"Two years after the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1st February 2021, the Council adopted today restrictive measures against 9 persons and 7 entities in view of the continuing escalation of violence, grave human rights violations and threats to the peace, security and stability in Myanmar/Burma. The sanctioned individuals include the Minister for Energy, prominent businessmen who have supported the regime’s repression with arms and dual use goods, and high-ranking officers in the Myanmar armed forces that are closely associated with the regime. Also listed are politicians and administrators from the Yangon Region involved in the process of death sentences and execution of four democracy activists in July 2022, and in Kachin State, where they oversaw air strikes, massacres, raids, arson and the use of human shields committed by the military. The listed entities include departments of the Ministry of Defence and a state-owned enterprise under its jurisdiction, as well as private companies supplying fuel, arms and funds to the military. Restrictive measures currently apply to a total of 93 individuals and 18 entities. Those designated are subject to an asset freeze and a travel ban, which prevents them from entering or transiting through EU territory. In addition, EU persons and entities are prohibited to make funds available to those listed. Other EU restrictive measure will remain in place: the embargo on arms and equipment and export restrictions on equipment for monitoring communications which might be used for internal repression, the export ban on dual-use goods for use by the military and border guard police, and the prohibition of military training and cooperation with the Tatmadaw. The restrictive measures come in addition to the withholding of EU financial assistance directly going to the government and the freezing of all EU assistance that may be seen as legitimising the junta. The EU condemns in the strongest possible terms the grave human rights violations, including sexual and gender-based violence, the persecution of civil society, human rights defenders and journalists, attacks on the civilian population, targeting also children and persons belonging to ethnic and religious minorities across the country, and recent deadly air strikes on civilian targets, including on schools and hospitals, by the Myanmar armed forces. Those responsible for the coup, as well as the perpetrators of violence and gross human rights violations, should be held accountable. The EU reiterates its call for increased international preventive action, including an arms embargo in order to cease the sale and transfer of arms and equipment, as they facilitate the military’s atrocities. All hostilities must stop immediately. The military authorities must fully respect international humanitarian law, and put an end to the indiscriminate use of force. The European Union supports ASEAN’s and the UN´s efforts to help Myanmar to find a peaceful solution to the crisis and welcomes the UN Security Council’s adoption of Resolution 2669 on Myanmar. Myanmar should swiftly and faithfully implement ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus, as reiterated at the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in November 2022, and at the EU-ASEAN Commemorative Summit in December 2022. The relevant legal acts have been published in the Official Journal of the European Union. Background In February 2021, the Council adopted conclusions condemning in the strongest terms the military coup carried out in Myanmar/Burma. On 31 January 2023, the High Representative issued a declaration on behalf of the EU on the 2nd anniversary of the military take-over stating that, in the absence of any swift progress on the situation in Myanmar, the EU stood ready to adopt further restrictive measures against those directly responsible for and those abetting the undermining of democracy and the serious human rights violations in the country. The Council has imposed restrictive measures against those responsible for the military coup staged in Myanmar/Burma on 1 February 2021, and the subsequent military and police repression against peaceful demonstrators on 22 March, 19 April and 21 June 2021, and 21 February and 8 November 2022..."