"Due to the very troubling human rights situation we have decided to ask the President of the Human Rights council to convene a special session of the HRC next Tuesday to address specifically the events in Burma/Myanmar," said Esteves. "Urgent situations require urgent action and the council must work to help find a solution."
The forty seven council needs One third of the 47-member Human Rights Council to call for emergency meet needed to approve the motion. Two states South Korea and Japan from the Asian bloc joined with the Western bloc in requesting the special session. India, China and Russia, , have not signed on.
Esteves says the EU condemns all violence against peaceful demonstrators and the Burmese authorities should work for genuine national reconciliation.
"The European Union is deeply distressed by the fact that the government of Myanmar failed to heed the appeal made earlier to exercise utmost restraint in handling demonstrations and warning that they would be held responsible by the international community for the safety of all demonstrators," said Esteves.
The Portuguese ambassador says the European Union is calling on the military junta to release all political prisoners, including Burma's detained pro-democracy activist Aung San Suu Kyi.
Esteves says the Human Rights Council next week is expected to ask the U.N.'s independent expert on Burma to investigate the human rights situation and report on his findings at the next council meeting in December.
He urges the Burmese military to allow the expert, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, to enter the country to conduct his investigation. Pinheiro, who is critical of Burma's human rights record, has been refused entry.
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