ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus on Myanmar has failed to produce tangible progress and instead provided Myanmar’s military junta with time and diplomatic cover while atrocities against civilians continue, advocacy group Progressive Voice said in a report released on 25 July.
The report argues that ASEAN and other regional mechanisms have failed to protect the people of Myanmar, while the bloc’s commitments on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) have remained largely rhetorical without meaningful implementation.
According to Progressive Voice, ASEAN leaders agreed in October 2025 to continue restricting the junta’s political representation at high-level meetings and condemned ongoing violence in Myanmar. However, the group said statements issued by ASEAN’s Special Envoy during July 2026 began referring to the military authorities as the country’s “government,” a shift it said risked lending political legitimacy to the junta.
The group also criticised a 13 July statement by the Philippine Department of Foreign Affairs, saying its reference to junta leader Min Aung Hlaing’s 100-day peace initiative contributed to normalising relations with the military authorities and strengthening their international legitimacy.
Progressive Voice said ASEAN continues to convene meetings on Women, Peace and Security while Myanmar’s military has used conflict-related sexual violence and economic repression against women as tools of war.
It cited the “Uneven Burdens” report by UNDP and UN Women, which found that 42% of women in Myanmar no longer have any income, nearly twice the rate recorded among men.
The report also referred to documentation by Myanmar civil society organisations alleging conflict-related sexual violence, including forced stripping, gang rape and the killing of women to destroy evidence of abuse.
According to figures cited from the National Unity Government (NUG)’s Ministry of Human Rights, Myanmar’s military carried out 12,896 airstrikes between the February 2021 coup and the end of June 2026, resulting in the deaths of 5,846 civilians.
Progressive Voice also cited data from the Myanmar Internet Project, which found that 95% of the 314 civilians killed in airstrikes between April and June 2026 were in areas experiencing complete internet shutdowns. The organisation said the figures suggested the military was deliberately restricting communications while carrying out attacks to reduce international scrutiny.
The report said military offensives, village burnings and forced conscription had displaced nearly 3.8 million people across Myanmar. It also cited the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) as reporting that more than 100,000 civilians were newly displaced by fighting in Pakokku, Pauk and Saw townships in Magway Region.
Progressive Voice further referred to reports that nearly 200 young men were detained by soldiers and police using unmarked vehicles in Monywa Township, Sagaing Region, between 9 and 14 July.
The organisation called on ASEAN to stop treating the military authorities as a normal political actor and urged targeted sanctions on aviation fuel, arms and dual-use military technologies.
It also urged ASEAN to support international accountability efforts, including proceedings before the International Criminal Court (ICC) and universal jurisdiction cases being pursued in Indonesia and Timor-Leste.
On humanitarian assistance, Progressive Voice said aid should bypass the military authorities and instead be delivered through cross-border channels operated by ethnic resistance organisations, the National Unity Government (NUG) and local civil society organisations.
