UN urged to probe Myanmar envoy Julie Bishop over alleged China firms ties | United Nations News– www.aljazeera.com
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The United Nations is facing calls to investigate its special envoy on Myanmar, Julie Bishop, over alleged ties between her consulting firm and Chinese mining and construction companies with interests in the Southeast Asian country.
Justice for Myanmar, a prominent advocacy group, has sent a letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, citing a report by Australia’s The Saturday Paper that detailed Bishop’s alleged connections to Chinese state-owned firms. By Tuesday, a number of other activist groups had also joined the call for an investigation.
The links to Chinese and other companies operating in Myanmar create “unacceptable conflicts of interest that must be fully investigated”, Justice for Myanmar wrote to Guterres.
The group urged the UN chief to investigate Bishop’s “business activities, consider the appropriateness of her continued U.N. engagement, and disclose the findings”.
Bishop, a former Australian foreign minister and current chancellor of Australian National University, has not publicly addressed the allegations. She was named UN envoy to Myanmar in April.
In a statement sent to The Australian newspaper, Bishop’s company said it was “a private-advisory firm engaged to provide strategic analysis and guidance”.
It added that it “does not take fiduciary or executive roles, nor does it provide legal, corporate or financial advice” and that “any potential or actual conflicts are declared and vetted.”
