“I’m not sure that invading Myanmar would be a very sensible option at this particular moment,” said humanitarian chief John Holmes.

The Security Council split on whether to demand Myanmar to allow aid workers into the country, with China and others arguing that it is up to each country to handle its internal affairs and that the “responsibility to protect” doctrine did not apply to natural disasters.

“It is certainly not a classic case,” said Ed Luck, the UN’s special adviser on the responsibility to protect. “While lawyers can argue whether neglecting hundreds of people is a crime against humanity, the member states, by and large are very uncomfortable of applying it to this situation.”

The UN faces examples of governments’ neglect of their people and obstruction of outside help already in places with food shortages or ongoing violence like Darfur, Zimbabwe and North Korea.