Congressional Campaign

OUR CURRENT BILL IS SENATE BILL 1186 (S.1186), THE “BURMA HUMAN RIGHTS AND FREEDOM ACT OF 2019.”

THE SENATE BILL WILL:

• Mandate the U.S. government take steps to end the persecution against the Rohingya, and other ethnic peoples of Burma.
• Facilitate continued U.S. humanitarian assistance to the affected people.
• Implement targeted sanctions against Burmese military officials responsible for the atrocities.
• Prohibit U.S. military-to-military cooperation with Burma’s army.
• Call for full implementation of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Commission on Rakhine State.

THE GOAL OF THE CAMPAIGN:

To successfully get your Senators to vote for S.1186. To impose full sanctions on almost all leaders of the Burmese military and facilitate a path to determine it as a genocide as the official position of the U.S. government. To demand repatriation of Rohingyas with full guarantees of security and citizenship.

Recently, in November 2018, we successfully lobbied and advocated for the passing of House Resolution 1091, which made the recognition of “genocide” in Burma and crimes against humanity by the Burmese military the official position of the U.S. House of Representatives. Until a new bill is introduced by our allies in the House, our attention will be focused on Senate bill 1186.

ROHINGYA ADVOCACY DAY 2019

It was a historic day in Washington D.C. on March 12th, 2019 when 44 Burmese activists — Rohingya, Kachin, Karin, and Chin — came together for the first time ever to bring the urgency of the ongoing genocide in Burma to the steps of the Capitol. 

With their interfaith allies in the U.S. they formed a coalition for Rohingya Advocacy Day to raise consciousness and spur change on the issue, calling on Burma to turn away from its present path of intolerance and become open to all people, regardless of background.

“It is a historic occasion that different Burmese minorities are walking hand in hand in the halls of Congress to help Burma become a welcoming place for all religious and ethnic minorities,” said Imam Malik Mujahid, the chair of Faith Coalition to Stop Genocide in Burma. 

The delegates who arrived on March 11 urged officials to take action on seven crucial asks: 

• Restoring the ban on child soldiers;
• Reinstating the ban on the Burmese gem trade, including on jade and rubies;
• Freezing the assets of key Burmese military leaders connected to the atrocities;
• Canceling former President Obama’s rewarding of Burma with the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP);  
• Reinstating the prohibition on multilateral assistance to Burma, except food and medicine; 
• Reinstating the ban on bilateral assistance to Burma, except food and medicine; and 
• Limiting U.S. private investment in Burma until accountability measures are verified.

The Advocacy Day leaders held a total of 75 meetings with policy staff and lawmakers on Capitol Hill. They thanked the House members for passing the House resolution declaring Burma committed a genocide and asked the Senate leader to also take this action. Additionally, they informed the elected leaders that the targeted sanctions on Burma have essentially failed to deliver good results, and this is the time for the U.S. government to bring back the more comprehensive sanctions President Obama mistakenly lifted in an effort to encourage democracy in Burma.

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Text BURMA to 41411 for campaign updates, upcoming rally information, and updates.

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