The European Union has threatened to impose trade sanctions on Myanmar that could put thousands of jobs in its lucrative clothing industry at risk, if the country does not address 'severe shortcomings' in human rights.

Officials wrapped up a four-day fact-finding mission to Myanmar on Wednesday as the EU considers stepping up its response to the brutal crackdown on the Rohingya, and ongoing conflicts elsewhere in the country.

"Trade, done right, is a powerful force for good," the EU commissioner for trade, Cecilia Malmström, said in a statement at the end of the visit.
The EU, the world's biggest trading bloc, is considering whether to add to existing travel bans and asset freezes on certain military officers, by removing the tariff-free access to European markets that Myanmar currently receives via the Everything But Arms (EBA) programme.

"We have worked to ensure that trade preferences and access to the EU market are an incentive to promote fundamental human and labour rights," Malmström added. "We now expect Myanmar to address the severe shortcomings that have been highlighted during this monitoring mission. If they do not act, Myanmar authorities are putting their country's tariff-free access to the EU market in danger."

The EU officials' trip to Myanmar comes after UN investigators said that genocide against the Rohingya was "ongoing" and that as many as 400,000 Rohingya still remaining in Myanmar live under severe restrictions and repression.

Hundreds of thousands of Rohingya fled across the border to neighbouring Bangladesh last year amid a crackdown that a UN report said warranted the prosecution of Myanmar's top military leaders for war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide.

Source: Al Jazeera

BDST: 1528 HRS, NOV 3, 2018
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