obžaluje, da vojaška hunta v Burmi še vedno krši človekove pravice in demokracijo, ter podpira zavezanost Evropske unije k izpolnitvi zastavljenih ciljev, in sicer vzpostavitev obsežnega in resničnega tristranskega dialoga med vojaškim režimom, demokratično opozicijo (Nacionalna liga za demokracijo, ki je zmagala na volitvah leta 1990) in etničnimi skupinami za dosego nacionalne sprave, ki je potrebna za prehod v demokracijo v Burmi ter oblikovanje legitimne, demokratične civilne vlade, ki bo spoštovala človekove pravice državljanov in obnovila normalne odnose z mednarodno skupnostjo; pozdravlja, da je Svet novembra 2007 sprejel skupno stališče o podaljšanju veljavnih omejevalnih ukrepov in uvedbi dodatnih omejevalnih ukrepov, vendar obžaluje, da so bili iz njih izključeni bistveni sektorji, kot so energetika ter finančne in bančne sankcije proti vojaškemu režimu; v zvezi s tem meni, da mora sprejemanje omejevalnih ukrepov samodejno spremljati trdna podpora civilni družbi, kar pa se v Burmi ni zgodilo; obsoja brutalen odziv burmanskih oblasti na demonstracije budističnih duhovnikov in vseh ostalih miroljubnih demonstrantov; obžaluje stalne aretacije in pridržanja demokratičnih aktivistov in novinarjev ter poziva Svet, da še naprej poudarja razmere na področju človekovih pravic v Burmi kot glavno prednostno nalogo UNHRC ter zahteva, da posebni poročevalec ZN o človekovih pravicah v Burmi Tomas Ojea Quintana še enkrat obišče državo in dodatno oceni kršitve človekovih pravic; pozdravlja imenovanje Piera Fassina za posebnega odposlanca Evropske unije za Burmo in Komisijo poziva, naj v okviru evropskega instrumenta za demokracijo in človekove pravice (EIDHR) dejavno podpira burmansko gibanje za demokracijo; obsoja atentat, v katerem je bil 14. februarja 2008 na svojem domu na Tajskem umorjen generalni sekretar Karen National Union (KNU); poziva k preiskavi okoliščin tega atentata ter k temu, da EU izrazi ogorčenje nad vojaškim režimom in pozove k boljši zaščiti izgnanih demokratičnih voditeljev iz Burme, ki živijo na Tajskem; je zaskrbljen, da so burmanski begunci v Maleziji zelo ranljivi ter jim grozi, da jih malezijski organi aretirajo, pridržijo, pretepejo in prisilno odstranijo; zahteva od Sveta, da pozove malezijske organe k prenehanju z nasilnim obravnavanjem beguncev, da spodbudi Visoki komisariat Združenih narodov za begunce (UNHCR) k evidentiranju vseh beguncev, da se zagotovi večja zaščita, in da pozove več držav k sprejemanju burmanskih beguncev iz Malezije za namene preselitve;
Deplores the ongoing violations of human rights and democracy by the military junta in Burma and supports the European Union's commitment to attaining its stated objectives, namely an inclusive and genuine 'tripartite dialogue' between the military regime, the democratic opposition (namely the National League for Democracy, which won the 1990 elections) and the ethnic nationalities with a view to securing the national reconciliation which is needed for a transition to democracy in Burma and the establishment of a legitimate, democratic civilian government which respects the human rights of its people and restores normal relations with the international community; welcomes the Council's adoption in November 2007 of a common position renewing existing restrictive measures and introducing additional restrictive measures, but regrets the exclusion from those measures of crucial sectors such as energy and financial and banking sanctions against the military regime; considers in this connection that the adoption of restrictive measures should be accompanied as a matter of course by firm support for civil society, which has not been the case in Burma; condemns the brutal response of the Burmese authorities to the demonstrations by the Buddhist monks and all other peaceful demonstrators; deplores the ongoing arrests and detention of democratic activists and journalists, and calls on the Council to continue to highlight the human rights situation in Burma as a top priority on the UNHRC and to keep up pressure for a second visit to the country by Mr Tomas Ojea Quintana, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights in Burma, to further assess human rights violations; welcomes the appointment of Piero Fassino as European Union Special Envoy for Burma and asks the Commission to actively support the Burmese pro-democracy movement within the framework of the EIDHR; condemns the assassination on 14 February 2008 of Padoh Mahn Sha, the General Secretary of the Karen National Union (KNU), who was murdered in his home in Thailand; asks that an investigation take place into the circumstances of this assassination, and that the EU express outrage to the military regime and urge for better protection for exiled democracy leaders from Burma living in Thailand; is concerned that Burmese refugees in Malaysia are extremely vulnerable and are at risk of arrest, detention, caning and deportation by the Malaysian authorities; urges the Council to call on the Malaysian authorities to cease their brutal treatment of refugees, to encourage the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to register all refugees in order to provide greater protection and to urge more countries to agree to accept Burmese refugees from Malaysia for resettlement;