UN Security Council Holds Private Meeting on Myanmar as Junta Ceasefire Expires; Resistance Groups Maintain Rejection of SAC Peace Offer

On April 30, 2026, the UN Security Council convened a private meeting on Myanmar, briefed by UN Special Envoy Julie Bishop and ASEAN Special Envoy Tan Sri Othman bin Hashim. The meeting coincided with the expiry of the junta's (SAC) self-declared ceasefire and the continuing rejection of its 100-day peace talk offer, which was issued on April 21 with a July 31 deadline. The National Unity Government (NUG) and major ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) had already dismissed the SAC proposal, stating they would 'continue to fight until their goals are achieved.' The resistance groups characterized the offer as a performative gesture to gain international legitimacy rather than a genuine opening toward political settlement. ASEAN's five-point consensus — which the SAC agreed to in April 2021 — has been ignored for three years; ASEAN's new Myanmar chair Timor-Leste is attempting to revive engagement with no significant progress. China continues episodic mediation between the SAC and ethnic armed groups it has relationships with (MNDAA, UWSA) but has not engaged the NUG. The Security Council's April 4 press statement had welcomed ceasefire announcements; the subsequent expiry and rejection of the SAC initiative has returned the situation to the baseline of civil war. Myanmar's humanitarian crisis has displaced approximately 3.3 million people. The private UNSC meeting reflects ongoing international concern over the political deadlock, with no clear path to a negotiated settlement between the SAC and the shadow NUG government, which holds expanded territory following resistance advances in 2024–25.