[Congressional Bills 116th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 34 Reported in Senate (RS)]

<DOC>
                                                       Calendar No. 134
116th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 34

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Governments of Burma and 
   Bangladesh ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary, and sustainable 
return of the Rohingya refugees who have been displaced by the campaign 
     of ethnic cleansing conducted by the Burmese military and to 
 immediately release unjustly imprisoned journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw 
                                Soe Oo.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                            January 29, 2019

  Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Rubio, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Collins, Mrs. 
 Feinstein, Mr. Young, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Tillis, Ms. Warren, Mr. Kaine, 
  Mr. Van Hollen, Mr. Brown, Mr. Markey, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Sanders, Mrs. 
  Murray, Mr. Coons, Ms. Klobuchar, Ms. Cortez Masto, Mr. Schatz, Ms. 
  Harris, Mr. Peters, Mr. Warner, Mr. King, Mr. Braun, and Mr. Cruz) 
submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee 
                          on Foreign Relations

                              July 8, 2019

   Reported by Mr. Risch, with an amendment and an amendment to the 
                 preamble and an amendment to the title
[Strike out all after the resolving clause and insert the part printed 
                               in italic]
      [Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic]

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Governments of Burma and 
   Bangladesh ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary, and sustainable 
return of the Rohingya refugees who have been displaced by the campaign 
     of ethnic cleansing conducted by the Burmese military and to 
 immediately release unjustly imprisoned journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw 
                                Soe Oo.

Whereas, on August 25, 2017, attacks on security posts in Burma by the Arakan 
        Rohingya Salvation Army militant group resulted in a brutal, systematic, 
        and disproportionate reprisal by the Burmese military and security 
        forces on Rohingya villages in Rakhine State;
Whereas approximately 700,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since 
        the Burmese military commenced its scorched-earth campaign, with the 
        burning of villages and local monuments, and reports of widespread gang 
        rape, starvation, killing, and forcible deportation;
Whereas the August 2018 United Nations report of the Independent International 
        Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar states in paragraph 87 that ``the 
        Mission concluded . . . that there is sufficient information to warrant 
        the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the Tatmadaw 
        chain of command, so that a competent court can determine their 
        liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State'';
Whereas, on August 28, 2018, then-United States Ambassador to the United Nations 
        Nikki Haley reported to the United Nations Security Council that the 
        Department of State had conducted interviews with 1,024 Rohingya 
        refugees in camps throughout Cox's Bazar and that the results of the 
        interviews were consistent with the United Nations Independent 
        International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar;
Whereas, on September 24, 2018, the Department of State report titled, 
        ``Documentation of Atrocities in Northern Rakhine State'', concluded 
        that the military's attacks in Burma's Northern Rakhine State were 
        ``large-scale, widespread and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing 
        the population and driving out the Rohingya residents'' and that the 
        ``scope and scale of the military's operations indicate that they were 
        well-planned and coordinated'';
Whereas, on December 3, 2018, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 
        concluded that ``there is compelling evidence that the Burmese military 
        committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and genocide 
        against the Rohingya'';
Whereas the Government of Burma has consistently denied access to the United 
        Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar established to investigate human 
        rights violations around the country;
Whereas the fundamental operational principles of voluntary repatriation are 
        safety, to include legal and physical safety, and dignity, to include 
        treatment with respect and full acceptance by their national 
        authorities, including the full restoration of refugees' rights;
Whereas approximately 236,000 Rohingya refugees returned to Burma from 
        Bangladesh under the terms of a 1992 agreement after a previous bout of 
        violence against the Rohingya forced them to flee, only to continue to 
        be denied citizenship, face prejudice, violence, and persecution, and in 
        many instances be forced to live in internally displaced persons (IDP) 
        camps with their freedom of movement restricted;
Whereas Burma's 1982 citizenship law stripped Rohingya of their Burmese 
        citizenship, rendering them stateless;
Whereas the Government of Burma continues to systematically discriminate against 
        the Rohingya people, a long-persecuted Muslim minority within Burma, 
        including by continuing to restrict registration of Rohingya births and 
        to deny them freedom of movement, access to healthcare, land, education, 
        marriage, voting rights, and political participation;
Whereas the Government of Burma has repeatedly abused land use laws to unjustly 
        seize land from Rohingya refugees;
Whereas the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) is working 
        closely with the Government of Bangladesh and partners to provide 
        protection and assistance to the Rohingya refugees and to support the 
        host populations affected by the influx;
Whereas, on November 23, 2017, the Government of Burma and the Government of 
        Bangladesh signed an agreement, known as the ``Arrangement'', on the 
        return of displaced persons from Rakhine State, which is modeled after 
        the 1992 repatriation agreement between Burma and Bangladesh;
Whereas the Arrangement includes references to restoring normalcy and human 
        rights in Rakhine State, for refugee returns to comply with 
        international standards of safety, dignity, and voluntariness, and to 
        commencing a process to address root causes in line with the Rakhine 
        Advisory Commission recommendations;
Whereas the Department of State has assessed that Burma has not made progress on 
        the ``more crucial'' of the 88 recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory 
        Commission that are identified by Rohingya refugees as prerequisites to 
        repatriation including freedom of movement, civil documentation, and a 
        transparent pathway to citizenship;
Whereas, on June 6, 2018, the Government of Burma reached a tripartite 
        Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the UNHCR and the United Nations 
        Development Agency (UNDP) on its role in the safe, dignified, and 
        voluntary return of Rakhine State refugees;
Whereas Rohingya refugees currently hosted in Bangladesh demonstrated in protest 
        against an initial November 2018 repatriation plan between the 
        Governments of Bangladesh and Burma, citing concerns for their security 
        and the lack of meaningful political reforms in Burma to include full 
        citizenship;
Whereas UNHCR, on January 4, 2019, reported that conditions in Burma's Rakhine 
        State remain ``not conducive to return'' on the heels of the Government 
        of India's regrettable decision to repatriate 16,000 Rohingya to Burma 
        without having first ascertained the ``voluntariness of their decision 
        to return'';
Whereas, throughout this process, the Government of Burma has restricted media 
        freedom and jailed journalists;
Whereas, on December 12, 2017, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two journalists 
        reporting and documenting atrocities against the Rohingya, were arrested 
        and on January 10, 2018, formally prosecuted with violating the 
        ``Official Secrets Act'';
Whereas Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Soo had uncovered a massacre of 10 Rohingya men 
        perpetrated by Burma's security forces and aided by local Buddhist 
        villagers in the village of Inn Din in Rakhine State;
Whereas, on September 3, 2018, Yangon northern district judge Ye Lwin ruled that 
        Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo breached the colonial-era Official Secrets Act 
        and sentenced them each to seven years in prison with hard labor;
Whereas, on January 11, 2019, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo's appeal of their 
        conviction before the Yangon Regional High Court was denied;
Whereas Time Magazine named Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo as co-recipients of 2018 
        Time Magazine's ``Person of the Year'' in recognition for their 
        courageous reporting;
Whereas Vice President Mike Pence tweeted his concern over the sentence against 
        Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo for ``doing their job reporting on the 
        atrocities being committed on the Rohingya people'';
Whereas United States Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley described the 
        conviction as ``another terrible stain on the Burmese government'' and 
        called for ``their immediate and unconditional release'';
Whereas the Department of State's annual Human Rights Report on Burma for the 
        year 2017 states that--

    (1) ``legal provisions that allow the government to manipulate the 
courts for political ends, and these provisions were sometimes used to 
deprive citizens of due process and the right to a fair trial, particularly 
with regards to the freedom of expression'';

    (2) ``The government continued to detain and arrest journalists, 
activists, and critics of the government and the military during the 
year.''; and

    (3) ``Threats against and arrests of journalists increased. . . . 
Freedom of expression was more restricted during the year compared with 
2016. This included a higher number of detentions of journalists using 
various laws, including laws carrying more severe punishments than those 
used previously.'';

Whereas, according to PEN America, the discontinuation of Radio Free Asia's 
        broadcasting in Myanmar on a domestic channel constitutes a further 
        shrinking of the space for free expression in the country; and
Whereas, additionally, PEN America reports that--

    (1) there continues to be increased legal threats, imprisonment, and 
physical harassment of journalists;

    (2) there continues to be restrictions on the ability to report from 
and receive information on conflict areas; and

    (3) the lack of reform of media laws and institutions is driving a 
decline in media freedom: Now, therefore, be it

Whereas, on August 25, 2017, attacks on security posts in Burma by the Arakan 
        Rohingya Salvation Army militant group resulted in a brutal, systematic, 
        and disproportionate reprisal by the Burmese military and security 
        forces on Rohingya villages in Rakhine State;
Whereas over 740,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to Bangladesh since the Burmese 
        military commenced its scorched-earth campaign, with the burning of 
        villages and local landmarks, and reports of widespread gang rape, 
        starvation, killing, and forcible deportation;
Whereas the August 2018 United Nations report of the Independent International 
        Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar states in paragraph 87 that ``the 
        Mission concluded . . . that there is sufficient information to warrant 
        the investigation and prosecution of senior officials in the Tatmadaw 
        chain of command, so that a competent court can determine their 
        liability for genocide in relation to the situation in Rakhine State'';
Whereas, on August 28, 2018, then-United States Ambassador to the United Nations 
        Nikki Haley reported to the United Nations Security Council that the 
        Department of State had conducted interviews with 1,024 Rohingya 
        refugees in camps throughout Cox's Bazar and that the results of the 
        interviews were consistent with the United Nations Independent 
        International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar;
Whereas, on September 24, 2018, the Department of State report titled, 
        ``Documentation of Atrocities in Northern Rakhine State'', concluded 
        that the military's attacks in Burma's Northern Rakhine State were 
        ``large-scale, widespread and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing 
        the population and driving out the Rohingya residents'' and that the 
        ``scope and scale of the military's operations indicate that they were 
        well-planned and coordinated'';
Whereas, on December 3, 2018, the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum 
        concluded that ``there is compelling evidence that the Burmese military 
        committed ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and genocide 
        against the Rohingya'';
Whereas the May 2019 Amnesty International report on war crimes in Rakhine 
        State, outlines continued human rights violations, including 
        ``indiscriminate attacks'' on civilians, and expresses alarm about the 
        impact of continued fighting on the food security of Rakhine State;
Whereas, on May 14, 2019, the United Nations International Fact Finding Mission 
        on Myanmar urged the international community to cut off all financial 
        aid and other support to the Burmese military;
Whereas the Government of Burma has consistently denied access to the United 
        Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar established to investigate human 
        rights violations around the country;
Whereas the fundamental operational principles of voluntary repatriation are 
        safety, to include legal and physical safety, and dignity, to include 
        treatment with respect and full acceptance by their national 
        authorities, including the full restoration of refugees' rights;
Whereas approximately 236,000 Rohingya refugees returned to Burma from 
        Bangladesh under the terms of a 1992 agreement after a previous bout of 
        violence against the Rohingya forced them to flee, only to face 
        continued denial of citizenship, prejudice, violence, and persecution, 
        and in many instances forced to live in internally displaced persons 
        (IDP) camps with their freedom of movement restricted;
Whereas Burma's 1982 citizenship law stripped Rohingya of their Burmese 
        citizenship, rendering them stateless;
Whereas the Government of Burma continues to systematically discriminate against 
        the Rohingya people, a long-persecuted Muslim minority within Burma, 
        including by continuing to restrict registration of Rohingya births and 
        to deny them freedom of movement as well as access to healthcare, land, 
        education, marriage, voting rights, and political participation;
Whereas the Government of Burma has repeatedly abused land use laws to unjustly 
        seize land from Rohingya refugees;
Whereas the United Nations High Commission on Refugees (UNHCR) is working 
        closely with the Government of Bangladesh and partners to provide 
        protection and assistance to the Rohingya refugees and to support the 
        host populations affected by the influx;
Whereas, on November 23, 2017, the Government of Burma and the Government of 
        Bangladesh signed an agreement, known as the ``Arrangement'', on the 
        return of displaced persons from Rakhine State, which is modeled after 
        the 1992 repatriation agreement between Burma and Bangladesh;
Whereas the Arrangement includes references to restoring normalcy and human 
        rights in Rakhine State, ensuring refugee returns comply with 
        international standards of safety, dignity, and voluntariness, and 
        commencing a process to address root causes in line with the Rakhine 
        Advisory Commission recommendations;
Whereas the Department of State assesses that Burma has not made progress on the 
        ``more crucial'' of the 88 recommendations of the Rakhine Advisory 
        Commission identified by Rohingya refugees as prerequisites to 
        repatriation, including freedom of movement, provision of civil 
        documentation, and a transparent pathway to citizenship;
Whereas, on June 6, 2018, the Government of Burma reached a tripartite 
        Memorandum of Understanding with the UNHCR and the United Nations 
        Development Agency to promote the safe, dignified, and voluntary return 
        of Rakhine State refugees, which was extended one additional year to 
        June 6, 2020;
Whereas Rohingya refugees currently hosted in Bangladesh demonstrated in protest 
        against an initial November 2018 repatriation plan between the 
        Governments of Bangladesh and Burma, citing concerns for their security 
        and the lack of meaningful political reforms in Burma to include 
        extension of full citizenship;
Whereas UNHCR, on January 4, 2019, reported that conditions in Burma's Rakhine 
        State remain ``not conducive to return'' on the heels of the Government 
        of India's regrettable decision to repatriate Rohingya to Burma without 
        having first ascertained the ``voluntariness of their decision to 
        return'';
Whereas, throughout this process, the Government of Burma has restricted media 
        freedom and jailed journalists;
Whereas, on December 12, 2017, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, two journalists 
        reporting and documenting atrocities against the Rohingya, were arrested 
        and on January 10, 2018, formally charged with violating the ``Official 
        Secrets Act'';
Whereas Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Soo had uncovered a massacre of 10 Rohingya men 
        perpetrated by Burma's security forces and aided by local Buddhist 
        villagers in the village of Inn Din in Rakhine State;
Whereas, on September 3, 2018, Yangon northern district judge Ye Lwin ruled that 
        Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo breached the colonial-era Official Secrets Act 
        and sentenced them each to seven years in prison with hard labor;
Whereas Time Magazine named Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo as co-recipients of 2018 
        Time Magazine's ``Person of the Year'' in recognition for their 
        courageous reporting;
Whereas the release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo on May 7, 2019, concluded over 
        500 days of imprisonment, more than twice the amount of time served by 
        the soldiers deemed responsible for the massacre uncovered by their 
        reporting;
Whereas, despite the pardon of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo, the Department of 
        State's 2018 annual human rights report on Burma found continued and 
        widespread restrictions on journalistic activity and other forms of 
        freedom of expression, stating that--

    (1) ``[T]he government appeared to manipulate the courts for political 
ends and sometimes deprived citizens of due process and the right to a fair 
trial, particularly regarding the freedom of expression.'';

    (2) ``The government continued to detain and arrest journalists, 
activists, and critics of the government and the military.''; and

    (3) ``Threats against and arrests of journalists continued during the 
year . . . Authorities arrested, detained, convicted, intimidated, and 
imprisoned citizens for expressing political opinions critical of the 
government and the military, generally under the charges of defamation, 
protesting without a permit, or violating national security laws. This 
included the detentions and trials of journalists and other figures, 
applying laws carrying more severe punishments than those used 
previously.'';

Whereas, according to PEN America press release dated June 13, 2018, ``The 
        discontinuation of Radio Free Asia's broadcasting in Burma on a domestic 
        channel constitutes a further shrinking of the space for free expression 
        in the country''; and
Whereas, additionally, PEN America reports--

    (1) increased legal threats, imprisonment, and physical harassment of 
journalists;

    (2) restrictions on the ability to report from and receive information 
on conflict areas; and

    (3) lack of reform of media laws and institutions that is driving a 
decline in media freedom: Now, therefore, be it

    Resolved, That the Senate--
        <DELETED>    (1) condemns the violence and displacement 
        inflicted on Burma's Rohingya and other ethnic 
        minorities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (2) urges the Secretary of State to make a 
        determination whether the actions by the Myanmar military 
        constitute crimes against humanity or genocide and to work with 
        interagency partners to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar 
        military officials, to include Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, 
        responsible for these heinous acts through existing 
        authorities;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (3) condemns the attacks by the Arakan Rohingya 
        Salvation Army militant group;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (4) calls on the Government of Burma to allow full 
        access to Rakhine State and ensure the full participation of 
        UNHCR, the internationally endorsed organization tasked with 
        ensuring that refugee returns are voluntary, safe, dignified, 
        and meet international refugee and human rights standards, and 
        that the voices of refugees are represented in order to ensure 
        the sustainability of such returns and to prevent further waves 
        of displacement;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (5) commends the positive role of the Government 
        of Bangladesh in receiving Rohingya refugees to date and urges 
        the Government of Bangladesh to continue allowing the full 
        participation of UNHCR and human rights organization in 
        accessing refugee camps;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (6) calls on UNHCR and international 
        nongovernmental organizations to continue to play a role in 
        monitoring repatriation efforts by the Governments of 
        Bangladesh and Burma to ensure a process that meets 
        international norms for voluntary, safe, and dignified 
        repatriation;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (7) agrees that any return of Rohingya should 
        include guarantees that any returns of refugees will be 
        voluntary and dignified, that there will be no threats to 
        protection or security upon return, that refugees will be able 
        to return to their places of origin or other locations as 
        desired, and be able to enjoy equal rights with others in 
        Burma, including the restoration or granting of full 
        citizenship, freedom of movement, and access to basic 
        services;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (8) recognizes that any forced relocation of 
        Rohingya refugees into temporary settlements, IDP camps, 
        ``model villages'', or other areas not of refugees' choosing is 
        unacceptable;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (9) calls on the Government of Burma to allow for 
        a flexible and practical approach to dealing with evidence of 
        Rohingya residence in Burma, recognizing that the Rohingya 
        refugees in Bangladesh possess a wide range of documents and 
        that some refugees have no documents and will need to establish 
        their residence by other means;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (10) calls on the Government of Burma to address 
        root causes consistent with the Rakhine Advisory Commission 
        recommendations and fully implement all of the recommendations 
        of the Commission, including providing equal access to full 
        restoration or granting of full citizenship for the Rohingya 
        population;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (11) calls on the Government of Burma to 
        acknowledge and address the issue of statelessness for the 
        Rohingya, the deprivation of rights, and institutionalized and 
        pervasive discrimination of the Rohingya population in order to 
        bring about any sustainable solutions;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (12) commends the Government and the people of 
        Bangladesh for their extraordinary generosity and efforts to 
        provide shelter and relief for nearly 1,000,000 Rohingya 
        refugees forced to flee their homes in Burma;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (13) calls on the Government of Bangladesh to 
        ensure all refugees have freedom of movement and under no 
        circumstances are subject to unsafe, involuntary, precipitous, 
        or uninformed returns to Burma;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (14) calls for all the convictions against Wa Lone 
        and Kyaw Soe Oo to be nullified, for the similar charges 
        against many other journalists currently awaiting trial to be 
        dropped, and for the immediate and unconditional release of 
        these journalists;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (15) expresses concern about the Government of 
        Myanmar's crackdown on journalists and press freedom throughout 
        the country;</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (16) reaffirms the central role that independent 
        and professional journalism plays in strengthening democratic 
        governance, upholding the rule of law, mitigating conflict, and 
        informing public opinion around the world; and</DELETED>
        <DELETED>    (17) calls upon the United States Government to 
        continue the United States status as a top global donor nation 
        to the humanitarian response in Burma and Bangladesh and for 
        the President's fiscal year 2020 budget request to reflect that 
        longstanding United States commitment.</DELETED>
That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the violence and displacement inflicted on 
        Burma's Rohingya and other ethnic minorities;
            (2) urges the Secretary of State--
                    (A) to make a determination of whether the actions 
                by the Burmese military, including Senior General Min 
                Aung Hlaing, Vice-Senior General Soe Win, Brigadier-
                General Aung Aung, and Brigadier-General Than Oo, 
                constitute gross violations of human rights, war 
                crimes, crimes against humanity (including sexual or 
                gender-based violence), or genocide; and
                    (B) to work with interagency partners to impose 
                targeted sanctions through existing authorities, 
                including under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights 
                Accountability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public 
                Law 114-328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) and Executive Order 
                13818 (50 U.S.C. 1701 note; relating to blocking the 
                property of persons involved in serious human rights 
                abuse or corruption), on Burmese military officials 
                that have knowingly played a direct and significant 
                role in the commission of acts that constitute gross 
                violations of human rights, war crimes, crimes against 
                humanity (including sexual or gender-based violence), 
                or genocide;
            (3) condemns the attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation 
        Army militant group;
            (4) expresses support for potential accountability 
        mechanisms for Burma, including an ad hoc tribunal, in 
        consultation with the Rohingya community;
            (5) calls on the Government of Burma to allow full access 
        to Rakhine State and ensure the full participation of UNHCR, 
        the internationally-endorsed organization tasked with ensuring 
        that refugee returns are voluntary, safe, dignified, and meet 
        international refugee and human rights standards, and that the 
        voices of refugees are represented to ensure the sustainability 
        of such returns and prevent further waves of displacement;
            (6) commends the positive role to date of the Government of 
        Bangladesh in receiving nearly 1,000,000 Rohingya refugees and 
        urges the Government of Bangladesh to continue allowing the 
        full participation of UNHCR and human rights organization in 
        accessing refugee camps;
            (7) calls on UNHCR and international nongovernmental 
        organizations to continue their important roles in monitoring 
        repatriation efforts by the Governments of Bangladesh and Burma 
        to ensure a process that meets international norms for 
        voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation;
            (8) agrees that any agreement on repatriation of Rohingya 
        should include guarantees that any returns will be voluntary 
        and dignified, that there will be no threats to protection or 
        security upon return, that refugees will be able to return to 
        their places of origin or other locations as desired, and be 
        able to enjoy equal rights with others in Burma, including the 
        restoration or granting of full citizenship, freedom of 
        movement, and access to basic services;
            (9) recognizes that any forced relocation of Rohingya 
        refugees into temporary settlements, IDP camps, or ``model 
        villages'' is unacceptable;
            (10) calls on the Government of Burma to allow for a 
        flexible and practical approach to dealing with evidence of 
        Rohingya residence in Burma, recognizing both that Rohingya 
        refugees in Bangladesh possess a wide range of documents and 
        that some refugees have no documents and will need to establish 
        their residence by other means;
            (11) calls on the Government of Burma to address root 
        causes consistent with the Rakhine Advisory Commission 
        recommendations and fully implement all of the recommendations 
        of the Commission, including providing for the restoration or 
        granting of full citizenship to the Rohingya population;
            (12) calls on the Government of Burma to acknowledge, 
        address, and implement sustainable solutions regarding 
        statelessness for Rohingya, the deprivation of rights, and 
        institutionalized and pervasive discrimination against the 
        Rohingya population;
            (13) calls on the Government of Bangladesh to ensure all 
        refugees have freedom of movement and under no circumstances be 
        subjected to unsafe, involuntary, precipitous, or uninformed 
        returns to Burma;
            (14) calls on international organizations and the 
        Government of Bangladesh to ensure access for Rohingya to basic 
        services, education, and livelihood opportunities;
            (15) welcomes the release of Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo;
            (16) calls for similar charges against other journalists 
        currently awaiting trial to be dropped, and for the immediate 
        and unconditional release of these journalists;
            (17) expresses concern about the Government of Burma's 
        crackdown on journalists and press freedom throughout the 
        country;
            (18) reaffirms the central role that independent and 
        professional journalism plays in strengthening democratic 
        governance, upholding the rule of law, mitigating conflict, and 
        informing public opinion around the world;
            (19) calls upon the United States Government to ensure the 
        United States continues to be a top global donor nation to the 
        humanitarian response in Burma and Bangladesh, and for the 
        fiscal year 2020 appropriation for State, Foreign Operations, 
        and Related Programs to reflect that longstanding United States 
        commitment;
            (20) calls on the United States Government to develop a 
        more robust diplomatic strategy to engage regional partners, 
        including the Association for Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), 
        to press the Government of Burma to--
                    (A) improve humanitarian access in Rakhine state;
                    (B) discourage involuntary returns of Rohingya 
                refugees back to Burma; and
                    (C) ensure perpetrators of attacks against the 
                Rohingya population in 2016 and 2017 are held 
                accountable;
            (21) calls on the United States to regularly support the 
        funding and resourcing of the United Nations Independent 
        Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar; and
            (22) calls on social media companies, including Facebook, 
        to take greater steps to mitigate the risks of their platforms 
        being used for the promotion of violence and discrimination 
        against Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Burma.
            Amend the title so as to read: ``A resolution expressing 
        the sense of the Senate that the Governments of Burma and 
        Bangladesh ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary, and 
        sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees who have been 
        displaced by the campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted by the 
        Burmese military.''.




                                                       Calendar No. 134

116th CONGRESS

  1st Session

                               S. RES. 34

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of the Senate that the Governments of Burma and 
   Bangladesh ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary, and sustainable 
return of the Rohingya refugees who have been displaced by the campaign 
     of ethnic cleansing conducted by the Burmese military and to 
 immediately release unjustly imprisoned journalists, Wa Lone and Kyaw 
                                Soe Oo.

_______________________________________________________________________

                              July 8, 2019

  Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the preamble and an 
                         amendment to the title