International Non-governmental Organization PEACE. (hereinafter “ingo PEACE.”; Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo) hereby reports that on December 18, 2025, its Representative Delegation had an official meeting with the Interim Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and formally submitted a petition concerning democratization grounded in the principle of “human dignity.”

1. Background Leading to the Official Meeting

ingo PEACE. has consistently engaged in dialogue and practical action from the standpoint of civilian humanitarian assistance, taking “human dignity” as a shared foundation and placing the voices of people living within local communities at the center of its activities.

Specifically, these efforts have included a human rights seminar, “Myanmar Human Rights Seminar 2025 (Universal Values of Humanity Seminar)”, reaffirming the spirit of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In addition, even under difficult conditions, ingo PEACE. has worked to ensure that the voices of people are not isolated from society. The initiatives include promoting interfaith and international solidarity to secure food transportation routes; improving sanitation and ensuring humanitarian consideration within detention and correctional facilities; and providing pro bono human rights–based legal assistance in serious criminal cases. These initiatives have been carried out with careful attention to the realities faced by people who lack meaningful choices or means to change their circumstances and who continue to live under severe conditions.

Furthermore, in November 2025, building upon the practical relationships formed through these activities, ingo PEACE. invited a delegation of religious leaders from Myanmar to Japan and convened a Democratization Support Forum. The forum was grounded in “human dignity” and addressed questions such as for whom democratization should be pursued, and how the voices of people who live under conditions of limited choice and constrained agency should be protected within society throughout the democratization process.

This meeting was made possible by the transitional government’s formal acceptance of our organization’s representative delegation, based on the voices of the local community that have been accumulated through these private humanitarian aid activities and collaboration with religious communities and civil society across sects and denominations, particularly the knowledge of the realities of people in helpless situations on the ground.

Underlying these efforts is a consistent understanding that democratization does not entail the denial of social order. Rather, democratization is an ongoing endeavor to ask how appropriate social order can be constructed and made to function in order to protect, as a matter of social justice, the dignity and safety of those in the most vulnerable positions.

2. Official Meeting and Submission of the Petition

The official meeting was conducted as an opportunity for direct dialogue with representatives of the Interim Government. During the meeting, the Representative Delegation submitted a petition on democratization and shared perspectives on a society grounded in “human dignity,” based on voices gathered through past humanitarian assistance and dialogue, as well as an understanding of the realities faced by people who lack both choices and means to change their circumstances.

The meeting took place as a dialogue with Mr. Aung Lin Dwe, the highest-ranking official of the Interim Government’s National Defense and Security Council. The Representative Delegation conveyed the view that, in advancing democratization, opinions should not be selected or prioritized based on the degree of influence or power behind them. Rather, the perspectives of those in the most vulnerable positions—those who are unable to act or choose freely within local contexts—should serve as the primary point of consideration.

During the discussions, participants also shared the understanding that while each position may carry its own sense of justice, justice exercised in a manner that suppresses the dignity or freedom of others cannot fulfill its role as social justice. Exchanges of views emphasized that what is required in the democratization process is not the imposition of the justice of any single position, but the realization of social justice that ensures people in vulnerable positions are not excluded or oppressed within society.

Additionally, the meeting addressed the reality that there are individuals within society who lack the means or opportunities to express their views and who can only entrust their hopes and concerns to prayer amid daily anxiety and hardship. It was recognized that embracing the existence of such people is a critical element in sustaining the legitimacy of social order.

3. The Measure of Democracy Lies in Whom Social Order Protects

During the meeting, Mr. Nugn Za Cung, Representative Director of ingo PEACE., made the following remarks:

“Social order does not exist merely for the purpose of control.

Order is necessary, as a matter of social justice, to protect the dignity and daily lives of people who are unable to act or choose freely on the ground.

While each position may hold its own sense of justice, when that justice functions to suppress those in vulnerable positions, order itself loses its moral legitimacy.

The question of whom social order protects—this, I believe, is where the maturity of democracy truly reveals itself.”

4. Looking Ahead

ingo PEACE. regards this official meeting and the submission of the petition as an important milestone in its ongoing efforts to continue questioning, from the standpoint of local voices, what form of social order is required to ensure— as a matter of social justice—that those in the most vulnerable positions are not excluded or oppressed.

Moving forward, ingo PEACE. will continue its activities with the aim of contributing to the formation of a social order that safeguards the dignity of those most in need of protection, regardless of the volume of their voices or the strength of their positions, through the promotion of peaceful dialogue and humanitarian assistance in cooperation with religious communities and the international community.