Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, to discuss "The Forgotten Burmese Revolution: What Comes Next after Four Years?"

Remembering the Forgotten Burmese Revolution: What Comes Next after Four Years?

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun, Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, will deliver the George Herbert Walker, Jr. Lecture with a discussion about the ongoing Burmese revolution. The New York Times has described this revolution as a “forgotten war,” and the talk will make a case for why the international community should pay attention to the Burmese revolution by discussing human rights violations, examining the limitations of the international response, and offering thoughts on the future trajectory of resistance movements. The talk will focus on how civilians from the bottom-up have played a courageous and creative role in resisting the dangerous coup of February 2021. It will also address that the future of post-coup democracy in Myanmar might look like.

In addition to providing an account of the impacts of the coup, this event will mark the four-year anniversary of the revolutionary movement, honor the fallen heroes, and recognize the ongoing resistance in villages and valleys across Myanmar.

After his talk, Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun will be joined by a panel of experts on Southeast Asia. Together, they will discuss key questions about the revolution's evolution, the depth of solidarity between the Bamar ethnic majority and ethnic minority groups, and the challenges faced by resistance movements. They will also explore the roles of local governance and reflect on what steps lie ahead for both Myanmar and the international community in supporting the ongoing fight for federal democracy and freedom from the military dictatorship and Buddhist nationalism.

Ambassador Kyaw Moe Tun was born in Yangon, Myanmar in July 1969. He is married with one daughter and one son. He graduated from the University of Yangon, Myanmar, with Bachelors of Arts (International Relations) in 1992. He gained Master of Business Administration in 2004 at the International University of Japan, Niigata, Japan. Ambassador Tun joined the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Myanmar in November 1993. He served as various capacities at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Myanmar Embassies in Jakarta, Indonesia and in Singapore as well as Permanent Missions of Myanmar in New York and in Geneva. He became Deputy Director-General of the International Organization and Economic Department in March 2015 and Director-General in September 2016. Then he served as Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations Office at Geneva from July 2018 to October 2020. He concurrently served as Ambassador of Myanmar to Switzerland. While residing in Geneva, he was Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the OPCW from November 2018 to January 2020. After serving as the Permanent Representative of Myanmar in Geneva for over two years, Ambassador Tun has become Ambassador/Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations in New York since October 2020. When the military staged the illegal military coup in February 2021, Ambassador Tun joined the Civil Disobedient Movement and stood with the people of Myanmar against the military junta. As the Permanent Representative of Myanmar to the United Nations, Ambassador Tun has continued conveying the voices and desire of the people Myanmar to the international community via the UN platform.