanmar Armed Forces to comply with its commitments to the ASEAN Leaders,” the statement said.
They tasked the ASEAN foreign ministers to develop the implementation plan for the 5PC and maintained that Myanmar’s non-political representation to the ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN Foreign Ministers’ Meeting remained in force.
“We reaffirmed that the ASEAN Summit is the supreme decision-making body and will make the final decision on the implementation of the 5PC, including whether the consensus cannot be achieved, in line with the ASEAN Charter,” it added.
ASEAN urged all parties concerned to de-escalate tensions and exercise the utmost restraint.
“All parties concerned that bear arms should be held accountable and condemned for violence, noting that the Myanmar Armed Forces are the single largest military force in Myanmar,” it said, calling for all parties in Myanmar to facilitate the work of the ASEAN General Secretariat and the AHA Centre in delivering humanitarian assistance to all in need in Myanmar without discrimination.
According to the statement, ASEAN will call for support from the UN and other external partners in their efforts to get the 5PC implemented. Other approaches to the 5PC may also be sought.
It concluded that these decisions will be evaluated in future ASEAN sessions, and mandated the foreign ministers to monitor progress and report to the ASEAN Summit.
