Citing a recent report from UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Myanmar Tomas Quintana the resolution called on Myanmar’s government “to accelerate its efforts to address discrimination, human rights violations, violence, displacement and economic deprivation affecting various ethnic minorities".

Although the UN acknowledged in the resolution the significant political reforms implemented by President Thein Sein's civilian government over the past year it also named the conflict in Kachin State as an issue of upmost importance. The UN “expresses deep concern about the continuing armed conflict in Kachin State and the associated human rights and international humanitarian law violations, and calls upon the government and all parties to the armed conflict to take measures to protect the civilian population and for safe, timely, full and unhindered humanitarian access”.

According to the latest estimates provided by UN agencies working in Burma at least 75,000 people have been displaced by the fighting in Kachin and parts of western Shan state since a 17-year ceasefire between Myanmar's government and the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) unraveled on June 9 of last year.

The resolution also expressed concern about the treatment of the region's stateless Muslim population referring to them as Rohingya - a term that remains hotly contested in Myanmar today. More than 110,000 are reported to have been displaced by communal violence since June. According to UN relief workers on the ground, the majority are Muslim. The resolution urged the government “to take action to bring about an improvement in their situation and to protect all their human rights, including their right to a nationality". During an official discussion that took place before it was passed an adopted member of the UN delegation who was from Myanmar told the general assembly that his government opposed the use of the term Rohingya.

“There has been no such ethnic group as Rohingya among the ethnic groups of Myanmar. The right to citizenship for any member or community has been and will never be denied if they are in line with the law of the land," he said.

The resolution also called for Myanmar's government to “release all arbitrarily detained persons, including United Nations staff”, a reference to one local UN staffer who was arrested in Arakan State earlier this year while performing his duties for the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

While speaking at a press conference in New York last month Quintana called for the release of the unnamed UN staffer and the immediate freedom of 4 other staff from unnamed international NGOs who were also arrested in Arakan State around the same time.