Soe Win

Deputy-Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) since 2011. Vice-Chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC) and member of the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC).

1960-03-01

Male

https://eur-lex.europa.eu/legal-content/EN/TXT/?uri=uriserv%3AOJ.L_.2022.121.01.0001.01.ENG&toc=OJ%3AL%3A2022%3A121%3ATOC

Position-based reason

Military

Soe Win has been the Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw) since 2011. He is Vice-Chairman of the State Administration Council (SAC) and member of the National Defence and Security Council (NDSC). On 1 February 2021, the Myanmar Armed Forces (Tatmadaw), led by Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, staged a coup in Myanmar by setting aside the results of the elections held on 8 November 2020 and by overthrowing the democratically elected government. As part of the coup, Vice-President Myint Swe, functioning as Acting President, declared a state of emergency on 1 February 2021 and transferred the legislative, executive and judicial powers of the State to the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. On 2 February 2021, the SAC was established to exercise those powers, preventing the democratically elected government from fulfilling its mandate. Soe Win participated in the meeting of the NDSC on 31 January 2022, which extended the state of emergency until 31 July 2022. As Vice-Chairman of the SAC, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win has been directly involved in and responsible for decision-making concerning state functions and is therefore responsible for undermining democracy and the rule of law in Myanmar/Burma. Additionally, the SAC adopted decisions restricting the rights to freedom of expression, including access to information, and peaceful assembly. The military forces and authorities operating under the control of the SAC have committed serious human rights violations since 1 February 2021, killing civilian and unarmed protestors, restricting freedom of assembly and of expression, including by restricting internet access, and through arbitrary arrests and detention of opposition leaders and opponents of the coup. As Vice-Chairman of the SAC, Deputy Commander-in-Chief Soe Win is directly responsible for those repressive decisions and for serious human rights violations. In 2018, the United Nations as well as international civil society organisations reported gross human rights violations and serious violations of international humanitarian law committed in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan States against the Rohingya population by the military and police forces since 2011 and concluded that many of those violations amount to the gravest crimes under international law. As Deputy Commander-in-Chief of the Tatmadaw since 2011, Soe Win is responsible for those serious violations and abuses against the Rohingya population.

EU

2022/662 (OJ L121)

(Date of UN designation: 2021-03-22)

2022-04-22

EU

Restrictive measures in view of the situation in Myanmar/Burma

EU country specific

Myanmar

Asset freeze and prohibition to make funds available, Restrictions on admission

- All assets of the persons and entities listed in Annexes IV of Council Regulation (EU) 401/2013 should be frozen. It is also prohibited to make any funds or assets directly or indirectly available to them. The list of persons and entities concerned is included in the Financial Sanctions Database (linked). - Member States shall enforce travel restrictions on persons listed in the Annex of Council Decision 2013/184/CFSP.

In view of the absence of progress towards democratization and of the violation of human rights in Myanmar/Burma, on 28 October 1996, the EU reaffirmed the restrictive measures already in place, which included an arms embargo, and introduced additional ones, such as travel restrictions and the suspension of high-level bilateral governmental visits to Myanmar/Burma. In response to the positive developments and as a means of encouraging changes to continue, on 22 April 2013 the EU lifted all restrictive measures against Myanmar/Burma with the exception of the arms embargo and the embargo on equipment which might be used for internal repression. However, reacting to the systematic human rights abuses perpetrated by Myanmar/Burma military and security forces, in particular in Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states, the EU Foreign Ministers in February 2018 called for strengthened restrictive measures. Accordingly, in the course of 2018 the Council of the EU adopted additional measures that included an extension of the embargo on arms and equipment which might be used for internal repression, as well as targeted restrictive measures against senior military officers of the Myanmar armed forces. Derogations to the restrictive measures are possible, including the delivery of humanitarian aid. On 21 April 2022, the Council of the EU decided to renew the restrictive measures until 30 April 2023.