Kyaw Moe Tun, remaining loyal to the ousted civilian government on February 1, gave a dramatic speech during the assembly on Friday.
“We need the strongest possible action on the part of the international community to put an immediate end to the military coup, to stop the oppression of the innocent people, to restore the state power to the people and to restore democracy,” he said.
The diplomat received a rare round of applause from his UN colleagues at the end of his speech.
The new US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, praised the envoy’s “brave” remarks.
“The United States continues to strongly condemn the military coup in Myanmar,” she told the assembly on Friday.
“And we condemn the brutal killing of unarmed security forces.”
Thomas-Greenfield added that the United States “will continue to provide life-saving humanitarian assistance, including the Rohingya and other vulnerable populations in the states of Chin, Kachin, Rakhine and Shan.”
“People should applaud the bravery of Representative Kyaw Moe Tun for making such a strong statement on behalf of the people of Myanmar, not the illegitimate military junta,” Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center, said on Friday.
“The international community must reward such courage by taking its call for immediate and decisive action to hold the military accountable.”
Myanmar fell into disarray when the coup overthrew civilian leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi was detained in her home in the capital since the coup.
Since then, the country has seen 21 consecutive days of anti-military protests, with demonstrations on Friday in Mandalay and Yangon.
Earlier in the day, some protesters gathered peacefully in front of Suu Kyi’s house to pray.
Military leaders have imposed a curfew on the Internet as the unrest continues.
On Thursday, police officers fired “at least 10 rounds in the air” to disperse a crowd of protesters in Yangon, according to field sources.