Kyaw Moe Tun, remaining loyal to the overthrown civilian government on February 1, delivered a dramatic speech when speaking at the assembly on Friday.
“We need the strongest possible action by the international community to immediately end the military coup, stop oppressing innocent people, return state power to the people and restore democracy,” he said.
The diplomat received rare applause from his UN colleagues at the end of the speech.
The new US ambassador to the UN, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, praised the envoy’s “brave” comments.
“The United States continues to strongly condemn the military coup in Myanmar,” she said on Friday, addressing the assembly.
“And we condemn the brutal killing of people unarmed by the security forces.”
Thomas-Greenfield added that the United States “will continue to provide humanitarian assistance to save lives, including Rohingya and other vulnerable populations in the states of Chin, Kachin, Rakhine and Shan”.
“The world should applaud the bravery of Representative Kyaw Moe Tun for making such a powerful statement on behalf of the people of Myanmar, not the illegitimate military junta,” Akila Radhakrishnan, president of the Global Justice Center, said in a statement on Friday.
“The international community must reward this courage by accepting its call for immediate and decisive action to hold the military to account.”
Myanmar went into turmoil when the coup deposed civil leader Aung San Suu Kyi.
Suu Kyi has been detained at her home in the capital since the coup.
Since then, the country has seen 21 consecutive days of anti-military protests, with demonstrations in Mandalay and Yangon on Friday.
Earlier in the day, some protesters gathered peacefully in front of Suu Kyi’s home to pray.
Military leaders have imposed a curfew on the internet as the unrest continues.
On Thursday, police officers fired “at least 10 shots into the air” to disperse a crowd of protesters in Yangon, according to local sources.