YANGON, Myanmar, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- Myanmar should take action to ensure its political reforms aren't overshadowed by outstanding concerns there, a U.N. envoy said.
Tomas Ojea Quintana, the U.N. special envoy on the human rights situation in Myanmar, said there is a risk of backtracking on progress achieved in the country since general elections in 2010.
"At this a crucial moment in the country's history, further and sustained action should be taken to bring about further change," he said in a statement.
Myanmar since the 2010 contest, its first in decades, released several political prisoners from detention and moved closer to democracy by letting opposition groups take part in the political process. Opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi is running by the country's by-elections in April.
"It is essential that (the elections) are truly free, fair, inclusive and transparent," said Quintana.
Quintana met with Suu Kyi during his six-day tour of Myanmar. Her opposition National League for Democracy aims to fill as many as 40 of the 48 seats at stake in the by-election for vacant seats in the lower house of Parliament.
The NLD won elections in 1990, though the victory was never recognized by the ruling junta.
