“I have…received reports regarding resumed clashes and increased fighting in Kachin and Shan states. More worryingly, the army has been further accused of attacking civilians, particularly internally displaced people (IDP’s) in southern Kachin State,” Quintana said.

Quintana noted that addressing the “resettlement of IDP and refugee communities is just one of several challenging issues at stake” in Burma's ongoing peace process.

The outgoing UN envoy also warned that the peace process must not be conducted without input from civil society: “There…needs to be transparency in negotiations to allow for entire communities, and not just their leaders, to benefit from development projects and profitable business deals, and ensure that the interests of the communities are at the heart of such negotiations,” Quintana said.

Quintana, who made several trips to Kachin State during his six-year mandate, was held in high regard by many observers for being so committed to his work in Burma. In contrast, doubts have already been raised about whether Quintana's successor, Yanghee Lee, will be as critical of Burma’s quasi-civilian government given her association with a Korean human rights body criticized for being too soft on South Korea’s government.

According to Lee’s most recent UN biography, she currently serves on the Advisory Committee of the National Human Rights Commission of the Republic of Korea (NHRCK), South Korea's state-funded human rights body. In recent years, NHRCK has been blasted by critics for failing to investigate numerous cases of human rights violations allegedly committed by South Korean authorities.

According to a statement issued in July 2012 by FORUM ASIA—an umbrella group of regional human rights organizations—the NHRCK has “refused to take positions on human rights and act on violations committed by the government on numerous occasions, notably on ‘politically sensitive’ issues, including the prohibition of demonstrations after sunset under Article 10 of the Assemblies and Demonstrations Act, as well as the defamation suit filed by the National Intelligence Service against human rights lawyer Park Won-soon.”

The NHRCK's failure to investigate cases that were embarrassing to South Korea’s government was even been cited as a serious problem by the UN Special Rapporteur for the promotion and protection of the right to freedom of opinion and expression, Frank La Rue. Following his 2010 visit to South Korea, the UN envoy reported that NHRCK had failed to investigate complaints that were “politically sensitive” to the South Korean government.