Insider

Your all-access pass to FP

U.N. Rapporteur: Myanmar Crisis ‘Has Been Forgotten’

Two years after the coup, the world has moved on, but many Burmese can’t.

By , a former intern at Foreign Policy.
Protesters listen to anti-coup fighters in Myanmar.
Protesters listen to anti-coup fighters in Myanmar.
Protesters listen to anti-coup fighters during a demonstration against the military coup in Sagaing Region, Myanmar, on Sept. 7, 2022. STR/AFP via Getty Images

In the days leading up to the 2021 coup in Myanmar, Tom Andrews spent his time assuring people that a coup was not actually going to happen. Andrews, the United Nations special rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar, was making dinner at his home outside Washington when Myanmar’s military launched a coup on Feb. 1, 2021, overthrowing the nascent civilian-led government and plunging the country into a new period characterized by widespread violence. 

Liam Scott is a former intern at Foreign Policy. Twitter: @liamjscott

Join the Conversation

Commenting on this and other recent articles is just one benefit of a Foreign Policy subscription.

Already a subscriber? .

Join the Conversation

Join the conversation on this and other recent Foreign Policy articles when you subscribe now.

Not your account?

Join the Conversation

Please follow our comment guidelines, stay on topic, and be civil, courteous, and respectful of others’ beliefs.

You are commenting as .

More from Foreign Policy

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.
Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping give a toast during a reception following their talks at the Kremlin in Moscow on March 21.

Can Russia Get Used to Being China’s Little Brother?

The power dynamic between Beijing and Moscow has switched dramatically.

Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.
Xi and Putin shake hands while carrying red folders.

Xi and Putin Have the Most Consequential Undeclared Alliance in the World

It’s become more important than Washington’s official alliances today.

Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
Russian President Vladimir Putin greets Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

It’s a New Great Game. Again.

Across Central Asia, Russia’s brand is tainted by Ukraine, China’s got challenges, and Washington senses another opening.

Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.
Kurdish military officers take part in a graduation ceremony in Erbil, the capital of Iraq’s Kurdistan Region, on Jan. 15.

Iraqi Kurdistan’s House of Cards Is Collapsing

The region once seemed a bright spot in the disorder unleashed by U.S. regime change. Today, things look bleak.