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European Union Institute for Security Studies October 2014 1

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Just as Catherine Ashton and the second BarrosoCommission are stepping down, Myanmars

President Thein Sein has opened unprecedentedtalks with both the army and the opposition including Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung SanSuu Kyi. US President Barack Obama, who isvisiting the country next month, has also un-derlined the need for an inclusive and cred-ible process in the run-up to the planned 2015elections. Yet, if Myanmar seems closer today tothe path to democracy, the European Union canclaim to have played a major role in supportingand channelling the long transition from mili-tary rule to the rule of law and accountable gov-ernment.

The background

Since 2011, Myanmar/Burma has changeddramatically. Any visitor to the former capital

Yangon today cannot fail to be struck by the po-tential and promise of multiple transitions: fromwar to peace, from dictatorship to democracyand, in due time, from poverty to prosperity.

The opening of the country marked an end to

50 years of military dictatorship. Popular upris-ings in 1988 and 2007 were violently repressed

and cost thousands of lives. The protestors haddemanded democracy and free elections, pit-

ting Aung San Suu Kyis National League forDemocracy against the generals of the MyanmarArmed Forces (the tatmadaw).

Widespread ethnic and religious conflicts haveplagued the country since before its independ-ence from Britain in 1948. A diverse mosaicof ethnic nationalities make up about a thirdof Myanmars population, and their home-lands cover approximately 60% of its territory.Government crackdowns on movements de-manding greater political autonomy has led toa proliferation of non-state armed groups claim-

ing to represent peoples such as the Karen,Kachin, Karenni, Shan, Mon, Wa and Chin, andthe emergence of a complex array of alliancesagainst the government.

In March 2011, President Thein Sein stated inhis inaugural speech that his top priority wasto address the armed conflicts with the vari-ous ethnic groups. After several rounds of talksbetween the government and 17 armed move-ments, a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement isnow tantalisingly close. Meanwhile, Myanmar

is due to hold parliamentary elections by theend of 2015. Initialling a ceasefire and holding

KhinMaungWin/AP/SIPA

The EU in Myanmar:Preventive diplomacy in action?by Guy Banim


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the elections will be important milestones inthe ongoing political transition of the country.However, the legacy of conflict, poverty, op-pression and weak institutions will not be over-come within one electoral cycle. Continuousintercommunal violence including the repres-sion of Rohingya Muslims in the west of thecountry is a reminder that transition is thework of decades. Success will require sustainedpolitical leadership at the domestic level, as wellas support, if not proactive engagement, from itsinternational partners.

A comprehensive approach

The EU was one of the first to respond to thecountrys political opening, suspending its re-strictive measures on 23 April 2012 and fullylifting sanctions the following year, except foran arms embargo. The Union has subsequentlysought collaboration with the government to as-sist the reform process and to contribute to polit-ical, economic and social development through

the Comprehensive Framework for Myanmar,adopted in 2013.

The 2013 EU-Myanmar Task Force set out fourpriority areas for development assistance for2014-2020: rural development, agriculture andfood security; education; good governance, ruleof law and capacity building; and peacebuildingsupport. To achieve its goals, the Union allocated688 million in development aid, making it oneof the biggest donors to the country during thetransition period.

The strong political and financial support to thepeace process aims to maximise the chances ofa successful shift towards democracy and stabil-ity. At the same time, it is in line with the EUscore foreign policy goal to help preserve peace,prevent conflicts and strengthen internationalsecurity, in accordance with the United NationsCharter. Myanmar thus provides an example ofa complex and, so far, relatively successful tran-

sition where the EU has sought to play a high-profile role.

Peacebuilding in context

Experience has taught that good context analysis,providing a clear understanding of the local po-litical, cultural and economic environment, mustunderpin any preventive diplomacy efforts.

Three factors have contributed to the EUs well-

informed analysis of the conflict dynamics inMyanmar. First, the Union has gained a solidunderstanding of the situation in the countrythrough its long-term field presence in humani-tarian and development programmes in conflict-affected areas. This was reinforced when an EUdelegation was opened in Yangon in April 2012and additional political and peacebuilding ad-visers recruited. Second, high-level political en-gagement granted the EU unique access and in-sight. Third, support was provided by the EEASMediation Support Team which mobilised inter-nal and external expertise to identify potential

scenarios for the peace process.

Myanmar exhibits some typical features of afragile state: outbreaks of violence and a non-in-clusive political system, leaving large parts of thepopulation disenfranchised. The internationallyagreed Peace-building and State-building Goalsfor Fragile States were therefore a useful bench-mark for developing an appropriate strategy. TheUnions approach was also shaped by its PoliticalEconomy Analysis of the country, which iden-tified four key areas for action: better deliv-

ery of social services, the promotion of broadbased economic growth, the improvement of

Source: The New York Times

Electoral constituencies and ethnic groups in

Myanmar


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governance, and sustained peacebuilding ef-forts.

Diplomatic support

Myanmar has featured prominently on the EUdiplomatic agenda over the past three years.President Barroso visited Yangon in November2012, and three official visits were made byHR/VP Catherine Ashton. President Thein Seinand Aung San Suu Kyi then reciprocated withvisits to Brussels in March and October 2013,respectively. The EU has consistently used suchopportunities to call for an immediate end tohostilities across the country and the holdingof inclusive political negotiations which involveall stakeholders. It also encouraged govern-ment, opposition and civic leaders to increase

efforts to prevent intercommunal violence andaddress the root causes of social instability.

The EU head of delegation plays a promi-nent role in the Peace Donor Support Group(PDSG) that was set up to provide both po-litical and practical backing to the peace ef-forts. This grouping of international partners(which includes Australia, EU, Japan, Norway,Switzerland, UK, UN, US, and the World Bank)was first convened in June 2012 at the requestof President Thein Sein. Its purpose is to serve

as a platform for dialogue between the donorcommunity and the government of Myanmar,and to better coordinate the provision of aidto conflict-affected areas. PDSG meetings haveprovided a venue for the EU to demonstrate po-litical support for the process, understand theneeds of the different stakeholders, enhancecoordination between donors, and facilitate ex-changes on relevant international experiences.

...advice, expertise...

From the outset, expectations of the EU werehigh due to its experience in successfully or-chestrating peaceful transitions in Europe (andbeyond), as well as its perceived impartiality.

Although advice and expertise has been offeredthrough many channels, the primary route hasbeen through locally-based staff and the po-litical section of the EU delegation. They havefacilitated direct responses to requests fromMyanmar counterparts on specific issues aris-ing during the peace process, such as govern-ance arrangements, citizenship rights, funding

mechanisms, relations with armed groups orthe monitoring of ceasefires.

What is preventive diplomacy?

The range of EU activities in Myanmar provides aunique case study of preventive diplomacy in the

ASEAN region. The term encompasses actions takento prevent disputes arising between parties, preventexisting disputes from escalating into conflicts, andto limit the spread of the latter should they occur.It includes the direct application of methods suchas diplomacy, negotiation, enquiry, mediation andconciliation, as well as activities that are designedto indirectly reduce the risk of conflict by tacklingstructural causes.

Whilst in UN usage, preventive diplomacy is ap-plied both to internal as well as inter-state conflict,there has been a desire within the ASEAN RegionalForum to limit its use to conflicts between states.

Given that the conflicts addressed in the Myanmarpeace process are internal (albeit with internationaldimensions), it could be argued that EU peace sup-port efforts there cannot be labelled that way. Thatsaid, most would accept that the Union has priori-tised Myanmar with the strategic goal of preventingand resolving conflict, thus making it possible tospeak of EU preventive diplomacy in the country.

In general, however, the level of demand has ex-ceeded the EUs ability to supply its expertise ina contextually relevant and timely way. One ap-

proach to step up the response has been throughad hoclectures, training sessions and exchangesof views on issues ranging from gender to politi-cal inclusion. The national dialogue process wasalso facilitated by meetings of the Civil SocietyDialogue Network one held in Brussels and onein Yangon. This approach has proved a practi-cal way to offer mediation support, all the whileleaving the initiative firmly in the hands of thelocal actors.

The renegotiation of power relations is always atthe heart of any peace process. EU political and

financial support to awareness-raising initiativeswith various ethnic groups and to the MyanmarPeace Centre (MPC) was a deliberate effort tomake best practices in peace building as trans-parent and publicly accessible as possible.

The government of Myanmar requested EU sup-port to conduct a study of the priorities in con-flict-affected areas. A Joint Peacebuilding NeedsAssessment (JPNA) was subsequently preparedby experts from the EU, the UN, and the WorldBank. The core objective of this exercise was to

build a shared understanding of the needs andpriorities of communities emerging from armed


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Source: European Union Delegation to Myanmar

EU funding to peacebuilding initiatives in Myanmar (103 million)

conflict. The findings can serve as a guide for theinternational community in future interventions.

...and funding

Peace and conflict resolution will remain key tar-gets of EU financial engagement in the future.Currently, the EU provides 80% of total report-ed peace-related funding in Myanmar. Contraryto a widely held perception amongst civil soci-ety activists, EU support to the government-ledMyanmar Peace Centre amounts to less than 15%of the overall support to the sector with most ofthe funding channelled through local and inter-national NGOs and UN agencies.

An 18 million programme EU Peace Support

Project in Myanmar is under consideration tohelp the next stages of the peace process. Thiswill focus on developing a joint monitoringmechanism, encouraging national dialogue onpolitical transition, providing aid in ethnic con-trolled territories, and ensuring the accountablityof the security sector.

Not built in a day

The EUs preventitive diplomacy in Myanmar is

an example of a deliberate effort to help pre-emptviolence by building structures that can withstand

the inevitable setbacks of a complex politicaltransition. This has allowed the EU to take therisks necessary to operate as a diplomatic actor and not only as an aid donor in a difficultenvironment. It was also able to largely fulfil the

expectations of its Myanmar counterparts that itwould bring to bear sufficient political leverageand expertise. Moreover, the Unions involvementproves that preventive diplomacy activities inthe ASEAN region can be directed at an internalconflict without being perceived as unnecessarilyinterventionist.

Reaching a political settlement that meets theneeds and aspirations of all the people of Myanmarwill be an arduous task. In any case, it will not besomething that comes about solely as a result ofthe actions of the EU and other partners. Peace

is not something that can be bought and paid forthrough international assistance but active sup-port can help.

Guy Banim is a former Peace MediationAdvisor at the EEAS.

EU Institute for Security Studies, 2014. | QN-AK-14-029-2A-N | ISSN 2315-1110

brief 29 burma

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