UN Urged to Investigate Special Envoy Julie Bishop’s Ties with Chinese Firms

Justice for Myanmar has requested that the UN investigate Julie Bishop, the Special Envoy to Myanmar, over potential conflicts of interest due to her ties with Chinese state-owned companies. Bishop’s advisory role with Energy Transition Minerals (ETM), which has connections to harmful mining projects, raises ethical concerns linked to her diplomatic responsibilities in Myanmar.

Justice for Myanmar (JFM) has urged the United Nations to investigate potential conflicts of interest involving its Special Envoy, Julie Bishop, due to her associations with Chinese state-owned companies. Bishop, the former Australian Foreign Minister from 2013 to 2018, assumed her role at the UN in April 2024. Additionally, she leads the global consultancy, Julie Bishop and Partners.

The Saturday Paper initially reported on Bishop’s involvement with Energy Transition Minerals (ETM), a company partially controlled by Shenghe Resources, a state-owned Chinese entity, with a 9 percent share. Another state-owned firm involved is China Communications Construction Company (CCCC). ETM is currently entangled in a contentious uranium and rare earth minerals mining project in Kvanefjeld, Greenland, which has faced significant opposition from local communities and was eventually halted by a governmental ban in 2021.

ETM announced its engagement with Bishop in January 2024, appointing her as a strategic advisor to advance the Kvanefjeld Project amidst ongoing legal challenges. Activist groups, particularly JFM, express concern that her involvement with ETM may create a conflict of interest. With Myanmar being China’s foremost supplier of rare minerals and Shenghe Resources being a major processor, revenues from this industry largely support Myanmar’s military regime, which opposes pro-democracy movements. Such ties could compromise her objectivity as Special Envoy, which requires her to act with trust and integrity to resolve the crisis in Myanmar.

In summary, Justice for Myanmar is calling for an inquiry into Julie Bishop’s potential conflicts of interest due to her affiliations with Chinese state-owned companies while serving as the UN Special Envoy to Myanmar. Her role in promoting the Kvanefjeld mining project and its implications for Myanmar’s military regime raise significant ethical concerns regarding her ability to fulfill her duties impartially. The situation highlights the need for accountability and transparency within high-level international roles.

Original Source: www.jurist.org