The decision came after the country’s military chief sent a letter to Trump praising his ‘strong leadership’.

The United Nations’s top expert on Myanmar has sharply criticised the United States for lifting sanctions on allies of the country’s governing military regime, warning the move is a “major step backward”.

Tom Andrews, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar, on Wednesday called the decision “shocking”. The US quietly removed sanctions on five individuals and companies allegedly tied to the regime’s arms trade on July 24.

“This is a major step backward for international efforts to save lives by restricting the murderous junta’s access to weapons,” Andrews said in a statement. “It is unconscionable to undermine these efforts by rolling back sanctions on Myanmar arms dealers and junta cronies.”

The move has drawn criticism amid an ongoing civil war in Myanmar, where the military, led by Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, seized power in a 2021 coup that overthrew the government of Aung San Suu Kyi.

Andrews said the companies removed from the sanctions list had been implicated in brokering weapons and materials for the regime’s military operations.

“What makes this action even more appalling is that sanctions against the junta are proving to be effective,” Andrews added, pointing to data showing a more than 30 percent decline in Myanmar’s imported military equipment from 2023 to 2024, which he attributed in part to US-led sanctions.

The move comes despite US President Trump signing a notice in February extending the executive order underpinning Myanmar-related sanctions, saying the 2021 coup “continues to pose an unusual and extraordinary threat” to US national security.

And in a June statement to the UN, the US representative accused the military regime of bombing civilians and conscripting Rohingya to fight on its behalf.

But the decision to ease sanctions came two weeks after Myanmar’s military chief sent a glowing letter of praise to US President Donald Trump. In the letter, the general commended Trump’s “strong leadership” and praised his administration for defunding US-backed media outlets critical of the regime.

A senior official from Trump’s administration said the sanctions decision was unrelated to the letter.

But critics say the timing raises serious concerns. John Sifton, Asia advocacy director at Human Rights Watch, called the move “extremely worrying” and warned that it “suggests a major shift is underway in US policy, which had centered on punitive action against Myanmar’s military regime”.

Andrews urged the Trump administration to reverse course. “Rather than removing sanctions, the US should be extending them to include Myanmar Economic Bank, the key military-controlled financial institution that it relies on to pay for imported military equipment.”

“This is a dangerous and disturbing trend,” he added. “I urge the Trump administration to stand with the people of Myanmar and reconsider its decision to make it easier for the military junta to attack them with sophisticated weapons of war. It is literally a matter of life and death.”

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies