[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. Res. 105 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

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117th CONGRESS
  1st Session
S. RES. 105

  Condemning the coup in Burma and calling for measures to ensure the 
    safety of the Burmese people, including Rohingya, who have been 
  threatened and displaced by a campaign of genocide conducted by the 
                           Burmese military.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                             March 11, 2021

   Mr. Merkley (for himself, Mr. Young, Mr. Durbin, Ms. Collins, Mr. 
   Coons, Ms. Warren, Mr. Markey, Mrs. Feinstein, Ms. Klobuchar, Mr. 
Brown, Ms. Baldwin, Mr. Wyden, Mr. Cardin, Mr. Kaine, Ms. Cantwell, Mr. 
Van Hollen, Mrs. Gillibrand, Mr. Warner, Mr. Reed, Ms. Rosen, and Mrs. 
Shaheen) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 
                     Committee on Foreign Relations

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
  Condemning the coup in Burma and calling for measures to ensure the 
    safety of the Burmese people, including Rohingya, who have been 
  threatened and displaced by a campaign of genocide conducted by the 
                           Burmese military.

Whereas, on February 1, 2021, the Government of Burma was overthrown by the 
        Burmese army, or Tatmadaw, returning the same army responsible for the 
        genocidal military campaign against the Rohingya people to a greater 
        position of power and authority, at least temporarily;
Whereas the hundreds of thousands of Burmese citizens who have taken peacefully 
        to the streets to protest the coup have been met with increasingly 
        brutal displays of force by the Tatmadaw and the Myanmar Police Force, 
        and over 50 citizens have been killed to date;
Whereas, since the February 2021 coup, the Tatmadaw-enforced media and 
        communications blackouts and travel limits are limiting the ability of 
        journalists and humanitarian actors to provide services or monitor the 
        safety and security of people across Burma, including approximately 
        600,000 Rohingya remaining in Rakhine State;
Whereas media reports that the Burmese military have recently blocked shipments 
        of humanitarian assistance intended for persons displaced by the ongoing 
        offensive and militarization in the ethnic states;
Whereas recently announced United States sanctions target Tatmadaw actors 
        specifically for their role in the coup, but ethnic minorities living 
        within Burmese borders have suffered a wide range of systematic abuse 
        and discrimination for many years;
Whereas, since August 25, 2017, approximately 740,000 Rohingya have fled from 
        Burma to escape the Burmese military and security force's well-
        documented and systematic campaign of persecution and atrocities;
Whereas most of the Rohingya fled to neighboring Bangladesh, resulting in the 
        creation of the world's largest and most densely populated refugee camp, 
        while others escaped to India, Thailand, Malaysia, and other parts of 
        South and Southeast Asia;
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 then-United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Zeid Ra`ad al-Hussein 
        testified that the Tatmadaw's brutal campaign against the Rohingya was a 
        ``textbook example of ethnic cleansing'' and ``without regard for basic 
        principles of international law'';
Whereas, in his nomination hearing, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated 
        that he would oversee an interagency review to determine whether Burma's 
        crimes against the Rohingya amount to genocide;
Whereas, after many years of hosting hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees 
        while bearing other internal challenges, media report that the 
        Government of Bangladesh is growing weary of hosting the Rohingya, 
        building new barriers to restrict the ability for Rohingyas to work, 
        access education, buy SIM cards, learn the local language, exercise 
        their right to freedom of expression, including peaceful assembly, or 
        move freely;
Whereas, in a step toward reducing the refugee population on the mainland, the 
        Government of Bangladesh has relocated over 10,000 Rohingya from Cox's 
        Bazar to Bhasan Char, a flood-prone island in the Bay of Bengal, but has 
        denied the United Nations access to the island and the ability to 
        undertake independent technical and protection assessments to verify 
        whether the island is safe and habitable to host this vulnerable 
        population;
Whereas it has not been verified that Rohingya refugees' ongoing relocation to 
        Bhasan Char is fully informed and voluntary, as required under 
        international law;
Whereas the United Nations Refugee Agency reports that 2,400 Rohingya refugees 
        chose dangerous boat journeys to escape their limited futures in 
        Bangladesh over the last year, leading to at least 200 deaths and 
        missing persons;
Whereas efforts to force the return to Burma of more than 800,000 Rohingya 
        refugees now living in Bangladesh would constitute a gross violation of 
        international human rights law and would come at increased risk during 
        this time of political instability and military rule;
Whereas the fundamental operational principles of voluntary repatriation must be 
        based on informed consent, legal and physical safety, dignity, and the 
        absence of any form of coercion, economic or otherwise, as well as the 
        full protection of the returnees' human rights, including the right to 
        restore their citizenship status in Burma;
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 restoration of their citizenship, prejudice, 
        violence, and persecution, and in many instances forced to live in 
        internally displaced persons 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, including by restricting registration of Rohingya 
        births and denying them freedom of movement as well as access to 
        healthcare, land, education, marriage, voting rights, and political 
        participation;
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 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 
        restoration of their full citizenship; and
Whereas, following the 2021 coup, human rights groups, humanitarian actors, and 
        refugees in Cox's Bazar continue to express grave concerns about the 
        heightened risk for a renewed campaign of genocide in Burma, calling for 
        a halt to any efforts to move or adjust the status of any Rohingya 
        persons: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the Senate--
            (1) condemns the February 1, 2021, military coup that 
        deposed an elected government and cast a pall over years of 
        hope, investment, and progress toward a more democratic and 
        free Burma;
            (2) expresses deep concern for the safety and security of 
        the hundreds of thousands of Burmese people who have taken to 
        the streets to protest the coup, and condemns the Tatmadaw and 
        the Myanmar Police Force for their acts of terrorism against 
        Burma's civilian populations;
            (3) calls on Burmese authorities to allow journalists, 
        human rights organizations, United Nations monitors, and 
        humanitarian actors full and safe access to every part of the 
        country, including Rakhine State, to ensure that humanitarian 
        needs of all internally displaced persons are being met and 
        that human rights of every population in Burma, including 
        ethnic minorities, can be monitored and protected;
            (4) asks the governments of countries neighboring Burma, 
        including Bangladesh and Thailand, to provide immediate, direct 
        cross-border assistance to adequately address humanitarian 
        needs of all refugees suffering from ongoing Burma Army 
        militarization and offensives;
            (5) welcomes steps by the Government of Bangladesh and 
        other neighboring states to receive Rohingya refugees, but 
        raises substantial concern regarding reports of refugees being 
        turned away or moved into holding centers, as well as for the 
        health and safety of all refugees, including those currently 
        living in camps at Cox's Bazar and Bhasan Char;
            (6) appeals to Bangladesh and other countries in the region 
        to commit to providing safe harbor for Rohingya refugees, until 
        their human rights, including their right to restoration of 
        full citizenship, can be guaranteed;
            (7) calls on international organizations and all host 
        governments, including the Government of Bangladesh, to ensure 
        improved access for Rohingya refugees to basic services, 
        education, and livelihood opportunities;
            (8) asks the Government of Bangladesh to allow the 
        international community, including the United Nations and other 
        human rights and humanitarian actors, full and complete access 
        to all Rohingya in Bangladesh while refraining from any forced 
        relocation of Rohingya refugees into temporary settlements or 
        other ``model villages'';
            (9) urges the Government of Bangladesh to grant the United 
        Nations access to conduct independent, comprehensive technical 
        and protection assessments of Bhasan Char and to verify that 
        any relocations of Rohingya refugees to Bhasan Char are 
        voluntary and done with fully informed consent;
            (10) encourages the Government of Bangladesh to guarantee 
        Rohingya refugees on Bhasan Char freedom of movement, including 
        the right to choose to return to Cox's Bazar;
            (11) commends the significant contributions of numerous 
        donor nations, including the United States, and encourages 
        donors to increase future investments to better meet the 
        significant humanitarian needs in Burma and Bangladesh, while 
        taking particular care to ensure that no donor funding supports 
        the Burmese military regime or individuals who supported or 
        benefited from the coup;
            (12) affirms United States Government efforts to engage 
        regional partners, including the Association for Southeast 
        Asian Nations (ASEAN), to coordinate pressure on Burma to end 
        all oppression of minority communities and address all related 
        human rights concerns;
            (13) urges countries in the region to abide by commitments 
        made under regional declarations to provide assistance and safe 
        disembarkation to Rohingya and others stranded at sea;
            (14) enjoins United States and multinational business that 
        have invested in Burma to discontinue investment in military-
        owned businesses and State-owned enterprises that fund the 
        Tatmadaw and enable the oppression and mistreatment of the 
        Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Burma; and
            (15) urges the President of the United States--
                    (A) to fully investigate and continue to hold 
                accountable Burmese military leaders, including Senior 
                General Min Aung Hlaing, for gross violations of human 
                rights, war crimes, crimes against humanity, including 
                sexual and gender-based violence, or genocide;
                    (B) to suspend all political and financial support 
                to the State Administrative Council and the peace 
                process including to the Joint Peace Fund;
                    (C) to make a formal determination on behalf of the 
                United States designating the actions against the 
                Rohingya by the Burmese military as genocide;
                    (D) to advocate with counterparts from other donor 
                nations to reinstate all humanitarian aid for Burmese 
                refugees and internally displaced persons that can be 
                provided directly to those needing assistance without 
                passing funds through the army, government, or 
                military-owned enterprises; and
                    (E) to work with interagency partners to impose any 
                additional 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), the Burmese 
                Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108-61; 
                50 U.S.C. 1701 note) and the Tom Lantos Block Burmese 
                JADE (Junta's Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 
                (Public Law 110-286; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note), to prevent 
                further egregious violations of human rights against 
                ethnic minorities in Burma.
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