Myanmar Sanctions

While Myanmar has taken a backseat in global headlines recently, the country’s post-coup and Rohingya crises continue to evolve. Ongoing civil conflict, compounded by the recent earthquake (28 March 2025), has increased humanitarian suffering and further destabilised the nation. Sanctions remain one of the key tools of international pressure on Myanmar’s military junta, yet they also complicate the delivery of important humanitarian aid and have wider unintended consequences.

At Sanctions SOS, we conduct focused research on Myanmar’s evolving situation and the interplay of sanctions with the country. This page offers the latest updates, in-depth briefing papers, and expertise to help you navigate the complexities of sanctions and their consequences in Myanmar.

In March 2025, a 7.7 magnitude earthquake struck Myanmar’s central region near Mandalay. This disaster caused widespread destruction and thousands of casualties, compounding the suffering of civilians already affected by civil conflict. Since the military coup in 2021, the Tatmadaw, Myanmar’s ruling junta, has maintained a firm grip on state power. Their dominance has complicated the delivery of humanitarian aid. While international sanctions restrict direct funding to the junta, exemptions are made for humanitarian assistance through licensing. However, given the junta’s extensive network across local networks, it remains difficult to ensure that aid reaches civilians without being diverted or misused, raising serious concerns about transparency and accountability in aid distribution.

Over time, however, the civil war has continued to evolve. According to the 2024 NUG Military Progress Report, the Tatmadaw’s territorial control has weakened by early 2025, with some estimates suggesting it retained effective authority over only 20% of towns and townships. It retains power over urban areas such as Naypyidaw and Yangon, but its hold on rural and border regions has faded under pressure of coordinated resistance. Moreover, the National Unity Government and several Ethnic Armed Organisations have slowly expanded control over ‘liberated zones’ in the north and east of the country. In these areas, they have begun providing basic public services and governance, supported with limited international aid. However, currently the various sanctions regimes targeting Myanmar do not distinguish between these non-Junta controlled areas and the rest of the country.

International efforts to encourage peace negotiations have stalled. ASEAN’s Five-Point Consensus, proposed in 2021, has been largely ignored by Tatmadaw. As evidence of war crimes continue to mount, including aerial bombings of schools and hospitals in opposition-held areas, there have been renewed calls for justice and accountability at the International Criminal Court, although Myanmar’s non-membership in the Rome Statute presents ongoing jurisdictional challenges. 

Sanctions on Myanmar were first imposed by Western countries in the 1990s in response to widespread human rights abuses and the military regime’s refusal to honour the results of the 1990 general election, which the National League for Democracy (NLD), led by Aung San Suu Kyi, had won. The continued detention of Suu Kyi and other opposition figures caused international condemnation. In 2011, Myanmar began a transition toward quasi-civilian government, prompting many countries to ease or lift sanctions in response to modest political and economic reforms.

This tentative democratic reform came to a halt on 1 February 2021, when the military regime, known as the Tatmadaw, seized power in a coup d’état, re-establishing the military junta’s control and detaining key NLD leaders. The Tatmadaw justified the coup by alleging fraud in the 2020 elections, claims that lacked credible evidence. In response, many governments rapidly reimposed targeted sanctions, focusing on military officials, military-owned conglomerates, and entities linked to human rights violations.

This coup led to mass civil demonstration across the country, including peaceful protests, general strikes, and civil service boycotts. The junta responded with violent crackdowns, mass arrests, internet blackouts, and lethal force. As the violence escalated, many civilians, particularly young people, turned to armed resistance, forming People’s Defence Forces, that allied with long-standing Ethnic Armed Organisations. By late 2021, the situation had devolved into a multi-front civil war.

The conflict soon drew international attention. Russia and China maintained diplomatic and military ties with the junta, supplying arms and providing political cover in forums such as the United Nations Security Council. Meanwhile, Western countries (including the US, UK, and European Union) imposed targeted sanctions on the military regime and voiced support for the National Unity Government (NUG), an opposition government created abroad by former elected leaders. 

The war and instability have caused a severe humanitarian crisis. Millions of people have been displaced internally, with thousands feeling into neighbouring countries like Thailand and India. Violence in regions like Chin and Sagaing have seen airstrikes, village burnings, and numerous allegations of war crimes. Access to humanitarian aid remains severely restricted by the military, hindering assistance to those in need.  

 A range of international sanctions have been imposed on Myanmar in response to the 2021 military coup and ongoing human rights violations, in particular those targeting the Muslim Rohingya population of Myanmar. Collectively, these sanctions aim to restrict the Tatmadaw’s capacity to finance repression, curb access to arms and dual-use goods, deter foreign investment into military-owned enterprises, and signal international condemnation of the military regime’s actions.

United States

Issued on February 10, 2021, Executive Order 14014 declared a national emergency in response to Myanmar's military coup and authorised OFAC to impose targeted sanctions on individuals and entities involved in undermining Myanmar's democratic processes or committing serious human rights abuses. The sanctions include asset freezes and prohibitions on transactions involving designated individuals and entities. Additionally, on August 23, 2023, OFAC issued a determination extending the application of Executive Order 14014 to the jet fuel sector of Myanmar's economy, targeting activities related to military regime end-users, such as military resupply aircraft and combat vehicles.

United Kingdom

Under SAMLA, the UK government introduced the Myanmar (Sanctions) Regulations 2021, designating key military figures, business entities, and aviation authorities involved in the military coup and repression. The sanctions include financial restrictions, travel bans, and arms embargoes aimed at restricting the junta’s power and limiting its access to resources.

European Union

The European Union has a long-standing history of Myanmar sanctions regimes. Specifically answering to the military coup, it announced Council Regulation (EU) 2021/479 in February 2021. These regulations establish asset freezes and financial restrictions targeting military leaders, government officials, and military-owned enterprises involved in undermining Myanmar’s democratic processes and committing serious human rights abuses. The measures prohibit EU persons and entities from providing funds or economic resources to designated individuals and entities. Additionally, the EU enforces export bans on arms, military equipment, and surveillance technologies that could be used for internal violence. 

Complementing these, Council Decision (CFSP) 2021/480 imposed visa bans on targeted individuals, restricting their travel within the EU. 

Canada
Under the Special Economic Measures Act, Canada imposed targeted sanctions against Myanmar’s military leadership and affiliated entities following the coup. These sanctions include travel restrictions and asset freezes, aiming to pressure the military regime to restore democratic governance and respect human rights.

Australia

Australia updated its Autonomous Sanctions Regulations 2011 to include Myanmar, imposing sanctions targeting military officials and related organisations involved in the coup and human rights violations. Sanctions consist of asset freezes, travel bans, and restrictions on business dealings, contributing to international efforts to hold the Tatmadaw accountable.

United Kingdom

- Currently there are no UK General Licences relating to either finance or trade in place covering Myanmar. Financial sanctions licences are granted by OFSI for purposes such as humanitarian aid or legal fees. Whilst, trade licences, which are issued by the ECJU, may permit the export of goods otherwise prohibited under sanctions. All specific licensing applications are considered on a case-by-case basis, prioritising urgent and humanitarian needs.
 

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/myanmar-sanctions-guidance/myanmar-sanctions-guidance?#licensing-and-exceptions

United States

Selected General Licenses Issued by OFAC

- General License No. 1 under Executive Order 14014

• Allows the United States government and its employees, grantees, and contractors to carry out transactions and activities.
• Issued March 2021
• https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/56851/download?inline

- General License No. 3 under Executive Order 14014

• Allows NGOs to continue important humanitarian, development, democracy-building, education, and environmental work in Myanmar.
• Issued March 2021
• https://ofac.treasury.gov/media/56861/download?inline