149 Human Rights Groups Call on G20 countries to pressure India 10/2/23, 12:07 PM prepares to convene during the G20 Leaders’ Summit in New Delhi, India, the Burmese military continues to bene[t from Prime Minister Narenda Modi’s diplomatic and technical support, as India sells weapons to the Burmese junta. Such cooperation with an illegal military regime has emboldened the junta to intensify their attacks against civilians with impunity. We urge you to take action immediately and implement harsher sanctions that will hold the junta accountable, while joining the call for a global arms embargo to halt Indian weapons sales to the military. In a review of India’s exports, advocacy group Justice for Myanmar found (https://www.voanews.com/a/india-urged-to-endarms-exports-to-war-torn-myanmar/7159938.html) that Bharat Electronics, an Indian government-owned company, executed $5 million of deliveries to the Burmese junta from November 2022 to April 2023. Included in these deliveries were parts for naval vessels, battle[eld radios, and artillery barrels identi[ed as the guns commonly used to target civilians. The link between Indian arms sales and civilian casualties is direct and devastating; the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners estimates (https://aappb.org/) that the junta has killed almost 4,000 civilians since the start of the coup in February 2021. In a February 2023 report, multiple research and civil society organizations documented (https://www.uusc.org/how-can-we-survive-in-the-future-atrocity-crimes-in-karenni-state/) mounting evidence that the military’s actions amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity. As civilians in Burma continue to suffer under the military regime, it is imperative that G20 attendees understand India’s complicity and take immediate action. The Burmese junta has utilized arms from India to increase airstrikes, mortar shelling attacks, and mass shootings on unarmed civilians across the country. Local groups on the ground report that assaults from the military occur daily. This year, from January to April, the junta launched 442 airstrikes (https://www.ispmyanmar.com/#images-25) almost surpassing the total number of airstrikes in 2022, which was 449 (https://drive.google.com/[le/d/1jT3vs67d8CvirXW_DFWkqixT4nWSBye/view). These attacks have internally displaced over 1 million people, (https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/31/myanmar-2-yearscoup-worsening-repression) while creating at least 70,000 refugees that have ked to neighboring countries. The UN itself has stated (https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myanmar-humanitarian-needs-overview-2023-january-2023) that there has been no signs that displacement will slow. By the end of 2023, the total displaced population is expected to increase to 2.7 million. Half of the country is living in poverty, with 15.2 million people experiencing food insecurity. The United Nations Omce for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs further estimates (https://reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/myanmarhumanitarian-needs-overview-2023-january-2023) that the junta’s violence has left at least 17.6 million people in Burma in dire need of humanitarian assistance, with a third of the population being children. A nation that continues to enable the junta, despite being aware of the junta’s crimes, should not be allowed to convene and welcome the world’s leaders at the G20 summit. While this is a disappointing occurrence, the G20 will offer attending countries an opportunity to call out India on the world’s stage, and lead justice and accountability measures for a people that cannot take such actions themselves. To prevent the military from receiving further weaponry, the international community must establish a coordinated global arms embargo. Stricter and harsher sanctions must also be put in place as a means of cutting off the junta’s sources of income and thus access to the diplomatic and technical power that has allowed them to ravage Burma. • India must allow full access of humanitarian assistance, including, but not limited to humanitarian aid from UNICEF and the World Food Programme to the displaced communities along the India-Burma border; • India must cooperate with the international community to enforce a coordinated global arm embargo; https://burmacampaign.org.uk/149-human-rights-groups-call-on-g20-countries-to-pressure-india/ Page 2 of 7