UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The UN special envoy for Myanmar has warned that the Southeast Asian nation is in crisis, with escalation of the conflictcriminal networks “out of control” and human suffering at unprecedented levels.

Julie Bishop told the UN General Assembly’s human rights commission on Tuesday, in her first report since being appointed by Secretary-General Antonio Guterres last April, that “actors in Myanmar need to move beyond the current zero-sum mentality “.

Myanmar’s military ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi in February 2021 and suppressed widespread nonviolent protests seeking a return to democratic rule, leading to increased violence and a humanitarian crisis.

In the last year, three powerful ethnic armed militias gained territoryupholding the government’s decision military increasingly on the back foot in fighting that forced hundreds of thousands of civilians from their homes. According to the UN, 3 million people are displaced in Myanmar and about 18.6 million are in need of humanitarian assistance.

Bishop called for an end to the violence, stressing that “there can be little progress in addressing people’s needs while armed conflict continues across the country.”

The former Australian foreign minister said he engaged with the government, including Gender. senior Min Aung Hlaing in Myanmar’s capital, Naypyidaw, as well as representatives of the opposition, armed ethnic organizations, women’s groups, human rights defenders and numerous countries. She did not provide details about the meetings.

She said she engaged with the current, previous and future ASEAN chairs in Vientiane, Laos; Jakarta, Indonesia; and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. The UN representative said he had also visited Myanmar’s neighbors China and Thailand and would soon visit India and Bangladesh, “continuing to urge neighboring countries to exert their influence”. She said she would also return to Naypyidaw, but gave no time frame. She did not provide details about any of the meetings.

At the recent summit between the United Nations and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, known as ASEAN, Bishop said Secretary-General Guterres supported enhanced cooperation between the UN envoy and the ASEAN president “on innovative ways to advance a process led by Myanmar”.

This includes the “effective implementation” of a five-point ASEAN plan that Myanmar’s leaders agreed to in April 2021 but have done little to follow through on. It calls for an immediate end to the violence, a dialogue between all parties involved mediated by an ASEAN special envoy, the provision of humanitarian aid and a visit to Myanmar by the association’s special envoy to meet with all parties involved.

“Any path to reconciliation requires an end to violence, accountability and unfettered access for the UN and its partners to address the vulnerabilities of the marginalized, including the Rohingya, ethnic communities and especially women and youth,” Bishop said.

But instead, she pointed to rising civilian casualties and the rule of law “so severely undermined that transnational crime emanating from Myanmar is proliferating”.

“The scale of arms production and trade, people-trafficking, drug manufacturing and trafficking, and fraud centers mean that Myanmar now ranks highest among all member states for organized crime,” she said. “Criminal networks are out of control.”

Bishop supported Guterres, who stressed the urgency of building a path to a democratic transition and a return to civilian rule.

“I share his concern about the military’s stated intention to hold elections amid escalating conflicts and human rights violations,” she said.

The bishop warned that “the conflict in Myanmar risks becoming a forgotten crisis”.

“The regional implications of this crisis are obvious, but the global impact can no longer be ignored,” she said.