II 

Calendar No. 307 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2060 

To promote democracy and human rights in Burma, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

NOVEMBER 2, 2017 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. CARDIN, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. MERKLEY, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. 

KAINE, Mr. VAN HOLLEN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. BOOKER, Mrs. SHAHEEN, 

Mr. COONS, Ms. COLLINS, and Mr. CASEY) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

FEBRUARY 12, 2018 

Reported by Mr. CORKER, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To promote democracy and human rights in Burma, and 

for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burma Human Rights 

5 and Freedom Act of 2017’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

2 Congress makes the following findings: 

3 (1) The United States policy of principled en4 gagement since 1988 has fostered positive demo5 cratic reforms in Burma, which have led to signifi6 cant milestones on the path to full democracy. 

7 (2) On November 8, 2015, Burma held historic 

8 elections in which the National League for Democ9 racy won a supermajority of seats in the combined 

10 national parliament. On March 30, 2016, Htin 

11 Kyaw was inaugurated as the President of Burma, 

12 the country’s first civilian President in more than 50 

13 years. Aung San Suu Kyi, President of the National 

14 League for Democracy, was barred from becoming 

15 President due to the provisions of section 59(f) of 

16 the 2008 Constitution, and therefore assumed the 

17 office of State Counsellor, a position created for her 

18 that made her the country’s de facto leader. 

19 (3) Aung San Suu Kyi’s first acts as State 

20 Counsellor after her National League for Democracy 

21 party took office included releasing more than 100 

22 political prisoners, including well-known journalists 

23 and student activists held on politically motivated 

24 charges. However, as of September 2017, there are 

25 220 political prisoners in Burma, 42 of which are 

26 currently serving prison sentences, 51 of which are 


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1 awaiting trial inside prison, and 127 of which are 

2 awaiting trial outside prison, according to the Assist3 ance Association for Political Prisoners. 

4 (4) The Government of Burma also continues 

5 to systematically discriminate against the Rohingya 

6 people. Burma’s 1982 citizenship law stripped 

7 Rohingya Burmese of their Burmese citizenship, 

8 rendering them stateless, and the Government con9 tinues to restrict Rohingya births, deny them free10 dom of movement, access to healthcare, land, edu11 cation, voting, political participation, and marriage. 

12 (5) Despite the meaningful steps taken toward 

13 democracy in Burma, there still remain important 

14 structural and systemic impediments to the realiza15 tion of a fully democratic civilian government, in16 cluding— 

17 (A) reform of the 2008 Constitution; 

18 (B) the disfranchisement of groups of peo19 ple who voted in previous elections; 

20 (C) social, political, and economic condi21 tions in Rakhine State, particularly those faced 

22 by the Rohingya population; and 

23 (D) addressing and ending the current hu24 manitarian and human rights crisis affecting 

25 Burma’s Rohingya population and residents of 


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1 the Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan states, includ2 ing ethnic cleansing, extrajudicial killings, sex3 ual and gender-based violence, and forced dis4 placement. 

5 (6) Actions of the military of Burma, known as 

6 the Tatmadaw, including continuing assaults on per7 sonnel and territory controlled by armed ethnic orga8 nizations, military offenses immediately preceding 

9 the peace conference in Naypyitaw, and human 

10 rights abuses against noncombatant civilians in con11 flict areas, undermine confidence in establishing a 

12 credible nationwide cease-fire agreement to end Bur13 ma’s civil war. 

14 (7) The people of Burma continue to suffer 

15 from an ongoing civil war between the Tatmadaw 

16 and nearly 20 armed ethnic organizations. Any pros17 pects for a full democracy in Burma are contingent 

18 on ending the civil war and finding a path toward 

19 national reconciliation between Burma’s Bamar ma20 jority and its various ethnic minorities. 

21 (8) Since 2011, over 98,000 people have been 

22 displaced in Kachin and northern Shan State over 

23 the escalating violence and instability, resulting in 

24 continued massive internal displacement, causing a 

25 massive humanitarian crisis, and continuing to unVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2060.RS S2060

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1 dermine the trust necessary to achieve a durable, 

2 lasting peace, and disproportionately affecting the 

3 lives of innocent civilians and the thousands of inter4 nally displaced persons forced from their homes. Ac5 cording to the United Nations Office for the Coordi6 nation of Humanitarian Affairs, some 50 percent of 

7 these displaced persons are staying in areas beyond 

8 Government control where humanitarian access is 

9 limited. 

10 (9) In 2015, the nongovernmental campaign 

11 Global Witness found that, in 2014, the estimated 

12 value of official production of jade equated up to 48 

13 percent of the official gross domestic product of 

14 Burma. However, because of corruption and a lack 

15 of transparency the economic gains of Burma are 

16 being pocketed by notorious leaders from the mili17 tary junta, including former dictator Than Shwe and 

18 United States-sanctioned drug lord Wei Hsueh 

19 Kang, and vested interests in jade are undermining 

20 prospects for resolving the most intractable armed 

21 conflict in Burma. 

22 (10) On August 31, 2016, State Counsellor 

23 Aung San Suu Kyi and the Government of Burma 

24 initiated the Union Peace Conference 21st Century 

25 Panglong, where more than 1,400 representatives of 


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1 various concerned parties attended a peace con2 ference in Naypyitaw in an effort to begin the proc3 ess of ending Burma’s civil war and discuss options 

4 in forming a democratic state of Burma. On May 

5 24, 2017, the Government of Burma held a second 

6 Panglong Peace Conference, with mixed results. 

7 (11) On October 31, 2016, the Department of 

8 State determined that Burma remains designated as 

9 a country of particular concern for religious freedom 

10 under section 402(b) of the International Religious 

11 Freedom Act (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)), and that ‘‘mem12 bers of the Rohingya community in particular face 

13 abuses by the Government of Burma, including 

14 those involving torture, unlawful arrest and deten15 tion, restricted movement, restrictions on religious 

16 practices, discrimination in employment, and access 

17 to social services’’. 

18 (12) The February 2017 panels set up by the 

19 Burmese army and the Home Affairs Ministry are 

20 widely perceived to lack independence and impar21 tiality. The December 2016 commission established 

22 by Burma’s President Htin Kyaw to investigate the 

23 October 2016 attacks dismissed claims of mis24 conduct by security forces due to ‘‘insufficient evi25 dence’’. The 2012 commission government estabVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2060.RS S2060

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1 lished to investigate violence in Rakhine State that 

2 year never held anyone accountable. 

3 (13) In a public address on October 12, 2017, 

4 State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi laid out 3 goals 

5 for Rakhine State: 

6 (A) Repatriation of those who have crossed 

7 over to Bangladesh and the effective provision 

8 of humanitarian assistance. 

9 (B) Resettlement of displaced populations. 

10 (C) Economic development and durable 

11 peace. 

12 (14) According to the Bangladesh Foreign Min13 istry, at least 3,000 Rohingya have been killed and 

14 over an estimated 600,000 Rohingya have fled to 

15 Bangladesh since August 2017 for fear of loss of 

16 livelihoods, shelter, and disproportionate use of force 

17 by the military of Burma. Congress recognizes the 

18 longstanding support and hospitality of the Govern19 ment and the people of Bangladesh; however, it is 

20 important that people fleeing violence in Burma are 

21 not deported or turned back. 

22 (15) On October 23, 2017, the Department of 

23 State said, ‘‘We express our gravest concern with re24 cent events in Rakhine State and the violent, trau25 matic abuses Rohingya and other communities have 


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1 endured. It is imperative that any individuals or en2 tities responsible for atrocities, including non-state 

3 actors and vigilantes, be held accountable.’’. 

4 (16) At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee 

5 hearing on October 24, 2017, the Department of 

6 State indicated that ‘‘refugees continue to cross into 

7 Bangladesh, and we continue to receive credible re8 ports of sporadic violence in northern Rakhine 

9 State’’. 

10 (17) Amnesty International and Human Rights 

11 Watch have reported and documented a campaign of 

12 violence perpetuated by the security forces of 

13 Burma, which have indiscriminately fired on and 

14 killed civilians, raped women and girls, and arbi15 trarily arrested Rohingya men without any informa16 tion about their whereabouts or charges which ‘‘may 

17 amount to crimes against humanity’’ and ‘‘ethnic 

18 cleansing’’. Satellite images reveal that, out of the 

19 approximately 470 villages in northern Rakhine 

20 State, nearly 300 were partially or completely de21 stroyed by fire since August 25, 2017, most of them 

22 completely or partially populated with Rohingya 

23 Muslims. 

24 (18) The Government of Burma has continued 

25 to block access to northern Rakhine State by United 


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1 Nations and other humanitarian groups. For much 

2 of the last three months, hundreds of thousands of 

3 vulnerable people in Rakhine State who needed hu4 manitarian aid, both Rohingya, Rakhine, and other 

5 groups and including children with acute malnutri6 tion, were being blocked from receiving such aid, 

7 and aid groups now expect that levels of malnutri8 tion and even starvation have dramatically increased. 

9 (19) In response to previous violence between 

10 the Burmese military and the ethnic Rohingya peo11 ple in 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi established the Ad12 visory Commission on Rakhine State headed by 

13 former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi 

14 Annan to address tensions in Northern Rakhine. She 

15 has since also endorsed the Commission’s rec16 ommendations and established a group to move for17 ward with implementation. 

18 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

19 In this Act: 

20 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT21 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com22 mittees’’ means— 

23 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

24 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

25 Senate; and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

2 the Committee on Armed Services of the House 

3 of Representatives. 

4 (2) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.—The term 

5 ‘‘crimes against humanity’’ includes, when com6 mitted as part of a widespread or systematic attack 

7 directed against any civilian population, with knowl8 edge of the attack— 

9 (A) murder; 

10 (B) deportation or forcible transfer of pop11 ulation; 

12 (C) torture; 

13 (D) rape, sexual slavery, or any other form 

14 of sexual violence of comparable gravity; 

15 (E) persecution against any identifiable 

16 group or collectivity on political, racial, na17 tional, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or 

18 other grounds that are universally recognized as 

19 impermissible under international law; 

20 (F) enforced disappearance of persons; 

21 (G) the crime of apartheid; and 

22 (H) other inhumane acts of a similar char23 acter intentionally causing great suffering, or 

24 serious injury to body or to mental or physical 

25 health. 


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1 (3) ETHNIC CLEANSING.—The term ‘‘ethnic 

2 cleansing’’ means a purposeful policy designed by 

3 one ethnic or religious group to remove by violent 

4 and terror-inspiring means the civilian population of 

5 another ethnic or religious group from certain geo6 graphic areas. 

7 (4) GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘genocide’’ means 

8 any offense described in section 1091(a) of title 18, 

9 United States Code. 

10 (5) HYBRID TRIBUNAL.—The term ‘‘hybrid tri11 bunal’’ means a temporary criminal tribunal that in12 volves a combination of domestic and international 

13 lawyers, judges, and other professionals to prosecute 

14 individuals suspected of committing war crimes, 

15 crimes against humanity, or genocide. 

16 (6) TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘tran17 sitional justice’’ means the range of judicial, non18 judicial, formal, informal, retributive, and restorative 

19 measures employed by countries transitioning out of 

20 armed conflict or repressive regimes— 

21 (A) to redress legacies of atrocities; and 

22 (B) to promote long-term, sustainable 

23 peace. 


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1 (7) WAR CRIME.—The term ‘‘war crime’’ has 

2 the meaning given the term in section 2441(c) of 

3 title 18, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

5 It is the policy of the United States that— 

6 (1) the pursuit of a calibrated engagement 

7 strategy is essential to support the establishment of 

8 a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma that 

9 includes respect for the human rights of all its peo10 ple regardless of ethnicity and religion; and 

11 (2) the guiding principles of such a strategy to 

12 support and complete the transition to democracy 

13 and genuine national reconciliation include— 

14 (A) support for meaningful legal and con15 stitutional reforms that remove remaining re16 strictions on civil and political rights and insti17 tute civilian control of the military, civilian con18 trol of the government, and the constitutional 

19 provision reserving 25 percent of parliamentary 

20 seats for the military, which provides the mili21 tary with veto power over constitutional amend22 ments; 

23 (B) the establishment of a fully demo24 cratic, pluralistic, civilian controlled, and rep25 resentative political system that includes reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2060.RS S2060

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1 larized free and fair elections in which all peo2 ple of Burma can vote; 

3 (C) the promotion of genuine national rec4 onciliation and conclusion of a credible and sus5 tainable nationwide cease-fire agreement, polit6 ical accommodation of the needs of ethnic Shan, 

7 Kachin, Chin, Karen, and other ethnic groups, 

8 and constitutional change allowing inclusive 

9 permanent peace; 

10 (D) accountability for ethnic cleansing, 

11 crimes against humanity, and genocide per12 petrated against ethnic minorities like the 

13 Rohingya by the Government, military, and se14 curity forces of Burma, violent extremist 

15 groups, and other combatants involved in the 

16 conflict; 

17 (E) strengthening the government’s civilian 

18 institutions, including support for greater trans19 parency and accountability; 

20 (F) the establishment of professional and 

21 nonpartisan military, security, and police forces 

22 that operate under civilian control; 

23 (G) empowering local communities, civil so24 ciety, and independent media; 


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1 (H) promoting responsible international 

2 and regional engagement; 

3 (I) strengthening respect for and protec4 tion of human rights and religious freedom; and 

5 (J) addressing and ending the humani6 tarian and human rights crisis, including by 

7 supporting the return of the displaced Rohingya 

8 to their homes and providing equal access to 

9 full restoration of full citizenship for the 

10 Rohingya population. 

11 SEC. 5. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be appro13 priated $104,000,000 for assistance to the victims of the 

14 Burmese military’s ethnic cleansing campaign targeting 

15 Rohingya in Rakhine State, including those displaced in 

16 Bangladesh, Burma, and the region, support for voluntary 

17 resettlement or repatriation efforts regionally, and for rec18 onciliation programs in Rakhine State, including support 

19 for credible, independent humanitarian organizations, 

20 United Nations agencies, and nongovernmental organiza21 tions supporting the implementation of the recommenda22 tions of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State or 

23 otherwise seeking to provide humanitarian assistance to 

24 victims of violence and destruction in Rakhine State, in25 cluding victims of gender-based violence and unaccomVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00014 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2060.RS S2060

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1 panied minors. Additional significant and sustained fund2 ing will be necessary to address the medium and long-term 

3 impacts of this crisis. 

4 (b) FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT OF REFUGEES AND IN5 TERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS.—Congress calls on the 

6 Government of Bangladesh to ensure all refugees have 

7 freedom of movement and under no circumstances are 

8 subject to unsafe, involuntary, or uninformed repatriation. 

9 Congress also calls on the Government of Burma to ensure 

10 the dignified, safe, and voluntary return of those displaced 

11 from their homes, and offer to those who do not want to 

12 return meaningful means to obtain compensation or res13 titution. 

14 SEC. 6. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE. 

15 (a) RESTRICTIONS.—Except as provided under sub16 section (b), the Secretary of the Treasury should instruct 

17 the United States executive director of each international 

18 financial institution to use the voice and vote of the United 

19 States to support a project in Burma only if the project 

20 does not partner with, contract or subcontract with, or 

21 otherwise involve or benefit enterprises owned or directly 

22 or indirectly controlled by the military of Burma, the Min23 istry of Defense, members of the Burmese military or se24 curity forces, or related entities. 


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1 (b) EXCEPTION.—The Secretary of the Treasury may 

2 approve projects otherwise restricted under this section 

3 if— 

4 (1) senior Burmese military officials have— 

5 (A) publicly acknowledged their role in 

6 committing past human rights abuses; 

7 (B) cooperated with independent efforts to 

8 investigate such abuses; 

9 (C) been held accountable for such abuses; 

10 (D) demonstrated substantial progress in 

11 reforming their behavior with respect to the 

12 protection of human rights in the conduct of 

13 civil-military relations; 

14 (E) demonstrably and verifiably indicated 

15 their support for extending civil and political 

16 rights, including citizenship and access to the 

17 rule of law, to all the people of Burma con18 sistent with international standard including 

19 the Rohingya; and 

20 (F) are cooperating with efforts to secure 

21 a credible cease-fire agreement, political accom22 modation, and constitutional change allowing 

23 inclusive permanent peace; and 

24 (2) doing so is in the vital interest of the 

25 United States. 


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1 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RIGHT OF RETURNEES. 

2 It is the sense of Congress that the Government of 

3 Burma, in collaboration with the regional and inter4 national community, including the United Nations High 

5 Commissioner for Refugees— 

6 (1) should ensure the dignified, safe, and vol7 untary return of all those displaced from their 

8 homes, especially from Rakhine State, without an 

9 unduly high burden of proof; and 

10 (2) should fully implement all of the rec11 ommendations of the Advisory Commission on 

12 Rakhine State. 

13 SEC. 8. MILITARY COOPERATION. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided under sub15 section (b), the United States Government may not supply 

16 any security assistance or engage in any military-to-mili17 tary programs with the armed forces of Burma, including 

18 training or observation or participation in regional exer19 cises, until the Secretary of Defense, in consultation with 

20 the Secretary of State, can certify to the appropriate con21 gressional committees that the Burmese military has dem22 onstrated significant progress in abiding by international 

23 human rights standards and is undertaking meaningful 

24 and significant security sector reform, including trans25 parency and accountability to prevent future abuses, as 

26 determined by applying the following criteria: 


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1 (1) The military adheres to international 

2 human rights standards and pledges to stop future 

3 human rights abuses. 

4 (2) The military supports efforts to carry out 

5 meaningful and comprehensive investigations of re6 cent abuses and is taking steps to hold accountable 

7 those in the Burmese military responsible for human 

8 rights violations. 

9 (3) The Government of Burma, including the 

10 military, allows immediate and unfettered humani11 tarian access to communities in areas affected by 

12 conflict, including Rohingya communities in Rakhine 

13 State. 

14 (4) The Government of Burma, including the 

15 military, cooperates with the United Nations High 

16 Commissioner for Refugees and other relevant 

17 United Nations agencies to ensure the protection of 

18 displaced persons and the safe and voluntary return 

19 of refugees and internally displaced persons. 

20 (5) The Government of Burma, including the 

21 military, takes steps toward the implementation of 

22 the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on 

23 Rakhine State. 

24 (b) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 (1) CERTAIN EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—The 

2 Department of Defense may continue to conduct 

3 consultations based on the authorities under section 

4 1253 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ 

5 McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for 

6 Fiscal Year 2015 (Public Law 113–291; 22 U.S.C. 

7 2151 note). 

8 (2) HOSPITALITY.—The Department of State 

9 and the United States Agency for International De10 velopment may meet related-hospitality requirements 

11 with respect to the 21st Century Panglong Union 

12 Peace Conference. 

13 (c) MILITARY REFORM.—The certification required 

14 under subsection (a) shall include a written justification 

15 in classified and unclassified form describing the Burmese 

16 military’s efforts to implement reforms, end impunity for 

17 human rights abuses, and increase transparency and ac18 countability. 

19 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

20 shall be construed to authorize Department of Defense as21 sistance to the Government of Burma except as provided 

22 in this section. 

23 (e) REPORT.— 

24 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and 


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1 every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of Defense, 

2 in concurrence with the Secretary of State, shall 

3 submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

4 a report, in both classified and unclassified form, on 

5 the strategy and plans for military-to-military en6 gagement between the United States Armed Forces 

7 and the military of Burma. 

8 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

9 paragraph (1) shall include the following elements: 

10 (A) A description and assessment of the 

11 Government of Burma’s strategy for security 

12 sector reform, including as it relates to an end 

13 to involvement in the illicit trade in jade and 

14 other natural resources, reforms to end corrup15 tion and illicit drug trafficking, and constitu16 tional reforms to ensure civilian control. 

17 (B) A list of ongoing military activities 

18 conducted by the United States Government 

19 with the Government of Burma, and a descrip20 tion of the United States strategy for future 

21 military-military engagements between the 

22 United States and Burma’s military forces, in23 cluding the military of Burma, the Burma Po24 lice Force, and armed ethnic groups. 


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1 (C) An assessment of the progress of the 

2 military of Burma towards developing a frame3 work to implement human right reforms, in4 cluding— 

5 (i) cooperation with civilian authori6 ties to investigate and prosecute cases of 

7 gross human rights violations; 

8 (ii) steps taken to demonstrate respect 

9 for and implementation of the laws of war 

10 and international human rights law; and 

11 (iii) a description of the elements of 

12 the military-to-military engagement be13 tween the United States and Burma that 

14 promote such implementation. 

15 (D) An assessment of progress on the 

16 peaceful settlement of armed conflicts between 

17 the Government of Burma and ethnic minority 

18 groups, including actions taken by the military 

19 of Burma to adhere to cease-fire agreements 

20 and withdraw forces from conflict zones. 

21 (E) An assessment of the Burmese’s mili22 tary recruitment and use of children as soldiers. 

23 (F) An assessment of the Burmese’s mili24 tary’s use of violence against women, sexual vioVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00021 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S2060.RS S2060

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1 lence, or other gender-based violence as a tool 

2 of terror, war, or ethnic cleansing. 

3 (f) CIVILIAN CHANNELS.—Any program initiated 

4 under this section shall use appropriate civilian govern5 ment channels with the democratically elected Government 

6 of Burma. 

7 (g) REGULAR CONSULTATIONS.—Any new program 

8 or activity in Burma initiated under this section shall be 

9 subject to prior consultation with the appropriate congres10 sional committees. 

11 SEC. 9. TRADE RESTRICTIONS. 

12 (a) REINSTATEMENT OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON

13 JADEITE AND RUBIES FROM BURMA.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3A of the Burmese 

15 Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 

16 108–61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by adding 

17 at the end the following: 

18 ‘‘(i) TERMINATION.—Notwithstanding section 9, this 

19 section shall remain in effect until the President deter20 mines and certifies to the appropriate congressional com21 mittees that the Government of Burma has taken meas22 ures to reform the gemstone industry in Burma, including 

23 measures to require— 

24 ‘‘(1) the disclosure of the ultimate beneficial 

25 ownership of entities in that industry; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the publication of project revenues, pay2 ments, and contract terms relating to that indus3 try.’’. 

4 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3A 

5 of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 

6 2003 is further amended— 

7 (A) in subsection (b)— 

8 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking 

9 ‘‘until such time’’ and all that follows 

10 through ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘beginning 

11 on the date that is 15 days after the date 

12 of the enactment of the Burma Human 

13 Rights and Freedom Act of 2017’’; and 

14 (ii) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act’’ and in16 serting ‘‘the date of the enactment of the 

17 Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 

18 2017’’; and 

19 (B) in subsection (c)(1), by striking ‘‘until 

20 such time’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2008’’ 

21 and inserting ‘‘beginning on the date that is 15 

22 days after the date of the enactment of the 

23 Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 

24 2017’’. 


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1 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

2 by this subsection shall apply with respect to articles 

3 entered, or withdrawn from warehouse for consump4 tion, on or after the 15th day after the date of the 

5 enactment of this Act. 

6 (b) REVIEW OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GENERALIZED SYS7 TEM OF PREFERENCES.— 

8 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

9 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi10 dent shall submit to the committees specified in 

11 paragraph (2) a report that includes a detailed re12 view of the eligibility of Burma for preferential duty 

13 treatment under the Generalized System of Pref14 erences under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

15 U.S.C. 2461 et seq.). 

16 (2) COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The committees 

17 specified in this paragraph are— 

18 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

19 Committee on Finance, and the Committee on 

20 Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 

21 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

22 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Com23 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 

24 Representatives. 


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1 SEC. 10. VISA BAN AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS WITH RE2 SPECT TO MILITARY OFFICIALS RESPON3 SIBLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES. 

4 (a) LIST REQUIRED.— 

5 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

6 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

7 shall submit to the appropriate congressional com8 mittees a list of senior officials of the military and 

9 security forces of Burma that the President deter10 mines have played a direct and substantial role in 

11 the commission of human rights abuses in Burma, 

12 including against the Rohingya minority population. 

13 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The list required by para14 graph (1) shall include all of the senior officials of 

15 the military and security forces of Burma in charge 

16 of each unit that was operational during the so17 called ‘‘clearance operations’’ that began in October 

18 2016 and are ongoing as of the date of the enact19 ment of this Act. 

20 (3) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than every 

21 180 days, the President shall submit to the appro22 priate congressional committees an updated version 

23 of the list required by paragraph (1). 

24 (b) SANCTIONS.— 

25 (1) VISA BAN.—The Secretary of State shall 

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1 rity to exclude from the United States, any indi2 vidual on the list required by subsection (a)(1). 

3 (2) LIST OF SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATION4 ALS AND BLOCKED PERSONS.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

7 President shall— 

8 (i) determine whether the individuals 

9 specified in subparagraph (B) should be 

10 included on the SDN list; and 

11 (ii) submit to the appropriate congres12 sional committees a report on that deter13 mination that includes, with respect to any 

14 such individual not included on the SDN 

15 list, the reason for not including that indi16 vidual on that list. 

17 (B) INDIVIDUALS SPECIFIED.—The indi18 viduals specified in this subparagraph are— 

19 (i) the head of each unit of the mili20 tary or security forces of Burma that was 

21 operational during the so-called ‘‘clearance 

22 operations’’ that began in October 2016 

23 and are ongoing as of the date of the en24 actment of this Act, including— 


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1 (I) Senior General Min Aung 

2 Hlaing; 

3 (II) Major General Maung 

4 Maung Soe; and 

5 (III) Major General Khin Maung 

6 Soe; and 

7 (ii) any senior official of the military 

8 or security forces of Burma for which 

9 there are credible allegations that the offi10 cial has aided, participated, or is otherwise 

11 implicated in gross human rights abuses in 

12 Burma, including sexual and ethnic- or 

13 gender-based violence. 

14 (C) SDN LIST DEFINED.—In this para15 graph, the term ‘‘SDN list’’ means the list of 

16 specially designated nationals and blocked per17 sons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets 

18 Control of the Department of the Treasury. 

19 (3) AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL

20 SANCTIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury may 

21 prohibit or impose conditions on the opening or 

22 maintaining in the United States of a correspondent 

23 account or payable-through account by any financial 

24 institution or financial agency that is a United 

25 States person, for or on behalf of a foreign financial 


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1 institution, if the Secretary determines that the ac2 count is used— 

3 (A) by a foreign financial institution that 

4 holds property or an interest in property of an 

5 individual on the list required by subsection 

6 (a)(1); or 

7 (B) to conduct a transaction on behalf of 

8 an individual on that list. 

9 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

10 subsection may be construed to prohibit any contract 

11 or other financial transaction with a credible non12 governmental humanitarian organization in Burma. 

13 (c) REMOVAL FROM LISTS.—The President may re14 move an individual from the list required by subsection 

15 (a)(1), or remove an individual included on the SDN list 

16 pursuant to subsection (b)(2) from that list, if the Presi17 dent determines and reports to the appropriate congres18 sional committees that— 

19 (1) the individual has— 

20 (A) publicly acknowledged the role of the 

21 individual in committing past human rights 

22 abuses; 

23 (B) cooperated with independent efforts to 

24 investigate such abuses; 


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1 (C) been held accountable for such abuses; 

2 or 

3 (D) demonstrated substantial progress in 

4 reforming the individual’s behavior with respect 

5 to the protection of human rights in the con6 duct of civil-military relations; and 

7 (2) removing the individual from the list is in 

8 the vital national interest of the United States. 

9 (d) PENALTIES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—A person that violates, at11 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

12 violation of this section or any regulation, license, or 

13 order issued to carry out paragraph (2) or (3) of 

14 subsection (b) shall be subject to the penalties set 

15 forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 

16 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

17 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that 

18 commits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) 

19 of that section. 

20 (2) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This subsection 

21 shall not be construed to require the President to 

22 declare a national emergency under section 202 of 

23 the International Emergency Economic Powers Act 

24 (50 U.S.C. 1701). 

25 (e) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 (1) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—A require2 ment to impose sanctions under this section shall 

3 not apply with respect to the provision of medicine, 

4 medical equipment or supplies, food, or any other 

5 form of humanitarian or human rights-related as6 sistance provided to Burma in response to a humani7 tarian crisis. 

8 (2) UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREE9 MENT.—Subsection (b)(1) shall not apply to the ad10 mission of an individual to the United States if such 

11 admission is necessary to comply with United States 

12 obligations under the Agreement between the United 

13 Nations and the United States of America regarding 

14 the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at 

15 Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

16 November 21, 1947, or under the Convention on 

17 Consular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, 

18 and entered into force March 19, 1967, or other 

19 international obligations of the United States. 

20 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

21 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY22 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 

23 ‘‘correspondent account’’, and ‘‘payable-through ac24 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec25 tion 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 


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1 (2) FINANCIAL AGENCY; FINANCIAL INSTITU2 TION.—The terms ‘‘financial agency’’ and ‘‘financial 

3 institution’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

4 section 5312 of title 31, United States Code. 

5 (3) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

6 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

7 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law8 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

9 United States; or 

10 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

11 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

12 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

13 such an entity. 

14 SEC. 11. STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOP15 MENT. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

17 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

18 the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of 

19 the United States Agency for International Development 

20 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

21 a strategy to support sustainable and broad-based eco22 nomic development, in accordance with the priorities of 

23 the Government of Burma to improve economic conditions. 

24 (b) ELEMENTS.—In order to support the efforts of 

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1 section (a) shall include a plan to promote inclusive and 

2 responsible economic growth, including through the fol3 lowing initiatives: 

4 (1) Develop an economic reform road-map to 

5 diversify control over and access to participation in 

6 key industries and sectors. The United States Gov7 ernment should support the Government of Burma 

8 to develop a roadmap to assess and recommend 

9 measures to remove barriers to a level playing field 

10 that increases competition, access and opportunity in 

11 sectors dominated by the military, former military 

12 officials, and their families, and businesspeople con13 nected to the military. The roadmap should include 

14 areas related to government transparency, account15 ability, and governance. 

16 (2) Increase transparency disclosure require17 ments in key sectors to promote responsible invest18 ment. Provide technical support to develop and im19 plement policies, and revise existing policies on pub20 lic disclosure of beneficial owners of companies in 

21 key sectors identified by the Government of Burma, 

22 including the identities of those seeking or securing 

23 access to Burma’s most valuable resources. Such 

24 new requirements should complement disclosures due 

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1 pation in the Extractives Industry Transparency Ini2 tiative (EITI). 

3 SEC. 12. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR ETHNIC 

4 CLEANSING, CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, 

5 AND GENOCIDE IN BURMA. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

8 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

9 a report on allegations of ethnic cleansing, crimes against 

10 humanity, and genocide, and on potential transnational 

11 justice mechanisms in Burma. 

12 (b) ELEMENTS.—The reports required under sub13 section (a) shall include— 

14 (1) a description of alleged ethnic cleaning, 

15 crimes against humanity, including the crime of 

16 apartheid, and genocide perpetrated against the 

17 Rohingya ethnic minority in Burma, including— 

18 (A) incidents that may constitute ethnic 

19 cleansing, crimes against humanity, and geno20 cide committed by the Burmese military, and 

21 other actors involved in the violence; 

22 (B) the role of the civilian government in 

23 the commission of such activities; 

24 (C) incidents that may constitute ethnic 

25 cleansing, crimes against humanity, or genocide 


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1 committed by violent extremist groups or 

2 antigovernment forces; 

3 (D) any incidents that may violate the 

4 principle of medical neutrality and, if possible, 

5 identification of the individual or individuals 

6 who engaged in or organized such incidents; 

7 and 

8 (E) to the extent possible, a description of 

9 the conventional and unconventional weapons 

10 used for such crimes and the origins of such 

11 weapons; 

12 (2) a description and assessment by the Depart13 ment of State, the United States Agency for Inter14 national Development, the Department of Justice, 

15 and other appropriate Federal departments and 

16 agencies of programs that the United States Govern17 ment has already or is planning to undertake to en18 sure accountability for ethnic cleansing, crimes 

19 against humanity, and genocide perpetrated against 

20 the Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups by 

21 the Government, security forces, and military of 

22 Burma, violent extremist groups, and other combat23 ants involved in the conflict, including programs— 

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1 ment, investigate, develop findings of, and iden2 tify and locate alleged perpetrators of ethnic 

3 cleansing, crimes against humanity, or genocide 

4 in Burma; 

5 (B) to promote and prepare for a transi6 tional justice process or processes for the per7 petrators of ethnic cleansing, crimes against hu8 manity, and genocide in Burma; and 

9 (C) to document, collect, preserve, and pro10 tect evidence of ethnic cleansing, crimes against 

11 humanity, and genocide in Burma, including 

12 support for Burmese and Bangladeshi, foreign, 

13 and international nongovernmental organiza14 tions, United Nations Human Rights Council’s 

15 investigative team, and other entities; and 

16 (3) a detailed study of the feasibility and desir17 ability of potential transitional justice mechanisms 

18 for Burma, including a hybrid tribunal, to address 

19 ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, and geno20 cide perpetrated in Burma, including recommenda21 tions on which transitional justice mechanisms the 

22 United States Government should support, why such 

23 mechanisms should be supported, and what type of 

24 support should be offered. 


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1 (c) PROTECTION OF WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.— 

2 The Secretary shall take due care to ensure that the iden3 tification of witnesses and physical evidence are not pub4 licly disclosed in a manner that might place such persons 

5 at risk of harm or encourage the destruction of evidence 

6 by the Government of Burma. 

7 SEC. 13. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con9 sultation with the Department of Justice and other appro10 priate Federal departments and agencies, is authorized to 

11 provide appropriate assistance to support entities that, 

12 with respect to ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, 

13 and genocide perpetrated by the military, security forces, 

14 and Government of Burma, Buddhist militias, and all 

15 other armed groups fighting in Rakhine State— 

16 (1) identify suspected perpetrators of ethnic 

17 cleansing, crimes against humanity, and genocide; 

18 (2) collect, document, and protect evidence of 

19 crimes and preserve the chain of custody for such 

20 evidence; 

21 (3) conduct criminal investigations; and 

22 (4) support investigations by third-party states, 

23 as appropriate. 

24 (b) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

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1 ments and agencies and the appropriate congressional 

2 committees, and taking into account the findings of the 

3 transitional justice study required under section 12(b)(3), 

4 is authorized to provide assistance to support the creation 

5 and operation of transitional justice mechanisms, includ6 ing a potential hybrid tribunal, to prosecute individuals 

7 suspected of committing ethnic cleansing, crimes against 

8 humanity, or genocide in Burma. 

9 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

10 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Burma Human Rights 

11 and Freedom Act of 2018’’. 

12 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

13 Congress makes the following findings: 

14 (1) The United States policy of principled en15 gagement since 1988 has fostered positive democratic 

16 reforms in Burma, which have led to significant mile17 stones on the path to full democracy. 

18 (2) On November 8, 2015, Burma held historic 

19 elections in which the National League for Democracy 

20 won a supermajority of seats in the combined na21 tional parliament. On March 30, 2016, Htin Kyaw 

22 was inaugurated as the President of Burma, the 

23 country’s first civilian President in more than 50 

24 years. Aung San Suu Kyi, President of the National 

25 League for Democracy, was barred from becoming 


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1 President due to the provisions of section 59(f) of the 

2 2008 Constitution, and therefore assumed the office of 

3 State Counsellor, a position created for her that made 

4 her the country’s de facto leader. 

5 (3) Aung San Suu Kyi’s first acts as State 

6 Counsellor after her National League for Democracy 

7 party took office included releasing more than 100 po8 litical prisoners, including well-known journalists 

9 and student activists held on politically motivated 

10 charges. However, as of November 2017, there were 

11 228 political prisoners in Burma, 46 of which were 

12 serving prison sentences, 49 of which were awaiting 

13 trial inside prison, and 133 of which were awaiting 

14 trial outside prison, according to the Assistance Asso15 ciation for Political Prisoners. 

16 (4) The Government of Burma also continues to 

17 systematically discriminate against the Rohingya 

18 people. Burma’s 1982 citizenship law stripped 

19 Rohingya Burmese of their Burmese citizenship, ren20 dering them stateless, and the Government continues 

21 to restrict Rohingya births and to deny the Rohingya 

22 freedom of movement and access to healthcare, land, 

23 education, voting, political participation, and mar24 riage. 


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1 (5) Despite the meaningful steps taken toward 

2 democracy in Burma, there remain important struc3 tural and systemic impediments to the realization of 

4 a fully democratic civilian government, including— 

5 (A) the 2008 Constitution, which is in need 

6 of reform; 

7 (B) the disfranchisement of certain groups 

8 who voted in previous elections; 

9 (C) the social, political, and economic con10 ditions in Rakhine State, particularly with re11 spect to the Rohingya population; and 

12 (D) the current humanitarian and human 

13 rights crisis affecting Burma’s Rohingya popu14 lation and residents of the Rakhine, Kachin, and 

15 Shan states, including credible reports of ethnic 

16 cleansing, crimes against humanity, 

17 extrajudicial killings, sexual and gender-based 

18 violence, and forced displacement. 

19 (6) Actions of the military of Burma, known as 

20 the Tatmadaw, including continuing assaults on per21 sonnel and territory controlled by armed ethnic orga22 nizations, military offensives immediately preceding 

23 the peace conference in Naypyitaw, and human rights 

24 violations against noncombatant civilians in conflict 

25 areas, undermine confidence in establishing a credible 


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1 nationwide ceasefire agreement to end Burma’s civil 

2 war. 

3 (7) The people of Burma continue to suffer from 

4 an ongoing civil war between the Tatmadaw and 

5 nearly 20 armed ethnic organizations. Any prospects 

6 for a full democracy in Burma are contingent on end7 ing the civil war and finding a path toward national 

8 reconciliation between Burma’s Bamar majority and 

9 its various ethnic minorities. 

10 (8) Since 2011, over 98,000 people have been dis11 placed in Kachin and northern Shan State over the 

12 escalating violence and instability, resulting in con13 tinued massive internal displacement, including in 

14 internally displaced person (IDP) camps, which con15 tinues to undermine the trust necessary to achieve a 

16 durable, lasting peace, and has caused a massive hu17 manitarian crisis which disproportionately affects the 

18 lives of innocent civilians and internally displaced 

19 persons forced from their homes. According to the 

20 United Nations Office for the Coordination of Hu21 manitarian Affairs, some 50 percent of these dis22 placed persons are staying in areas beyond Govern23 ment control where humanitarian access is limited. 

24 Even in areas controlled by the Government, delivery 

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1 stricted through onerous bureaucratic requirements re2 sulting in limited access by international and local 

3 humanitarian organizations. 

4 (9) In 2015, the nongovernmental campaign 

5 Global Witness found that, in 2014, the estimated 

6 value of official production of jade equated to up to 

7 48 percent of the official gross domestic product of 

8 Burma. Because of corruption and a lack of trans9 parency, much of the proceeds of the Burmese jade 

10 trade enrich notorious leaders from the military 

11 junta, including former dictator Than Shwe and 

12 United States-sanctioned drug lord Hsueh Kang Wei, 

13 and vested interests in jade are undermining pros14 pects for resolving the most intractable armed conflict 

15 in Burma. 

16 (10) On August 31, 2016, State Counsellor Aung 

17 San Suu Kyi and the Government of Burma initi18 ated the Union Peace Conference 21st Century 

19 Panglong in Naypyitaw, which more than 1,400 rep20 resentatives of various concerned parties attended in 

21 an effort to begin the process of ending Burma’s civil 

22 war and to discuss options in forming a democratic 

23 state of Burma. On May 24, 2017, the Government of 

24 Burma held a second Panglong Peace Conference, 

25 with mixed results. 


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1 (11) On January 4, 2018, the Department of 

2 State determined that Burma remains designated as 

3 a country of particular concern for religious freedom 

4 under section 402(b) of the International Religious 

5 Freedom Act (22 U.S.C. 6442(b)), and that ‘‘members 

6 of the Rohingya community in particular face abuses 

7 by the Government of Burma, including those involv8 ing torture, unlawful arrest and detention, restricted 

9 movement, restrictions on religious practices, dis10 crimination in employment, and access to social serv11 ices’’. 

12 (12) The February 2017 panels set up by the 

13 Burmese army and the Home Affairs Ministry are 

14 widely perceived by the international community to 

15 lack independence and impartiality. The December 

16 2016 commission established by Burma’s President 

17 Htin Kyaw to investigate the October 2016 attacks 

18 dismissed claims of misconduct by security forces due 

19 to ‘‘insufficient evidence.’’ A Burmese army internal 

20 inquiry completed in November 2017 claimed there 

21 had been no abuses committed by the military. The 

22 2012 commission government established to inves23 tigate violence in Rakhine State that year never held 

24 anyone accountable. 


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1 (13) In a public address on October 12, 2017, 

2 State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi laid out 3 goals 

3 for the Rakhine State: 

4 (A) Repatriation of those who have crossed 

5 over to Bangladesh and effective provision of hu6 manitarian assistance. 

7 (B) Resettlement of displaced populations. 

8 (C) Economic development and durable 

9 peace. 

10 (14) According to the Me ́decins Sans Frontie`res 

11 estimates, at least 6,700 Rohingya have been killed, 

12 including 730 children, and that at least 2,700 others 

13 died from disease and malnutrition and over an esti14 mated 680,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh 

15 since August 2017, fearing loss of livelihood and shel16 ter and disproportionate use of force by the military 

17 of Burma. 

18 (15) On October 23, 2017, the Department of 

19 State said, ‘‘We express our gravest concern with re20 cent events in Rakhine State and the violent, trau21 matic abuses Rohingya and other communities have 

22 endured. It is imperative that any individuals or en23 tities responsible for atrocities, including non-state 

24 actors and vigilantes, be held accountable.’’. 


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1 (16) At a Senate Foreign Relations Committee 

2 hearing on October 24, 2017, the Department of State 

3 indicated that ‘‘refugees continue to cross into Ban4 gladesh, and we continue to receive credible reports of 

5 sporadic violence in northern Rakhine State’’. 

6 (17) Amnesty International and Human Rights 

7 Watch have reported and documented a campaign of 

8 violence perpetuated by the security forces of Burma 

9 that ‘‘may amount to crimes against humanity’’ and 

10 ‘‘ethnic cleansing’’ and includes— 

11 (A) indiscriminate attacks on civilians; 

12 (B) rape of women and girls; and 

13 (C) arbitrary arrest and detention of 

14 Rohingya men without charge. 

15 (18) According to Human Rights Watch, Bur16 mese security forces have committed widespread rape 

17 against women and girls as part of a campaign of 

18 ethnic cleansing against Rohingya Muslims in Bur19 ma’s Rakhine State. Survivors said that soldiers 

20 gathered them together in groups and then raped or 

21 gang raped them. 

22 (19) Because survivors of conflict-related sexual 

23 or gender-based violence know very little about the 

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1 ability mechanisms often fail to protect victims of 

2 such violence. 

3 (20) Satellite images captured by Human Rights 

4 Watch reveal that, out of the approximately 470 vil5 lages in northern Rakhine State, most of which were 

6 completely or partially populated with Rohingya 

7 Muslims, nearly 300 were partially or completely de8 stroyed by fire after August 25, 2017. 

9 (21) The Government of Burma has continued to 

10 block access to northern Rakhine State by United Na11 tions and other humanitarian organizations, pre12 venting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable 

13 Rohingya, Rahkine, and other ethnic groups, includ14 ing children with acute malnutrition, from receiving 

15 humanitarian aid. According to a report by the 

16 United Nations Children’s Fund, a diphtheria out17 break has led to 424 cases and 6 deaths since Decem18 ber 6, 2017. In addition, the levels of global acute 

19 malnutrition in refugees from Burma exceeds the 

20 World Health Organization’s threshold by 15 percent 

21 in children aged 6–59 months. Over 50 percent of the 

22 Rohingya children are reported to be suffering from 

23 anemia. 

24 (22) In response to previous violence between the 

25 Burmese military and the ethnic Rohingya people in 


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1 2016, Aung San Suu Kyi established the Advisory 

2 Commission on Rakhine State headed by former 

3 United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan to ad4 dress tensions in Northern Rakhine. She has since 

5 also endorsed the Commission’s recommendations and 

6 established an ‘‘Advisory Team for the Committee for 

7 the Implementation of Recommendations on Rakhine 

8 State’’ to move forward with implementation. 

9 (23) On December 21, 2017, using the authority 

10 granted by the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Ac11 countability Act (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 

12 114–328), the President imposed sanctions on Maung 

13 Maung Soe, a Major General who was the chief of the 

14 Burmese Army’s Western command during the Au15 gust 2017 attack in Rakhine state. 

16 (24) On November 22, 2017, Secretary of State 

17 Rex Tillerson stated, ‘‘After careful and through anal18 ysis of available facts, it is clear that the situation in 

19 northern Rakhine state constitutes ethnic cleansing 

20 against the Rohingya. Those responsible for these 

21 atrocities must be held accountable.’’. 

22 (25) Ethnic cleansing is a despicable evil, and 

23 while it is not an independent crime under domestic 

24 or international law, it is often accomplished through 

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1 manity, or genocide, and the perpetrators of such 

2 crimes in Burma must be held accountable. 

3 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT6 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional commit7 tees’’ means— 

8 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

9 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

10 Senate; and 

11 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

12 the Committee on Armed Services of the House 

13 of Representatives. 

14 (2) GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘genocide’’ means any 

15 offense described in section 1091(a) of title 18, United 

16 States Code. 

17 (3) HYBRID TRIBUNAL.—The term ‘‘hybrid tri18 bunal’’ means a temporary criminal tribunal that in19 volves a combination of domestic and international 

20 lawyers, judges, and other professionals to prosecute 

21 individuals suspected of committing war crimes, 

22 crimes against humanity, or genocide. 

23 (4) TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘transi24 tional justice’’ means the range of judicial, non25 judicial, formal, informal, retributive, and restorative 


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1 measures employed by countries transitioning out of 

2 armed conflict or repressive regimes— 

3 (A) to redress legacies of atrocities; and 

4 (B) to promote long-term, sustainable peace. 

5 (5) WAR CRIME.—The term ‘‘war crime’’ has the 

6 meaning given the term in section 2441(c) of title 18, 

7 United States Code. 

8 SEC. 4. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

9 It is the policy of the United States that— 

10 (1) the pursuit of a calibrated engagement strat11 egy is essential to support the establishment of a 

12 peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma that in13 cludes respect for the human rights of all its people 

14 regardless of ethnicity and religion; and 

15 (2) the guiding principles of such a strategy in16 clude— 

17 (A) support for meaningful legal and con18 stitutional reforms that remove remaining re19 strictions on civil and political rights and insti20 tute civilian control of the military, civilian con21 trol of the government, and the constitutional 

22 provision reserving 25 percent of parliamentary 

23 seats for the military, which provides the mili24 tary with veto power over constitutional amend25 ments; 


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1 (B) the establishment of a fully democratic, 

2 pluralistic, civilian controlled, and representa3 tive political system that includes regularized 

4 free and fair elections in which all people of 

5 Burma, including the Rohingya, can vote; 

6 (C) the promotion of genuine national rec7 onciliation and conclusion of a credible and sus8 tainable nationwide ceasefire agreement, polit9 ical accommodation of the needs of ethnic Shan, 

10 Kachin, Chin, Karen, and other ethnic groups, 

11 safe and voluntary return of displaced persons to 

12 villages of origins, and constitutional change al13 lowing inclusive permanent peace; 

14 (D) investigations into credible reports of 

15 ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, sex16 ual and gender-based violence, and genocide per17 petrated against ethnic minorities like the 

18 Rohingya by the government, military, and secu19 rity forces of Burma, violent extremist groups, 

20 and other combatants involved in the conflict; 

21 (E) accountability for determinations of 

22 ethnic cleansing, crimes against humanity, sex23 ual and gender-based violence, and genocide per24 petrated against ethnic minorities like the 

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1 curity forces of Burma, violent extremist groups, 

2 and other combatants involved in the conflict; 

3 (F) strengthening the government’s civilian 

4 institutions, including support for greater trans5 parency and accountability; 

6 (G) the establishment of professional and 

7 nonpartisan military, security, and police forces 

8 that operate under civilian control; 

9 (H) empowering local communities, civil so10 ciety, and independent media; 

11 (I) promoting responsible international and 

12 regional engagement; 

13 (J) strengthening respect for and protection 

14 of human rights and religious freedom; 

15 (K) addressing and ending the humani16 tarian and human rights crisis, including by 

17 supporting the return of the displaced Rohingya 

18 to their homes and providing equal access to res19 toration of full citizenship for the Rohingya pop20 ulation; and 

21 (L) promoting broad-based, inclusive eco22 nomic development and fostering healthy and re23 silient communities. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE 

2 AND RECONCILIATION. 

3 (a) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—There is authorized to be ap5 propriated $103,695,069 for fiscal year 2018 for hu6 manitarian assistance for Burma, Bangladesh, and 

7 the region. The assistance may include— 

8 (A) assistance for the victims of the Bur9 mese military’s ethnic cleansing campaign tar10 geting Rohingya in Rakhine State, including 

11 those displaced in Bangladesh, Burma, and the 

12 region; 

13 (B) support for voluntary resettlement or 

14 repatriation efforts regionally; and 

15 (C) humanitarian assistance to victims of 

16 violence and destruction in Rakhine State, in17 cluding victims of gender-based violence and un18 accompanied minors. 

19 (2) SENSE OF CONGRESS ON ADDITIONAL FUND20 ING.—It is the sense of Congress that additional sig21 nificant and sustained funding will be necessary to 

22 address the medium and long-term impacts of this 

23 crisis. 

24 (b) RECONCILIATION PROGRAMS.—There is authorized 

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1 onciliation programs in Burma. The assistance may in2 clude— 

3 (1) reducing the influence of the drivers of inter4 communal conflict; 

5 (2) strengthening engagement on areas affecting 

6 fundamental freedoms; 

7 (3) enhancing the ability of key stakeholders to 

8 engage in the peace process; and 

9 (4) assisting the implementation of the Kofi 

10 Annan Commission report. 

11 SEC. 6. MULTILATERAL ASSISTANCE. 

12 The Secretary of the Treasury should instruct the 

13 United States executive director of each international fi14 nancial institution to use the voice and vote of the United 

15 States to support projects in Burma that— 

16 (1) provide for accountability and transparency, 

17 including the collection, verification and publication 

18 of beneficial ownership information related to extrac19 tive industries and on-site monitoring during the life 

20 of the project; 

21 (2) will be developed and carried out in accord22 ance with best practices regarding environmental con23 servation, cultural protection, and empowerment of 

24 local populations, including free, prior, and informed 

25 consent of affected indigenous communities; 


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1 (3) do not provide incentives for, or facilitate, 

2 forced displacement; and 

3 (4) do not partner with or otherwise involve en4 terprises owned or controlled by the armed forces. 

5 SEC. 7. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON RIGHT OF RETURNEES 

6 AND FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT. 

7 (a) RIGHT OF RETURN.—It is the sense of Congress 

8 that the Government of Burma, in collaboration with the 

9 regional and international community, including the 

10 United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, should— 

11 (1) ensure the dignified, safe, and voluntary re12 turn of all those displaced from their homes, espe13 cially from Rakhine State, without an unduly high 

14 burden of proof; 

15 (2) offer to those who do not want to return 

16 meaningful opportunity to obtain appropriate com17 pensation or restitution; 

18 (3) not place returning Rohingya in DP camps 

19 or ‘‘model villages’’, but instead make efforts to recon20 struct Rohingya villages as and where they were; 

21 (4) keep any funds collected by the Government 

22 by harvesting the land previously owned and tended 

23 by Rohingya farmers for them upon their return; and 

24 (5) fully implement all of the recommendations 

25 of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State. 


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1 (b) FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT OF REFUGEES AND IN2 TERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS.—Congress recognizes that 

3 the Government of Bangladesh has provided long-standing 

4 support and hospitality to people fleeing violence in Burma, 

5 and calls on the Government of Bangladesh— 

6 (1) to ensure all refugees have freedom of move7 ment and under no circumstance are subject to un8 safe, involuntary, or uninformed repatriation; and 

9 (2) to ensure the dignified, safe, and voluntary 

10 return of those displaced from their homes, and offer 

11 to those who do not want to return meaningful means 

12 to obtain compensation or restitution. 

13 SEC. 8. MILITARY COOPERATION. 

14 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided under sub15 section (b), the President may not furnish any security as16 sistance or to engage in any military-to-military programs 

17 with the armed forces of Burma, including training or ob18 servation or participation in regional exercises, until the 

19 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 

20 Defense, certifies to the appropriate congressional commit21 tees that the Burmese military has demonstrated significant 

22 progress in abiding by international human rights stand23 ards and is undertaking meaningful and significant secu24 rity sector reform, including transparency and accountVerDate Sep 11 2014 23:01 Feb 12, 2018 Jkt 079200 PO 00000 Frm 00054 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6203 E:\BILLS\S2060.RS S2060

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1 ability to prevent future abuses, as determined by applying 

2 the following criteria: 

3 (1) The military adheres to international human 

4 rights standards and pledges to stop future human 

5 rights violations. 

6 (2) The military supports efforts to carry out 

7 meaningful and comprehensive investigations of cred8 ible reports of abuses and is taking steps to hold ac9 countable those in the Burmese military responsible 

10 for human rights violations. 

11 (3) The military supports efforts to carry out 

12 meaningful and comprehensive investigations of re13 ports of conflict-related sexual and gender-based vio14 lence and is taking steps to hold accountable those in 

15 the Burmese military who failed to prevent, respond 

16 to, investigate, and prosecute violence against women, 

17 sexual violence, or other gender-based violence. 

18 (4) The Government of Burma, including the 

19 military, allows immediate and unfettered humani20 tarian access to communities in areas affected by con21 flict, including Rohingya communities in Rakhine 

22 State. 

23 (5) The Government of Burma, including the 

24 military, cooperates with the United Nations High 

25 Commissioner for Refugees and other relevant United 


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1 Nations agencies to ensure the protection of displaced 

2 persons and the safe and voluntary return of 

3 Rohingya refugees and internally displaced persons. 

4 (6) The Government of Burma, including the 

5 military, takes steps toward the implementation of 

6 the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on 

7 Rakhine State. 

8 (b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

9 (1) CERTAIN EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—The De10 partment of Defense may continue to conduct con11 sultations based on the authorities under section 1253 

12 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ McKeon 

13 National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 

14 2015 (Public Law 113–291; 22 U.S.C. 2151 note). 

15 (2) HOSPITALITY.—The United States Agency 

16 for International Development and the Department of 

17 State may provide assistance authorized by part I of 

18 the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 

19 et seq.) to support ethnic armed groups and the Bur20 mese military for the purpose of supporting research, 

21 dialogues, meetings, and other activities related to the 

22 Union Peace Conference, Political Dialogues, and re23 lated processes, in furtherance of inclusive, sustain24 able reconciliation. 


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1 (c) MILITARY REFORM.—The certification required 

2 under subsection (a) shall include a written justification 

3 in classified and unclassified form describing the Burmese 

4 military’s efforts to implement reforms, end impunity for 

5 human rights violations, and increase transparency and ac6 countability. 

7 (d) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act 

8 shall be construed to authorize Department of Defense as9 sistance to the Government of Burma except as provided 

10 in this section. 

11 (e) REPORT.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every 180 

14 days thereafter, the Secretary of State and the Sec15 retary of Defense shall submit to the appropriate con16 gressional committees a report, in both classified and 

17 unclassified form, on the strategy and plans for mili18 tary-to-military engagement between the United 

19 States Armed Forces and the military of Burma. 

20 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

21 paragraph (1) shall include the following elements: 

22 (A) A description and assessment of the 

23 Government of Burma’s strategy for security sec24 tor reform, including as it relates to an end to 

25 involvement in the illicit trade in jade and other 


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1 natural resources, reforms to end corruption and 

2 illicit drug trafficking, and constitutional re3 forms to ensure civilian control of the Govern4 ment. 

5 (B) A list of ongoing military activities 

6 conducted by the United States Government with 

7 the Government of Burma, and a description of 

8 the United States strategy for future military-to9 military engagements between the United States 

10 and Burma’s military forces, including the mili11 tary of Burma, the Burma Police Force, and 

12 armed ethnic groups. 

13 (C) An assessment of the progress of the 

14 military of Burma towards developing a frame15 work to implement human rights reforms, in16 cluding— 

17 (i) cooperation with civilian authori18 ties to investigate and prosecute cases of 

19 human rights violations; 

20 (ii) steps taken to demonstrate respect 

21 for internationally-recognized human rights 

22 standards and implementation of and ad23 herence to the laws of war; and 

24 (iii) a description of the elements of the 

25 military-to-military engagement between 


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1 the United States and Burma that promote 

2 such implementation. 

3 (D) An assessment of progress on the peace4 ful settlement of armed conflicts between the Gov5 ernment of Burma and ethnic minority groups, 

6 including actions taken by the military of 

7 Burma to adhere to ceasefire agreements, allow 

8 for safe and voluntary returns of displaced per9 sons to their villages of origin, and withdraw 

10 forces from conflict zones. 

11 (E) An assessment of the Burmese’s mili12 tary recruitment and use of children as soldiers. 

13 (F) An assessment of the Burmese’s mili14 tary’s use of violence against women, sexual vio15 lence, or other gender-based violence as a tool of 

16 terror, war, or ethnic cleansing. 

17 (f) CIVILIAN CHANNELS.—Any program initiated 

18 under this section shall use appropriate civilian govern19 ment channels with the democratically elected Government 

20 of Burma. 

21 (g) REGULAR CONSULTATIONS.—Any new program or 

22 activity in Burma initiated under this section shall be sub23 ject to prior consultation with the appropriate congres24 sional committees. 


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1 SEC. 9. REINSTATEMENT OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON 

2 JADEITE FROM BURMA. 

3 (a) DEFINITIONS.—Section 3A(a) of the Burmese Free4 dom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–61; 50 

5 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (2) and inserting the 

7 following: 

8 ‘‘(2) BURMESE COVERED ARTICLE.—The term 

9 ‘Burmese covered article’ means— 

10 ‘‘(A) jadeite mined or extracted from 

11 Burma; or 

12 ‘‘(B) articles of jewelry containing jadeite 

13 described in subparagraph (A).’’; 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

15 following: 

16 ‘‘(3) NON-BURMESE COVERED ARTICLE.—The 

17 term ‘non-Burmese covered article’ means— 

18 ‘‘(A) jadeite mined or extracted from a 

19 country other than Burma; or 

20 ‘‘(B) articles of jewelry containing jadeite 

21 described in subparagraph (A).’’; and 

22 (3) by striking paragraph (4) and inserting the 

23 following: 

24 ‘‘(4) JADEITE; ARTICLES OF JEWELRY CON25 TAINING JADEITE.— 


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1 ‘‘(A) JADEITE.—The term ‘jadeite’ means 

2 any jadeite classifiable under heading 7103 of 

3 the Harmonized Tariff Schedule of the United 

4 States (in this paragraph referred to as the 

5 ‘HTS’). 

6 ‘‘(B) ARTICLES OF JEWELRY CONTAINING

7 JADEITE.—The term ‘articles of jewelry con8 taining jadeite’ means— 

9 ‘‘(i) any article of jewelry classifiable 

10 under heading 7113 of the HTS that con11 tains jadeite; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) any article of jadeite classifiable 

13 under heading 7116 of the HTS.’’. 

14 (b) TERMINATION.—Section 3A of the Burmese Free15 dom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108–61; 50 

16 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by striking subsections (g) 

17 and (h) and inserting the following: 

18 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION.—Notwithstanding section 9, this 

19 section shall remain in effect until the President determines 

20 and certifies to the appropriate congressional committees 

21 that the Government of Burma has taken measures to re22 form the jadeite industry in Burma, including measures to 

23 require— 

24 ‘‘(1) the disclosure of the ultimate beneficial own25 ership of entities in that industry; and 


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1 ‘‘(2) the publication of project revenues, pay2 ments, and contract terms relating to that industry.’’. 

3 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3A of the 

4 Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 

5 108–61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended— 

6 (1) in the section heading— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘AND RUBIES’’; and 

8 (B) by striking ‘‘OR RUBIES’’; 

9 (2) in subsection (b)— 

10 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘until 

11 such time’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2008’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘beginning on the date that is 180 

13 days after the date of the enactment of the 

14 Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 

15 2018’’; and 

16 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act’’ and inserting ‘‘the 

18 date of the enactment of the Burma Human 

19 Rights and Freedom Act of 2018’’; and 

20 (3) in subsection (c)— 

21 (A) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘until 

22 such time’’ and all that follows through ‘‘2008’’ 

23 and inserting ‘‘beginning on the date that is 180 

24 days after the date of the enactment of the 


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1 Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 

2 2018’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)(B)— 

4 (i) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘or pol5 ished rubies’’ 

6 (ii) by striking ‘‘or rubies’’ each place 

7 it appears. 

8 SEC. 10. VISA BAN AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS WITH RE9 SPECT TO MILITARY OFFICIALS RESPON10 SIBLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. 

11 (a) LIST REQUIRED.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of the enactment of this Act, the President 

14 shall submit to the appropriate congressional commit15 tees a list of senior officials of the military and secu16 rity forces of Burma that the President determines 

17 have knowingly played a direct and significant role 

18 in the commission of human rights violations in 

19 Burma, including against the Rohingya minority 

20 population. 

21 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The list required by para22 graph (1) shall include all of the senior officials of the 

23 military and security forces of Burma— 

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1 ations’’ that began during or after October 2016; 

2 and 

3 (B) who knew, or should have known, that 

4 the official’s subordinates were committing sex5 ual or gender-based violence and failed to take 

6 adequate steps to prevent such violence or punish 

7 the individuals responsible for such violence. 

8 (3) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than every 

9 180 days, the President shall submit to the appro10 priate congressional committees an updated version of 

11 the list required by paragraph (1). 

12 (b) SANCTIONS.— 

13 (1) VISA BAN.—The Secretary of State shall deny 

14 a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Security 

15 shall exclude from the United States, any individual 

16 included in the most recent list required subsection 

17 (a). 

18 (2) LIST OF SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS

19 AND BLOCKED PERSONS.— 

20 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

22 President shall— 

23 (i) determine whether the individuals 

24 specified in subparagraph (B) should be in25 cluded on the SDN list; and 


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1 (ii) submit to the appropriate congres2 sional committees a report, in classified 

3 form if necessary, on the procedures for in4 cluding those individuals on the SDN list 

5 under existing authorities of the Depart6 ment of the Treasury. 

7 (B) INDIVIDUALS SPECIFIED.—The individ8 uals specified in this subparagraph are— 

9 (i) the head of each unit of the mili10 tary or security forces of Burma that was 

11 operational during the so-called ‘‘clearance 

12 operations’’ that began during or after Oc13 tober 2016, including— 

14 (I) Senior General Min Aung 

15 Hlaing; and 

16 (II) Major General Khin Maung 

17 Soe; 

18 (ii) any senior official of the military 

19 or security forces of Burma for which the 

20 President determines there are credible re21 ports that the official has aided, partici22 pated, or is otherwise implicated in gross 

23 human rights violations in Burma, includ24 ing sexual and ethnic- or gender-based vio25 lence; and 


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1 (iii) any senior official of the military 

2 or security forces of Burma for which the 

3 President determines there are credible re4 ports that the official knew, or should have 

5 known, that the official’s subordinates were 

6 committing sexual or gender-based violence 

7 and failed to take adequate steps to prevent 

8 such violence or punish the individuals re9 sponsible for such violence. 

10 (3) AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL

11 SANCTIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury may, in 

12 consultation with the Secretary of State, prohibit or 

13 impose strict conditions on the opening or maintain14 ing in the United States of a correspondent account 

15 or payable-through account by any financial institu16 tion that is a United States person, for or on behalf 

17 of a foreign financial institution, if the Secretary de18 termines that the account is knowingly used— 

19 (A) by a foreign financial institution that 

20 knowingly holds property or an interest in prop21 erty of an individual included on the SDN list 

22 pursuant to paragraph (2); or 

23 (B) to conduct a significant transaction on 

24 behalf of such an individual. 


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1 (4) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this 

2 subsection may be construed to prohibit any contract 

3 or other financial transaction by a United States per4 son with a credible nongovernmental humanitarian 

5 organization in Burma. 

6 (c) REMOVAL FROM LIST.—The President may remove 

7 an individual from the list required by subsection (a) if 

8 the President determines and reports to the appropriate 

9 congressional committees that— 

10 (1) the individual has— 

11 (A) publicly acknowledged the role of the in12 dividual in committing past human rights viola13 tions; 

14 (B) cooperated with independent efforts to 

15 investigate such violations; 

16 (C) been held accountable for such viola17 tions; and 

18 (D) demonstrated substantial progress in re19 forming the individual’s behavior with respect to 

20 the protection of human rights in the conduct of 

21 civil-military relations; and 

22 (2) removing the individual from the list is in 

23 the national interest of the United States. 

24 (d) EXCEPTIONS.— 


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1 (1) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—A requirement 

2 to impose sanctions under this section shall not apply 

3 with respect to the provision of medicine, medical 

4 equipment or supplies, food, or any other form of hu5 manitarian or human rights-related assistance pro6 vided to Burma in response to a humanitarian crisis. 

7 (2) UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREE8 MENT.—Subsection (b)(1) shall not apply to the ad9 mission of an individual to the United States if such 

10 admission is necessary to comply with United States 

11 obligations under the Agreement between the United 

12 Nations and the United States of America regarding 

13 the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at 

14 Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into force 

15 November 21, 1947, or under the Convention on Con16 sular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and 

17 entered into force March 19, 1967, or other inter18 national obligations of the United States. 

19 (e) WAIVER.—The President may waive a requirement 

20 of this section if the Secretary of State, in consultation with 

21 the Secretary of the Treasury, determines and reports to 

22 the appropriate congressional committees that the waiver 

23 is important to the national security interests of the United 

24 States. 

25 (f) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 


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1 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may exer2 cise all authorities provided under sections 203 and 

3 205 of the International Emergency Economic Powers 

4 Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out this sec5 tion. 

6 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at7 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a vio8 lation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) or any 

9 regulation, license, or order issued to carry out either 

10 such paragraph shall be subject to the penalties set 

11 forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 206 of the 

12 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

13 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a person that com14 mits an unlawful act described in subsection (a) of 

15 that section. 

16 (3) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION.—This subsection 

17 shall not be construed to require the President to de18 clare a national emergency under section 202 of the 

19 International Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 

20 U.S.C. 1701). 

21 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY23 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 

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1 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in section 

2 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 

3 (2) FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The term ‘‘finan4 cial institution’’ has the meaning given that term in 

5 section 5312 of title 31, United States Code. 

6 (3) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 

7 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, means 

8 that a person has actual knowledge, or should have 

9 known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the result. 

10 (4) SDN LIST.—The term ‘‘SDN list’’ means the 

11 list of specially designated nationals and blocked per12 sons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets Con13 trol of the Department of the Treasury. 

14 (5) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term ‘‘United 

15 States person’’ means— 

16 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law17 fully admitted for permanent residence to the 

18 United States; 

19 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

20 the United States or of any jurisdiction within 

21 the United States, including a foreign branch of 

22 such an entity; or 

23 (C) any person in the United States. 


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1 SEC. 11. STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOP2 MENT. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 

5 the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of the 

6 United States Agency for International Development shall 

7 submit to the appropriate congressional committees a strat8 egy to support sustainable and broad-based economic devel9 opment, in accordance with the priorities of the Govern10 ment of Burma to improve economic conditions. 

11 (b) ELEMENTS.—In order to support the efforts of the 

12 Government of Burma, the strategy required by subsection 

13 (a) shall include a plan to promote inclusive and respon14 sible economic growth, including through the following ini15 tiatives: 

16 (1) Develop an economic reform road-map to di17 versify control over and access to participation in key 

18 industries and sectors. The United States Government 

19 should support the Government of Burma to develop 

20 a roadmap to assess and recommend measures to re21 move barriers and increase competition, access and 

22 opportunity in sectors dominated by the military, 

23 former military officials, and their families, and 

24 businesspeople connected to the military. The road25 map should include areas related to government 

26 transparency, accountability, and governance. 


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1 (2) Increase transparency disclosure require2 ments in key sectors to promote responsible invest3 ment. Provide technical support to develop and imple4 ment policies, and revise existing policies on public 

5 disclosure of beneficial owners of companies in key 

6 sectors identified by the Government of Burma, in7 cluding the identities of those seeking or securing ac8 cess to Burma’s most valuable resources. In the ruby 

9 industry, this specifically includes working with the 

10 Government of Burma to require the disclosure of the 

11 ultimate beneficial ownership of entities in the indus12 try and the publication of project revenues, payments, 

13 and contract terms relating to the industry. Such new 

14 requirements should complement disclosures due to be 

15 put in place in Burma as a result of its participation 

16 in the Extractives Industry Transparency Initiative 

17 (EITI). 

18 (3) Promote universal access to reliable, afford19 able, energy efficient, and sustainable power, includ20 ing leveraging United States assistance to support re21 forms in the power sector and electrification projects 

22 that increase energy access, in partnership with mul23 tilateral organizations and the private sector. 


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1 SEC. 12. REPORT ON ETHNIC CLEANSING AND SERIOUS 

2 HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES IN BURMA. 

3 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 

4 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State 

5 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a 

6 report detailing the credible reports of ethnic cleansing and 

7 serious human rights abuses committed against the 

8 Rohingya in Burma, including credible reports of war 

9 crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide, and on po10 tential transnational justice mechanisms in Burma. 

11 (b) ELEMENTS.—The reports required under sub12 section (a) shall include— 

13 (1) a description of credible reports of ethnic 

14 cleaning and serious human rights abuses perpetrated 

15 against the Rohingya ethnic minority in Burma, in16 cluding— 

17 (A) incidents that may constitute ethnic 

18 cleansing, crimes against humanity, sexual and 

19 gender-based violence, and genocide committed 

20 by the Burmese military, and other actors in21 volved in the violence; 

22 (B) the role of the civilian government in 

23 the commission of such activities; 

24 (C) incidents that may constitute ethnic 

25 cleansing, crimes against humanity, sexual and 

26 gender-based violence, or genocide committed by 


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1 violent extremist groups or antigovernment 

2 forces; 

3 (D) any incidents that may violate the 

4 principle of medical neutrality and, if possible, 

5 identification of the individual or individuals 

6 who engaged in or organized such incidents; and 

7 (E) to the extent possible, a description of 

8 the conventional and unconventional weapons 

9 used for such crimes and the origins of such 

10 weapons; 

11 (2) a description and assessment by the Depart12 ment of State, the United States Agency for Inter13 national Development, the Department of Justice, and 

14 other appropriate Federal departments and agencies 

15 of programs that the United States Government has 

16 already or is planning to undertake to ensure ac17 countability for credible reports of ethnic cleansing 

18 and reports of war crimes, crimes against humanity, 

19 sexual and gender-based violence, and genocide per20 petrated against the Rohingya and other ethnic mi21 nority groups by the Government, security forces, and 

22 military of Burma, violent extremist groups, and 

23 other combatants involved in the conflict, including 

24 programs— 


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1 (A) to train investigators within and out2 side of Burma and Bangladesh on how to docu3 ment, investigate, develop findings of, and iden4 tify and locate alleged perpetrators of ethnic 

5 cleansing, crimes against humanity, or genocide 

6 in Burma; 

7 (B) to promote and prepare for a transi8 tional justice process or processes for the per9 petrators of ethnic cleansing, crimes against hu10 manity, and genocide in Burma; and 

11 (C) to document, collect, preserve, and pro12 tect evidence of reports of ethnic cleansing, 

13 crimes against humanity, and genocide in 

14 Burma, including support for Burmese and 

15 Bangladeshi, foreign, and international non16 governmental organizations, the United Nations 

17 Human Rights Council’s investigative team, and 

18 other entities; and 

19 (3) A detailed study of the feasibility and desir20 ability of potential transitional justice mechanisms 

21 for Burma, including a hybrid tribunal, and rec22 ommendations on which transitional justice mecha23 nisms the United States Government should support, 

24 why such mechanisms should be supported, and what 

25 type of support should be offered. 


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1 (c) PROTECTION OF WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.—The 

2 Secretary shall take due care to ensure that the identifica3 tion of witnesses and physical evidence are not publicly dis4 closed in a manner that might place such persons at risk 

5 of harm or encourage the destruction of evidence by the Gov6 ernment of Burma. 

7 SEC. 13. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in consulta9 tion with the Department of Justice and other appropriate 

10 Federal departments and agencies, is authorized to provide 

11 appropriate assistance to support entities that, with respect 

12 to credible reports of ethnic cleansing, crimes against hu13 manity, and genocide perpetrated by the military, security 

14 forces, and Government of Burma, Buddhist militias, and 

15 all other armed groups fighting in Rakhine State— 

16 (1) identify suspected perpetrators of ethnic 

17 cleansing, war crimes, crimes against humanity, and 

18 genocide; 

19 (2) collect, document, and protect evidence of 

20 crimes and preserve the chain of custody for such evi21 dence; 

22 (3) conduct criminal investigations; and 

23 (4) support investigations by third-party states, 

24 as appropriate. 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State, 

2 after consultation with appropriate Federal departments 

3 and agencies and the appropriate congressional committees, 

4 and taking into account the findings of the transitional jus5 tice study required under section 12(b)(3), is authorized to 

6 provide assistance to support the creation and operation of 

7 transitional justice mechanisms for Burma. 

8 SEC. 14. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PRESS FREEDOM. 

9 In order to promote freedom of the press in Burma, 

10 it is the sense of Congress that— 

11 (1) Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo should be imme12 diately released and should have access to lawyers 

13 and their families; and 

14 (2) the decision to use a colonial-era law to ar15 rest these Reuters reporters undermines press freedom 

16 around the world and further underscores the need for 

17 serious legal reform. 

18 SEC. 15. MEASURES RELATING TO MILITARY COOPERATION 

19 BETWEEN BURMA AND NORTH KOREA. 

20 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, with re22 spect to any person described in paragraph (2)— 

23 (A) impose the sanctions described in para24 graph (1) or (3) of section 10(b); or 


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1 (B) include that person on the SDN list (as 

2 defined in section 10(g)). 

3 (2) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person described 

4 in this paragraph is an official of the Government of 

5 Burma or an individual or entity acting on behalf of 

6 that Government that the President determines pur7 chases or otherwise acquires defense articles from the 

8 Government of North Korea or an individual or enti9 ty acting on behalf of that Government. 

10 (b) RESTRICTION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The 

11 President may terminate or reduce the provision of United 

12 States foreign assistance to Burma if the President deter13 mines that the Government of Burma does not verifiably 

14 and irreversibly eliminate all purchases or other acquisi15 tions of defense articles by persons described in subsection 

16 (a)(2) from the Government of North Korea or individuals 

17 or entities acting on behalf of that Government. 

18 (c) DEFENSE ARTICLE DEFINED.—In this section, the 

19 term ‘‘defense article’’ has the meaning given that term in 

20 section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 U.S.C. 2794). 

21 SEC. 16. NO AUTHORIZATION FOR THE USE OF MILITARY 

22 FORCE. 

23 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as an authoriza24 tion for the use of force. 


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Calendar No. 307 

115TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2060 

A BILL 

To promote democracy and human rights in 

Burma, and for other purposes. 

FEBRUARY 12, 2018 

Reported with an amendment 


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