II 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2937 

To authorize humanitarian assistance and civil society support, promote democracy and human rights, and impose targeted sanctions with respect 

to human rights abuses in Burma, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

OCTOBER 5, 2021 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. DURBIN, Mrs. FEINSTEIN, Mr. KAINE, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Mr. MARKEY, Ms. ROSEN, Mrs. MURRAY, Mr. PETERS, Ms. 

KLOBUCHAR, Mr. PADILLA, Mr. WYDEN, Mr. LUJA ́N, and Mr. SANDERS) 

introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

A BILL 

To authorize humanitarian assistance and civil society support, promote democracy and human rights, and impose 

targeted sanctions with respect to human rights abuses 

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; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

5 ‘‘Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability 

6 Act of 2021’’ or the ‘‘BURMA Act of 2021’’. 


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1 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of 

2 this Act is as follows: 

3 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

4 In this Act: 

5 (1) BURMESE MILITARY.—The term ‘‘Burmese 

6 military’’— 

7 (A) means to the Armed Forces of Burma, 

8 including the army, navy, and air force; and 

9 (B) includes security services under the 

10 control of the Armed Forces of Burma such as 

11 the police and border guards. 

12 (2) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.—The term 

13 ‘‘crimes against humanity’’ includes the following, 

14 when committed as part of a widespread or system15 atic attack directed against any civilian population, 

16 with knowledge of the attack: 

17 (A) Murder. 

18 (B) Forced transfer of population. 

19 (C) Torture. 

20 (D) Extermination. 

21 (E) Enslavement. 

22 (F) Rape, sexual slavery, or any other 

23 form of sexual violence of comparable severity. 

24 (G) Enforced disappearance of persons. 


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1 (H) Persecution against any identifiable 

2 group or collectivity on political, racial, na3 tional, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, or 

4 other grounds that are universally recognized as 

5 impermissible under international law. 

6 (I) Imprisonment or other severe depriva7 tion of physical liberty in violation of funda8 mental rules of international law. 

9 (3) EXECUTIVE ORDER 14014.—The term ‘‘Ex10 ecutive Order 14014’’ means Executive Order 14014 

11 (86 Fed. Reg. 9429; relating to blocking property 

12 with respect to the situation in Burma). 

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

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

15 United States Code. 

16 (5) 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, or employed by 

21 the international community through international 

22 justice mechanisms, to redress past or ongoing 

23 atrocities and to promote long-term, sustainable 

24 peace. 


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1 (6) 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. 3. FINDINGS. 

5 Congress makes the following findings: 

6 (1) Since 1988, the United States policy of 

7 principled engagement has fostered positive demo8 cratic reforms in Burma, with elections in 2010, 

9 2015, and 2020, helping to bring about the partial 

10 transition to civilian rule and with the latter 2 elec11 tions resulting in resounding electoral victories for 

12 the National League for Democracy. 

13 (2) That democratic transition remained incom14 plete, with the military retaining significant power 

15 and independence from civilian control following the 

16 2015 elections, including through control of 25 per17 cent of parliamentary seats, a de facto veto over con18 stitutional reform, authority over multiple govern19 ment ministries, and the ability to operate with im20 punity and no civilian oversight. 

21 (3) Despite some improvements with respect for 

22 human rights and fundamental freedoms beginning 

23 in 2010, and the establishment of a quasi-civilian 

24 government following credible elections in 2015, 

25 Burma’s military and civilian leaders have, since 


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1 2016, overseen an increase in restrictions to freedom 

2 of expression (including for members of the press), 

3 freedom of peaceful assembly, freedom of associa4 tion, and freedom of religion or belief. In 2017, Bur5 mese authorities oversaw a genocide against 

6 Rohingya, which caused almost 1,000,000 Rohingya 

7 to seek refuge in neighboring Bangladesh. 

8 (4) On February 1, 2021, the Burmese military 

9 conducted a coup d’e ́tat, declaring a year-long state 

10 of emergency and detaining State Counsellor Aung 

11 San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and dozens of 

12 other government officials and elected members of 

13 parliament, thus derailing Burma’s transition to de14 mocracy and disregarding the will of the people of 

15 Burma as expressed in the November 2020 elections, 

16 which were determined to be credible by inter17 national and national observers. 

18 (5) Following the coup, some ousted members 

19 of parliament established the Committee Rep20 resenting the Pyidaungsu Hluttaw, which subse21 quently released the Federal Democracy Charter in 

22 March 2021 and established the National Unity 

23 Government in April 2021. In June 2021, the Na24 tional Unity Government included ethnic minorities 

25 and women among its cabinet and released a policy 


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1 paper outlining pledges to Rohingya and calling for 

2 ‘‘justice and reparations’’ for the community. 

3 (6) Since the coup on February 1, 2021, the 

4 Burmese military has— 

5 (A) used lethal force on peaceful protestors 

6 on multiple occasions, killing more than 1,100 

7 people, including more than 50 children; 

8 (B) detained more than 4,000 peaceful 

9 protestors, participants in the Civil Disobe10 dience Movement, labor leaders, government of11 ficials and elected members of parliament, 

12 members of the media, and others, according to 

13 the Assistance Association for Political Pris14 oners; 

15 (C) issued laws and directives that could 

16 be used to further impede fundamental free17 doms, including freedom of expression (includ18 ing for members of the press), freedom of 

19 peaceful assembly, and freedom of association; 

20 and 

21 (D) imposed restrictions on the internet 

22 and telecommunications. 

23 (7) More than 230,000 people have been inter24 nally displaced since the coup, while thousands of 

25 others have sought refuge in neighboring countries, 


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1 and the Burmese military continues to block human2 itarian assistance to populations in need. According 

3 to the World Health Organization, the military has 

4 carried out more than 250 attacks on health care 

5 entities since the coup and killed at least 18 health 

6 workers. Dozens more have been arbitrarily detained 

7 and hundreds have warrants out for their arrest. 

8 The military has continued such attacks even as 

9 they inhibit efforts to combat a devastating third 

10 wave of COVID–19. The brutality of the Burmese 

11 military was on full display on March 27, 2021, 

12 Armed Forces Day, when, after threatening on state 

13 television to shoot protesters in the head, security 

14 forces killed more than 150 people. 

15 (8) The coup represents a continuation of a 

16 long pattern of violent and anti-democratic behavior 

17 by the military that stretches back decades, with the 

18 military having previously taken over Burma in 

19 coups d’e ́tat in 1962 and 1988, and having ignored 

20 the results of the 1990 elections, and a long history 

21 of violently repressing protest movements, including 

22 killing and imprisoning thousands of peaceful 

23 protestors during pro-democracy demonstrations in 

24 1988 and 2007. 


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1 (9) The military also has a long history of vio2 lent repression of ethnic and religious minorities. On 

3 August 25, 2017, Burmese military and security 

4 forces launched a genocidal military campaign 

5 against Rohingya, resulting in a mass exodus of 

6 some 750,000 Rohingya from Burma’s Rakhine 

7 State into Bangladesh, where they remain. The Gov8 ernment of Burma has since taken no steps to im9 prove conditions for Rohingya still in Rakhine State, 

10 who remain at high risk of genocide and other atroc11 ities, or to create conditions conducive to the return 

12 of Rohingya refugees. 

13 (10) The Burmese military has also engaged in 

14 renewed violence with other ethnic minority groups 

15 across the country. Since 2018, fighting between the 

16 Burmese military and the Arakan Army has dis17 placed more than 220,000 people in Rakhine and 

18 Chin States, including more than 130,000 Rohingya 

19 confined to camps since 2012. The military has con20 tinued to commit atrocities in Kachin and Shan 

21 States that a 2019 report by Amnesty International 

22 described as ‘‘relentless and ruthless’’. Fighting in 

23 northern Burma has forced more than 100,000 peo24 ple from their homes and into camps for internally 

25 displaced persons. The Government of Burma conVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Oct 06, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2937.IS S2937

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1 tinues to heavily proscribe humanitarian and media 

2 access to conflict-affected populations across the 

3 country. 

4 (11) With more than $500,000,000 in humani5 tarian assistance provided to Burma and Ban6 gladesh in 2020 alone, the United States is the larg7 est humanitarian donor to populations in need as a 

8 result of conflicts in Burma. In May 2021, the 

9 United States announced nearly $155,000,000 in 

10 additional humanitarian assistance to meet the ur11 gent needs of Rohingya refugees and host commu12 nities in Bangladesh and people affected by ongoing 

13 violence in Burma’s Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, and 

14 Chin states. In August 2021, the United States pro15 vided $50,000,000 in critical humanitarian assist16 ance to the people of Burma. 

17 (12) Both government- and military-initiated 

18 investigations into human rights abuses in Burma 

19 involving violence between ethnic minorities and 

20 Burmese security forces have failed to yield credible 

21 results or hold perpetrators accountable. 

22 (13) In its report dated September 17, 2018, 

23 the United Nations Independent International Fact24 Finding Mission on Myanmar concluded, on reason25 able grounds, that the factors allowing inference of 


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1 ‘‘genocidal intent’’ are present with respect to the 

2 attacks against Rohingya in Rakhine State, and acts 

3 by Burmese security forces against Rohingya in 

4 Rakhine State and other ethnic minorities in Kachin 

5 and Shan States amount to ‘‘crimes against human6 ity’’ and ‘‘war crimes’’. The Independent Inter7 national Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar estab8 lished by the United Nations Human Rights Council 

9 recommended that the United Nations Security 

10 Council ‘‘should ensure accountability for crimes 

11 under international law committed in Myanmar, 

12 preferably by referring the situation to the Inter13 national Criminal Court or alternatively by creating 

14 an ad hoc international criminal tribunal’’. The Mis15 sion also recommended the imposition of targeted 

16 economic sanctions, including an arms embargo on 

17 Burma. 

18 (14) In a subsequent report dated August 5, 

19 2019, the United Nations Independent International 

20 Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar found that the 

21 Burmese military’s economic interests ‘‘enable its 

22 conduct’’ and that it benefits from and supports ex23 tractive industry businesses operating in conflict-af24 fected areas in northern Burma, including natural 

25 resources, particularly oil and gas, minerals and 


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1 gems and argued that ‘‘through controlling its own 

2 business empire, the Tatmadaw can evade the ac3 countability and oversight that normally arise from 

4 civilian oversight of military budgets’’. The report 

5 called for the United Nations and individual govern6 ments to place targeted sanctions on all senior offi7 cials in the Burmese military as well as their eco8 nomic interests, especially Myanma Economic Hold9 ings Limited and Myanmar Economic Corporation. 

10 (15) On February 11, 2021, President Biden 

11 issued Executive Order 14014 in response to the 

12 coup d’e ́tat, authorizing sanctions against the Bur13 mese military, its economic interests, and other per14 petrators of the coup. 

15 (16) Since the issuance of Executive Order 

16 14014, the Department of the Treasury has imposed 

17 sanctions with respect to— 

18 (A) multiple high-ranking individuals and 

19 their family members, including the Com20 mander-in-Chief of the Burmese military, Min 

21 Aung Hlaing; 

22 (B) state-owned and military controlled 

23 companies, including Myanmar Ruby Enter24 prise, Myanmar Imperial Jade Co., Ltd., and 

25 Cancri (Gems and Jewellery) Co., Ltd; and 


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1 (C) other corporate entities and Burmese 

2 military entities, including the military regime’s 

3 State Administrative Council. 

4 (17) Pursuant to Executive Order 14014, the 

5 United States has also implemented new restrictions 

6 on exports and reexports to Burma. 

7 (18) On March 22, 2021, the United States 

8 designated Burma’s Chief of Police, Than Hlaing, 

9 and the Bureau of Special Operations commander, 

10 Lieutenant General Aung Soe, for the imposition of 

11 sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 14014. The 

12 United States further designated 2 army units, the 

13 33rd and 77th Light Infantry Divisions, for the im14 position of sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 

15 14014, for being responsible for or complicit in, or 

16 having directly or indirectly engaged or attempted to 

17 engage in, actions or policies that prohibit, limit, or 

18 penalize the exercise of freedom of expression or as19 sembly by people in Burma. 

20 (19) On March 25, 2021, the United States 

21 designated 2 entities linked to the coup leaders, 

22 Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Lim23 ited and Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited. 

24 Those entities are the 2 largest military holding 

25 companies in Burma, and all shares in those entities 


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1 are held and managed by current or former mem2 bers of Burmese military regiments or units, or or3 ganizations led by former members of such regi4 ments or units. 

5 (20) On April 8, 2021, the United States des6 ignated Myanma Gems Enterprise, a Burmese state7 owned entity that is responsible for all gemstone ac8 tivities in Burma, for the imposition of sanctions 

9 pursuant to Executive Order 14014. Gemstones are 

10 a key economic resource for the Burmese military 

11 regime. 

12 (21) On May 17, 2021, the United States des13 ignated 16 individuals and one entity connected to 

14 Burma’s military regime, including 13 key members 

15 of the Burmese military and 3 adult children of pre16 viously designated Burmese military officials, for the 

17 imposition of sanctions pursuant to Executive Order 

18 14014. 

19 (22) On July 2, 2021, the United States added 

20 the following 4 entities to the Entity List set forth 

21 in Supplement No. 4 to part 744 of title 15, Code 

22 of Federal Regulations, in response to the February 

23 1, 2021, military coup in Burma: 

24 (A) King Royal Technologies Co., Ltd., a 

25 telecommunications company that provides satVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Oct 06, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00013 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2937.IS S2937

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1 ellite communications services in support of the 

2 Burmese military. 

3 (B) Wanbao Mining and its 2 subsidiaries, 

4 Myanmar Wanbao Mining Copper, Ltd., and 

5 Myanmar Yang Tse Copper, Ltd., copper min6 ing companies that have revenue-sharing agree7 ments with Myanmar Economic Holdings Lim8 ited. 

9 (23) Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited was 

10 added to the Entity List in March 2021. Myanmar 

11 Economic Holdings Limited provides revenue for 

12 Burma’s Ministry of Defense, an entity responsible 

13 for the military coup that was also added to the En14 tity List in March 2021. Additionally, three of the 

15 newly added entities, Wanbao Mining and its 2 sub16 sidiaries, have long been reportedly linked to abuses 

17 of labor rights and human rights. 

18 (24) On July 2, 2021, the United States des19 ignated 22 individuals connected to Burma’s mili20 tary regime for the imposition of sanctions pursuant 

21 to Executive Order 14014. Among the individuals so 

22 designated were 7 key members of the Burmese mili23 tary, which continues to repress the pro-democracy 

24 movement in the country and use lethal force 

25 against the people of Burma, including children and 


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1 members of ethnic minority groups. The other 15 in2 dividuals are the spouses or adult children of pre3 viously designated senior Burmese military officials 

4 whose financial networks have contributed to mili5 tary officials’ ill-gotten gains. 

6 TITLE I—MATTERS RELATING 

7 TO THE CONFLICT IN BURMA 

8 SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 

9 It is the policy of the United States— 

10 (1) to support genuine democracy, peace, and 

11 national reconciliation in Burma; 

12 (2) to pursue a strategy of calibrated engage13 ment, which is essential to support the establishment 

14 of a peaceful, prosperous, and democratic Burma 

15 that includes respect for the human rights of all in16 dividuals regardless of ethnicity and religion; 

17 (3) to ensure that the objectives guiding such a 

18 strategy include— 

19 (A) restoring to power a civilian govern20 ment that reflects the will of the people of 

21 Burma; 

22 (B) supporting constitutional reforms, en23 suring civilian governance and oversight over 

24 the military, including reforms— 


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1 (i) to the provisions reserving 25 per2 cent of parliamentary seats for appoint3 ments by the military, which provides the 

4 military with veto power over constitutional 

5 amendments; and 

6 (ii) to provisions granting the military 

7 control over the Ministry of Defense, the 

8 Ministry of Border Affairs, and the Min9 istry of Home Affairs; 

10 (C) assisting in the establishment of a fully 

11 democratic, civilian-led, pluralistic, and rep12 resentative political system that includes free, 

13 fair, credible, and democratic elections in which 

14 all people of Burma, including all ethnic minori15 ties, can participate in the political process at 

16 all levels including the right to vote and to run 

17 for elected office; 

18 (D) supporting legal reforms that ensure 

19 protection for the civil and political rights of all 

20 individuals in Burma, including reforms to laws 

21 that criminalize the exercise of human rights 

22 and fundamental freedoms, and strengthening 

23 respect for and protection of human rights, in24 cluding freedom of religion or belief; 


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1 (E) securing the unconditional release of 

2 all prisoners of conscience and political pris3 oners in Burma; 

4 (F) strengthening Burma’s civilian govern5 mental institutions, including support for great6 er transparency and accountability once the 

7 military is no longer in power; 

8 (G) empowering and resourcing local com9 munities, civil society organizations, and inde10 pendent media; 

11 (H) promoting national reconciliation and 

12 the conclusion and credible implementation of a 

13 nationwide cease-fire agreement, followed by a 

14 peace process that is inclusive of ethnic 

15 Rohingya, Shan, Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, and 

16 Kayin, and other ethnic groups and leads to the 

17 development of a political system that effec18 tively addresses natural resource governance, 

19 revenue-sharing, land rights, and constitutional 

20 change enabling inclusive peace; 

21 (I) ensuring the protection and non22 refoulement of refugees fleeing Burma to neigh23 boring countries and prioritizing efforts to cre24 ate a conducive environment and meaningfully 

25 address long-standing structural challenges that 


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1 undermine the safety and rights of Rohingya in 

2 Rakhine State as well as members of other eth3 nic and religious minorities in Burma, including 

4 by creating conditions for the dignified, safe, 

5 sustainable, and voluntary return of refugees in 

6 Bangladesh, Thailand, and in the surrounding 

7 region, and offering compensation or restitution 

8 to those who do not want to return; 

9 (J) supporting an immediate end to re10 strictions that hinder the freedom of movement 

11 of members of ethnic minorities throughout the 

12 country, including Rohingya, and an end to any 

13 and all policies and practices designed to forc14 ibly segregate Rohingya, and providing humani15 tarian support for all internally displaced per16 sons in Burma; 

17 (K) ensuring humanitarian actors, media, 

18 and human rights mechanisms, including those 

19 established by the United Nations Human 

20 Rights Council and the United Nations General 

21 Assembly, have full and unhindered humani22 tarian access to all relevant areas of Burma, in23 cluding Rakhine, Chin, Kachin, Shan, and 

24 Kayin States; 


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1 (L) ensuring accountability through inde2 pendent, credible international investigations 

3 for any potential genocide, war crimes, and 

4 crimes against humanity, including those involv5 ing sexual and gender-based violence and vio6 lence against children, perpetrated against eth7 nic minorities, including Rohingya, by members 

8 of the military and security forces of Burma, 

9 and other armed groups involved in conflict; 

10 (M) ensuring the military, security, and 

11 police forces operate under civilian control and 

12 are held accountable in civilian courts for 

13 human rights abuses, corruption, and other 

14 abuses of power; 

15 (N) promoting broad-based, inclusive eco16 nomic development and fostering healthy and 

17 resilient communities; 

18 (O) combating corruption and illegal eco19 nomic activity, including that which involves the 

20 military and its close allies; and 

21 (P) promoting responsible international 

22 and regional engagement; 

23 (4) to support and advance the strategy of cali24 brated engagement, impose targeted sanctions with 

25 respect to the Burmese military’s economic interests 


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1 and major sources of income for the Burmese mili2 tary, including with respect to— 

3 (A) officials in Burma, including the Com4 mander in Chief of the Armed Forces of 

5 Burma, Min Aung Hlaing, and all individuals 

6 described in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of sec7 tion 202(a), under the authorities provided by 

8 title II, Executive Order 14014, and the Global 

9 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act 

10 (subtitle F of title XII of Public Law 114–328; 

11 22 U.S.C. 2656 note); 

12 (B) enterprises owned or controlled by the 

13 Burmese military, including the Myanmar Eco14 nomic Corporation, Union of Myanmar Eco15 nomic Holding, Ltd., and all other entities de16 scribed in section 202(a)(4), under the authori17 ties provided by title II, the Burmese Freedom 

18 and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 108– 

19 61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note), the Tom Lantos 

20 Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s Anti-Demo21 cratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (Public Law 110– 

22 286; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note), other relevant stat23 utory authorities, and Executive Order 14014; 

24 and 


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1 (C) state-owned economic enterprises if the 

2 Secretary of the Treasury or other competent 

3 authority determines that— 

4 (i) there is a substantial risk of the 

5 Burmese military accessing the accounts of 

6 such an enterprise; and 

7 (ii) the imposition of sanctions would 

8 not cause disproportionate harm to the 

9 people of Burma, the restoration of a civil10 ian government in Burma, or the national 

11 interest of the United States; and 

12 (5) to ensure that any sanctions imposed with 

13 respect to entities or individuals are carefully tar14 geted to maximize impact on the military and secu15 rity forces of Burma and its economic interests while 

16 minimizing impact on the people of Burma, recog17 nizing the calls from the people of Burma for the 

18 United States to take action against the sources of 

19 income for the military and security forces of 

20 Burma. 


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1 TITLE II—SANCTIONS AND IM2 PORT RESTRICTIONS WITH 

3 RESPECT TO BURMA 

4 Subtitle A—Imposition of Sanctions 

5 SEC. 201. DEFINITIONS. 

6 In this subtitle: 

7 (1) ADMITTED; ALIEN.—The terms ‘‘admitted’’ 

8 and ‘‘alien’’ have the meanings given those terms in 

9 section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act 

10 (8 U.S.C. 1101). 

11 (2) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT12 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com13 mittees’’ means— 

14 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

15 and the Committee on Banking, Housing, and 

16 Urban Affairs of the Senate; and 

17 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

18 the Committee on Financial Services of the 

19 House of Representatives. 

20 (3) CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAYABLE21 THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘correspondent ac22 count’’ and ‘‘payable-through account’’ have the 

23 meanings given those terms in section 5318A of title 

24 31, United States Code. 


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1 (4) FOREIGN FINANCIAL INSTITUTION.—The 

2 term ‘‘foreign financial institution’’ has the meaning 

3 of that term as determined by the Secretary of the 

4 Treasury by regulation. 

5 (5) FOREIGN PERSON.—The term ‘‘foreign per6 son’’ means a person that is not a United States 

7 person. 

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

9 respect to conduct, a circumstance, or a result, 

10 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

11 have known, of the conduct, the circumstance, or the 

12 result. 

13 (7) PERSON.—The term ‘‘person’’ means an in14 dividual or entity. 

15 (8) SUPPORT.—The term ‘‘support’’, with re16 spect to the Burmese military, means to knowingly 

17 have materially assisted, sponsored, or provided fi18 nancial, material, or technological support for, or 

19 goods or services to or in support of the Burmese 

20 military. 

21 (9) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

22 ‘‘United States person’’ means— 

23 (A) a United States citizen or an alien law24 fully admitted to the United States for perma25 nent residence; 


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1 (B) an entity organized under the laws of 

2 the United States or any jurisdiction within the 

3 United States, including a foreign branch of 

4 such an entity; or 

5 (C) any person in the United States. 

6 SEC. 202. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 

7 HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND PERPETRATION 

8 OF A COUP IN BURMA. 

9 (a) MANDATORY SANCTIONS.—Not later than 30 

10 days after the enactment of this Act, the President shall 

11 impose the sanctions described in subsection (d) with re12 spect to any foreign person that the President deter13 mines— 

14 (1) knowingly operates or operated in the de15 fense sector of the Burmese economy; 

16 (2) is responsible for or complicit in, or has di17 rectly or indirectly and knowingly engaged or at18 tempted to engage in— 

19 (A) actions or policies that undermine 

20 democratic processes or institutions in Burma; 

21 (B) actions or policies that threaten the 

22 peace, security, or stability of Burma; 

23 (C) actions or policies that prohibit, limit, 

24 or penalize the exercise of freedom of expression 

25 or assembly by people in Burma, or that limit 


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1 access to print, online, or broadcast media in 

2 Burma; or 

3 (D) the arbitrary detention or torture of 

4 any person in Burma or other serious human 

5 rights abuse in Burma; 

6 (3) to knowingly be or have been a senior leader 

7 or official of— 

8 (A) the Burmese military or security forces 

9 of Burma, or any successor entity to any of 

10 such forces; 

11 (B) the State Administration Council, the 

12 military-appointed cabinet at the level of Dep13 uty Minister or higher, or a military-appointed 

14 minister of a Burmese state or region; or 

15 (C) an entity that has, or whose members 

16 have, engaged in any activity described in para17 graph (2); 

18 (4) knowingly operates— 

19 (A) any entity that is a state-owned eco20 nomic enterprise under Burmese law (other 

21 than the entity specified in subsection (c)) that 

22 benefits the Burmese military, including the 

23 Myanma Gems Enterprise; or 

24 (B) any entity controlled in whole or in 

25 part by an entity described in subparagraph 


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1 (A), or a successor to such an entity, that bene2 fits the Burmese military; 

3 (5) knowingly and materially violates, attempts 

4 to violate, conspires to violate, or has caused or at5 tempted to cause a violation of any license, order, 

6 regulation, or prohibition contained in or issued pur7 suant to Executive Order 14014 or this Act; 

8 (6) to be an adult family member of any person 

9 described in any of paragraphs (1) through (5); 

10 (7) knowingly facilitates a significant trans11 action or transactions for or on behalf of a person 

12 described, or a person that has engaged in the activ13 ity described, as the case may be, in any of para14 graphs (1) through (6); 

15 (8) to be owned or controlled by, or to have 

16 acted for or on behalf of, directly or indirectly, a 

17 person described, or a person that has engaged in 

18 the activity described, as the case may be, in any of 

19 paragraphs (1) through (6); or 

20 (9) to have knowingly and materially assisted, 

21 sponsored, or provided financial, material, or techno22 logical support for, or goods or services to or in sup23 port of, a person described, or a person that has en24 gaged in the activity described, as the case may be, 

25 in any of paragraphs (1) through (6). 


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1 (b) ADDITIONAL MEASURE RELATING TO FACILITA2 TION OF TRANSACTIONS.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

3 shall, in consultation with the Secretary of State, prohibit 

4 or impose strict conditions on the opening or maintaining 

5 in the United States of a correspondent account or pay6 able-through account by a foreign financial institution 

7 that the President determines has, on or after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, knowingly conducted or fa9 cilitated a significant transaction or transactions on behalf 

10 of a foreign person described in subsection (a). 

11 (c) DISCRETIONARY SANCTIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—Beginning on the date that 

13 is 60 days after the date of the enactment of this 

14 Act, the President may impose the sanctions de15 scribed in subsection (d) with respect to the 

16 Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise if the President de17 termines and certifies to the appropriate congres18 sional committees, not later than 30 days before im19 posing such sanctions, that imposing sanctions with 

20 respect to the Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise— 

21 (A) would reduce the ability of the Bur22 mese military to engage in the activities de23 scribed in subparagraphs (A) through (D) of 

24 subsection (a)(2); 


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1 (B) would bring benefits to the people of 

2 Burma that exceed the potential negative im3 pacts of the sanctions on the humanitarian and 

4 economic outlook of the people of Burma; and 

5 (C) is in the national interest of the 

6 United States. 

7 (2) LICENSES.—The Secretary of the Treasury 

8 may grant a license to allow the Myanma Oil and 

9 Gas Enterprise and a joint venture in which the 

10 Myanma Oil and Gas Enterprise participates to con11 tinue operating in a manner that does not provide 

12 revenue or other economic benefits to the Burmese 

13 military or members of the Burmese military. 

14 (d) SANCTIONS DESCRIBED.—The sanctions that 

15 may be imposed with respect to a foreign person described 

16 in subsection (a) or (c) are the following: 

17 (1) PROPERTY BLOCKING.—Notwithstanding 

18 the requirements of section 202 of the International 

19 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701), 

20 the President may exercise of all powers granted to 

21 the President by that Act to the extent necessary to 

22 block and prohibit all transactions in all property 

23 and interests in property of the foreign person if 

24 such property and interests in property are in the 

25 United States, come within the United States, or are 


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1 or come within the possession or control of a United 

2 States person. 

3 (2) FOREIGN EXCHANGE.—The President may, 

4 pursuant to such regulations as the President may 

5 prescribe, prohibit any transactions in foreign ex6 change that are subject to the jurisdiction of the 

7 United States and in which the foreign person has 

8 any interest. 

9 (3) ALIENS INADMISSIBLE FOR VISAS, ADMIS10 SION, OR PAROLE.— 

11 (A) IN GENERAL.—An alien described in 

12 subsection (a) is— 

13 (i) inadmissible to the United States; 

14 (ii) ineligible for a visa or travel to the 

15 United States; and 

16 (iii) otherwise ineligible to be admitted 

17 or paroled into the United States or to re18 ceive any other benefit under the Immigra19 tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101 et 

20 seq.). 

21 (B) CURRENT VISAS REVOKED.— 

22 (i) IN GENERAL.—The visa or other 

23 documentation issued to an alien described 

24 in subsection (a) shall be revoked, regardVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:29 Oct 06, 2021 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00029 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2937.IS S2937

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1 less of when such visa or other documenta2 tion is or was issued. 

3 (ii) EFFECT OF REVOCATION.—A visa 

4 or other entry documentation revoked 

5 under clause (i) shall, in accordance with 

6 section 221(i) of the Immigration and Na7 tionality Act (8 U.S.C. 1201(i)), no longer 

8 be valid for travel to the United States. 

9 (e) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 (1) EXCEPTION FOR INTELLIGENCE, LAW EN11 FORCEMENT, AND NATIONAL SECURITY ACTIVI12 TIES.—Sanctions under this section shall not apply 

13 to any authorized intelligence, law enforcement, or 

14 national security activities of the United States. 

15 (2) EXCEPTION TO COMPLY WITH UNITED NA16 TIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREEMENT.—Sanctions 

17 under subsection (d)(3) shall not apply with respect 

18 to the admission of an alien to the United States if 

19 the admission of the alien is necessary to permit the 

20 United States to comply with the Agreement regard21 ing the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed 

22 at Lake Success June 26, 1947, and entered into 

23 force November 21, 1947, between the United Na24 tions and the United States, the Convention on Con25 sular Relations, done at Vienna April 24, 1963, and 


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1 entered into force March 19, 1967, or other applica2 ble international obligations. 

3 (f) WAIVER.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, on a 

5 case-by-case basis and for periods not to exceed 180 

6 days each, waive the application of sanctions or re7 strictions imposed with respect to a foreign person 

8 under this section if the President certifies to the 

9 appropriate congressional committees not later than 

10 15 days before such waiver is to take effect that the 

11 waiver is vital to the national security interests of 

12 the United States. 

13 (2) SUNSET.—The authority to issue a waiver 

14 under paragraph (1) shall terminate on the date 

15 that is 2 years after the date of enactment of this 

16 Act. 

17 (g) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

18 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex19 ercise all authorities provided to the President under 

20 sections 203 and 205 of the International Emer21 gency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 

22 1704) to carry out this subtitle. 

23 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at24 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

25 violation of this subtitle or any regulation, license, or 


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1 order issued to carry out this subtitle shall be sub2 ject to the penalties set forth in subsections (b) and 

3 (c) of section 206 of the International Emergency 

4 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same 

5 extent as a person that commits an unlawful act de6 scribed in subsection (a) of that section. 

7 (h) REPORT.—Not later than 60 days after the date 

8 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of the Treas9 ury, in consultation with the Secretary of State and the 

10 heads of other United States Government agencies, as ap11 propriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

12 committees a report that— 

13 (1) sets forth the plan of the Department of the 

14 Treasury for ensuring that property blocked pursu15 ant to subsection (a) or Executive Order 14014 re16 mains blocked; 

17 (2) describes the primary sources of income to 

18 which the Burmese military has access and that the 

19 United States has been unable to reach using sanc20 tions authorities; 

21 (3) makes recommendations for how the sources 

22 of income described in paragraph (2) can be reduced 

23 or blocked; and 

24 (4) evaluates the implications of imposing sanc25 tions on the Burmese-government owned Myanmar 


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1 Oil and Gas Enterprise, including a determination 

2 with respect to the extent to which sanctions on 

3 Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise would advance the 

4 interests of the United States in Burma. 

5 SEC. 203. AUTHORIZATION TO PROHIBIT IMPORTS FROM 

6 THE BURMESE GEMSTONE SECTOR. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—The President may prohibit all 

8 imports of precious and semi-precious gemstones from 

9 Burma into the United States. 

10 (b) TERMINATION.—This section shall terminate on 

11 the date on which the President submits to the appro12 priate congressional committees a certification that— 

13 (1) the Burmese military has released all polit14 ical prisoners taken into custody on or after Feb15 ruary 1, 2021; 

16 (2) the elected government has been reinstated 

17 or new free and fair elections have been held; 

18 (3) all legal charges against those winning elec19 tion in November 2020 are dropped; 

20 (4) the 2008 Constitution of Burma has been 

21 amended or replaced to place the Burmese military 

22 under civilian oversight and the Burmese military no 

23 longer automatically receives 25 percent of seats in 

24 Burma’s state, regional, and national Hluttaws; 


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1 (5) that the gemstone sector of Burma is free 

2 from the influence of the Burmese military and that 

3 none of the entities described in section 202(a) hold 

4 gemstone permits; 

5 (6) Burma has been re-admitted to the Extrac6 tive Industries Transparency Initiative; 

7 (7) all entities participating in the gemstone 

8 sector in Burma have publicly disclosed their bene9 ficial ownership consistent with requirements set 

10 forth in the guidelines of the Extractive Industries 

11 Transparency Initiative; 

12 (8) the licensing and permitting process is con13 ducted in a transparent and open manner, with con14 tracts disclosed publicly; and 

15 (9) the Myanma Gems Enterprise no longer 

16 acts as both a regulator and commercial partner in 

17 mining enterprises. 

18 SEC. 204. CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENT FOR REMOVAL 

19 OF CERTAIN PERSONS FROM THE LIST OF 

20 SPECIALLY DESIGNATED NATIONALS AND 

21 BLOCKED PERSONS. 

22 (a) IN GENERAL.—On or after the date of the enact23 ment of this Act, the President may not remove a person 

24 described in subsection (b) from the list of specially des25 ignated nationals and blocked persons maintained by the 


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1 Office of Foreign Assets Control of the Department of the 

2 Treasury (commonly referred to as the ‘‘SDN list’’) until 

3 the President submits to the appropriate congressional 

4 committees a certification described in subsection (c) with 

5 respect to the person. 

6 (b) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person described in 

7 this subsection is a foreign person included in the SDN 

8 list for violations of part 525 of title 31, Code of Federal 

9 Regulations, or any other regulations imposing sanctions 

10 on or related to Burma. 

11 (c) CERTIFICATION DESCRIBED.—A certification de12 scribed in this subsection, with respect to a person de13 scribed in subsection (b), is a certification that the person 

14 has not knowingly assisted in, sponsored, or provided fi15 nancial, material, or technological support for, or financial 

16 or other services to or in support of— 

17 (1) terrorism or a terrorist organization; 

18 (2) a significant foreign narcotics trafficker (as 

19 defined in section 808 of the Foreign Narcotics 

20 Kingpin Designation Act (21 U.S.C. 1907)); 

21 (3) a significant transnational criminal organi22 zation under Executive Order 13581 (50 U.S.C. 

23 1701 note; relating to blocking property of 

24 transnational criminal organizations); or 

25 (4) any other person on the SDN list. 


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1 (d) FORM.—A certification described in subsection 

2 (c) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include 

3 a classified annex. 

4 SEC. 205. SUNSET. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The authority to impose sanctions 

6 under this title shall terminate on the date that is 8 years 

7 after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (b) CONTINUATION IN EFFECT OF SANCTIONS.— 

9 Sanctions imposed under this subtitle on or before the 

10 date specified in subsection (a), and in effect as of such 

11 date, shall remain in effect until the date on which the 

12 President submits to the appropriate congressional com13 mittees a certification that— 

14 (1) the Burmese military has released all polit15 ical prisoners taken into custody on or after Feb16 ruary 1, 2021; 

17 (2) the elected government has been reinstated 

18 or new free and fair elections have been held; 

19 (3) all legal charges against those winning elec20 tion in November 2020 are dropped; and 

21 (4) the 2008 Constitution of Burma has been 

22 amended or replaced to place the Burmese military 

23 under civilian oversight and the Burmese military no 

24 longer automatically receives 25 percent of seats in 

25 Burma’s state, regional, and national Hluttaws. 


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1 Subtitle B—Coordination of 

2 Sanctions 

3 SEC. 211. SANCTIONS AND POLICY COORDINATION FOR 

4 BURMA. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State may des6 ignate an official of the Department of State to serve as 

7 the United States Special Coordinator for Burmese De8 mocracy (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Special Coordi9 nator’’). 

10 (b) CENTRAL OBJECTIVE.—The Special Coordinator 

11 should develop a comprehensive strategy for the implemen12 tation of the full range of United States diplomatic capa13 bilities, including the provisions of this Act, to promote 

14 human rights and the restoration of civilian government 

15 in Burma. 

16 (c) DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Special 

17 Coordinator should, as appropriate, assist in— 

18 (1) coordinating the sanctions policies of the 

19 United States under section 202 with relevant bu20 reaus and offices within the Department of State, 

21 other relevant United States Government agencies, 

22 and international financial institutions; 

23 (2) conducting relevant research and vetting of 

24 entities and individuals that may be subject to sanc25 tions under section 202 and coordinate with other 


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1 United States Government agencies and inter2 national financial intelligence units to assist in ef3 forts to enforce anti-money laundering and anti-cor4 ruption laws and regulations; 

5 (3) promoting a comprehensive international ef6 fort to impose and enforce multilateral sanctions 

7 with respect to Burma; 

8 (4) coordinating with and supporting inter9 agency United States Government efforts, including 

10 efforts of the United States Ambassador to Burma 

11 and the United States Permanent Representative to 

12 the United Nations, relating to— 

13 (A) identifying opportunities to coordinate 

14 with and exert pressure on the governments of 

15 the People’s Republic of China and the Russian 

16 Federation to support multilateral action 

17 against the Burmese military; 

18 (B) working with like-minded partners to 

19 impose a coordinated arms embargo on the 

20 Burmese military and targeted sanctions on the 

21 economic interests of the Burmese military, in22 cluding through the introduction and adoption 

23 of a United Nations Security Council resolu24 tion; 


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1 (C) engaging in direct dialogue with Bur2 mese civil society, democracy advocates, ethnic 

3 minority representative groups, and organiza4 tions or groups representing the protest move5 ment and the officials elected in 2020, such as 

6 the Committee Representing the Pyidaungsu 

7 Hluttaw, the National Unity Government, the 

8 National Unity Consultative Council, and their 

9 designated representatives; 

10 (D) encouraging the National Unity Gov11 ernment to incorporate accountability mecha12 nisms in relation to the atrocities against 

13 Rohingya and other ethnic groups, to take fur14 ther steps to make its leadership and member15 ship ethnically diverse, and to incorporate 

16 measures to enhance ethnic reconciliation and 

17 national unity into its policy agenda; 

18 (E) assisting efforts by the relevant United 

19 Nations Special Envoys and Special 

20 Rapporteurs to secure the release of all political 

21 prisoners in Burma, promote respect for human 

22 rights, and encourage dialogue; and 

23 (F) supporting nongovernmental organiza24 tions operating in Burma and neighboring 

25 countries working to restore civilian democratic 


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1 rule to Burma and to address the urgent hu2 manitarian needs of the people of Burma; and 

3 (5) providing timely input for reporting on the 

4 impacts of the implementation of sections 202 and 

5 203 on the Burmese military and the people of 

6 Burma. 

7 TITLE III—HUMANITARIAN AS8 SISTANCE AND CIVIL SOCI9 ETY SUPPORT WITH RESPECT 

10 TO BURMA 

11 SEC. 301. SUPPORT TO CIVIL SOCIETY AND INDEPENDENT 

12 MEDIA. 

13 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE SUPPORT.—The 

14 Secretary of State and the Administrator of the United 

15 States Agency for International Development are author16 ized to provide support to civil society in Burma, Ban17 gladesh, Thailand, and the surrounding region, including 

18 by— 

19 (1) ensuring the safety of democracy activists, 

20 civil society leaders, independent media, participants 

21 in the Civil Disobedience Movement, and government 

22 defectors exercising their fundamental rights by— 

23 (A) supporting safe houses for those under 

24 threat of arbitrary arrest or detention; 


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1 (B) providing access to secure channels for 

2 communication; 

3 (C) assisting individuals forced to flee from 

4 Burma and take shelter in neighboring coun5 tries, including in ensuring protection assist6 ance and non-refoulement; and 

7 (D) providing funding to organizations 

8 that equip activists, civil society organizations, 

9 and independent media with consistent, long10 term technical support on physical and digital 

11 security in local languages; 

12 (2) supporting democracy activists in their ef13 forts to promote freedom, democracy, and human 

14 rights in Burma, by— 

15 (A) providing aid and training to democ16 racy activists in Burma; 

17 (B) providing aid to individuals and groups 

18 conducting democracy programming outside of 

19 Burma targeted at a peaceful transition to con20 stitutional democracy inside Burma; 

21 (C) providing aid and assistance to inde22 pendent media outlets and journalists and 

23 groups working to protect internet freedom and 

24 maintain independent media; 


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1 (D) expanding radio and television broad2 casting into Burma; and 

3 (E) providing financial support to civil so4 ciety organizations and nongovernmental orga5 nizations led by members of ethnic and religious 

6 minority groups within Burma and its cross7 border regions; 

8 (3) assisting ethnic minority groups and civil 

9 society in Burma to further prospects for justice, 

10 reconciliation, and sustainable peace; and 

11 (4) promoting ethnic minority inclusion and 

12 participation in political processes in Burma. 

13 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

14 are authorized to be appropriated $50,000,000 to carry 

15 out the provisions of this section for each of fiscal years 

16 2022 through 2027. 

17 SEC. 302. HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND RECONCILI18 ATION. 

19 (a) AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN

20 ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of State and the Adminis21 trator of the United States Agency for International De22 velopment are authorized to provide humanitarian assist23 ance and reconciliation activities for ethnic groups and 

24 civil society organizations in Burma, Bangladesh, Thai25 land, and the surrounding region, including— 


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1 (1) assistance for victims of violence by the 

2 Burmese military, including Rohingya and individ3 uals from other ethnic minorities displaced or other4 wise affected by conflict, in Burma, Bangladesh, 

5 Thailand, and the surrounding region; 

6 (2) support for voluntary resettlement or repa7 triation of displaced individuals in Burma, upon the 

8 conclusion of genuine agreements developed and ne9 gotiated with the involvement and consultation of 

10 the displaced individuals and if resettlement or repa11 triation is safe, voluntary, and dignified; 

12 (3) support for the promotion of ethnic and re13 ligious tolerance, improving social cohesion, com14 bating gender-based violence, increasing the engage15 ment of women in peacebuilding, and mitigating 

16 human rights violations and abuses against children; 

17 (4) support for— 

18 (A) primary, secondary, and tertiary edu19 cation for displaced children living in areas of 

20 Burma affected by conflict; and 

21 (B) refugee camps in the surrounding re22 gion and opportunities to access to higher edu23 cation in Bangladesh and Thailand; 

24 (5) capacity-building support— 


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1 (A) to ensure that displaced individuals are 

2 consulted and participate in decision-making 

3 processes affecting the displaced individuals; 

4 and 

5 (B) for the creation of mechanisms to fa6 cilitate the participation of displaced individuals 

7 in such processes; and 

8 (6) increased humanitarian aid to Burma to ad9 dress the dire humanitarian situation that has up10 rooted 170,000 people through— 

11 (A) international aid partners such as 

12 agencies of the United Nations; 

13 (B) the International Committee of the 

14 Red Cross; and 

15 (C) cross-border aid. 

16 (b) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.—There 

17 are authorized to be appropriated $220,500,000 to carry 

18 out the provisions of this section for fiscal year 2022. 

19 SEC. 303. AUTHORIZATION OF ASSISTANCE FOR BURMA PO20 LITICAL PRISONERS. 

21 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con22 gress that— 

23 (1) the freedom of expression is an inalienable 

24 right; 


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1 (2) the Government of Burma must imme2 diately drop defamation charges against all individ3 uals unjustly detained, including the 3 Kachin activ4 ists, Lum Zawng, Nang Pu, and Zau Jet, who led 

5 a peaceful rally in Mytkyina, the capital of Kachin 

6 State in April 2018, and that the prosecution of 

7 Lum Zawng, Nang Pu, and Zau Jet is an attempt 

8 by Burmese authorities to intimidate, harass, and si9 lence community leaders and human rights defend10 ers who speak out about military abuses and their 

11 impact on civilian populations; 

12 (3) freedom of expression, including for mem13 bers of the press, is a human right and should be 

14 upheld and protected in Burma and everywhere, and 

15 Burmese authorities must immediately cease the ar16 bitrary arrest, detention, imprisonment, and physical 

17 attacks of journalists, which have created a climate 

18 of fear and self-censorship among local journalists; 

19 and 

20 (4) the Burmese military should immediately 

21 and unconditionally release Danny Fester and other 

22 journalists unjustly detained for their work. 

23 (b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

24 United States that— 


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1 (1) all prisoners of conscience and political pris2 oners in Burma should be unconditionally and im3 mediately released; 

4 (2) all diplomatic tools of the United States 

5 should be invoked to ensure that all prisoners of 

6 conscience and political prisoners in Burma are re7 leased; and 

8 (3) the Government of Burma should repeal or 

9 amend all laws that violate the right to freedom of 

10 expression, peaceful assembly, or association, and 

11 ensure that laws such as the Telecommunications 

12 Law of 2013 and the Unlawful Associations Act of 

13 1908, and laws relating to the right to peaceful as14 sembly all comply with Burma’s human rights obli15 gations. 

16 (c) POLITICAL PRISONERS ASSISTANCE.—The Sec17 retary of State is authorized to continue to provide assist18 ance to civil society organizations in Burma that work to 

19 secure the release of and support prisoners of conscience 

20 and political prisoners in Burma, including— 

21 (1) support for the documentation of human 

22 rights violations with respect to prisoners of con23 science and political prisoners; 


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1 (2) support for advocacy in Burma to raise 

2 awareness of issues relating to prisoners of con3 science and political prisoners; 

4 (3) support for efforts to repeal or amend laws 

5 that are used to imprison individuals as prisoners of 

6 conscience or political prisoners; 

7 (4) support for health, including mental health, 

8 and post-incarceration assistance in gaining access 

9 to education and employment opportunities or other 

10 forms of reparation to enable former prisoners of 

11 conscience and political prisoners to resume normal 

12 lives; and 

13 (5) the creation, in consultation with former po14 litical prisoners and prisoners of conscience, their 

15 families, and their representatives, of an inde16 pendent prisoner review mechanism in Burma— 

17 (A) to review the cases of individuals who 

18 may have been charged or deprived of their lib19 erty for peacefully exercising their human 

20 rights; 

21 (B) to review all laws used to arrest, pros22 ecute, and punish individuals as political pris23 oners and prisoners of conscience; and 


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1 (C) to provide recommendations to the 

2 Government of Burma for the repeal or amend3 ment of all such laws. 

4 (d) TERMINATION.—The authority to provide assist5 ance under this section shall terminate on the date that 

6 is 8 years after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

7 TITLE IV—ACCOUNTABILITY 

8 FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES 

9 SEC. 401. EVALUATION OF ATTACKS AGAINST ROHINGYA IN 

10 BURMA. 

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

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

13 after consultation with the heads of other United States 

14 Government agencies represented on the Atrocity Early 

15 Warning Task Force and representatives of human rights 

16 organizations, as appropriate, shall submit to the appro17 priate congressional committees an evaluation of the per18 secution of, including attacks against, Rohingya in Burma 

19 by the Burmese military, including— 

20 (1) an assessment of whether the situation con21 stitutes genocide (as defined in section 1091 of title 

22 18, United States Code); and 

23 (2) a detailed description of any proposed atroc24 ities prevention response recommended by the Atroc25 ity Early Warning Task Force. 


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1 (b) FORM.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—The evaluation required by 

3 subsection (a) shall be submitted in unclassified 

4 form, but may include a classified annex as nec5 essary. 

6 (2) PUBLICATION OF UNCLASSIFIED POR7 TION.—The unclassified portion of the evaluation re8 quired by subsection (a) shall be posted on a publicly 

9 available internet website of the Department of 

10 State. 

11 (c) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE12 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres13 sional committees’’ means— 

14 (1) the Committee on Foreign Relations and 

15 the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and 

16 (2) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the 

17 Committee on Armed Services of the House of Rep18 resentatives. 

19 SEC. 402. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY FOR WAR CRIMES, 

20 CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY, AND GENOCIDE 

21 IN BURMA. 

22 (a) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 

23 United States— 

24 (1) to continue the support of ongoing mecha25 nisms and special procedures of the United Nations 


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1 Human Rights Council, including the United Na2 tions Independent Investigative Mechanism for 

3 Myanmar and the Special Rapporteur on the situa4 tion of human rights in Myanmar; and 

5 (2) to refute the credibility and impartiality of 

6 efforts sponsored by the Government of Burma, such 

7 as the Independent Commission of Enquiry, unless 

8 the United States Ambassador at Large for Global 

9 Criminal Justice determines the efforts to be cred10 ible and impartial and notifies the appropriate con11 gressional committees in writing and in unclassified 

12 form regarding that determination. 

13 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

14 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

15 of State, after consultation with the heads of other United 

16 States Government agencies, as appropriate, shall submit 

17 to the appropriate congressional committees a report 

18 that— 

19 (1) after consulting with the Atrocity Early 

20 Warning Task Force, or any successor entity or of21 fice, provides a detailed description of any proposed 

22 atrocity prevention response recommended by the 

23 Task Force; 

24 (2) summarizes any atrocity crimes committed 

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1 ity groups in Burma between 2012 and the date of 

2 the submission of the report; 

3 (3) describes any potential transitional justice 

4 mechanisms for Burma; 

5 (4) provides an analysis of whether the reports 

6 summarized under paragraph (2) amount to war 

7 crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide; and 

8 (5) includes a determination with respect to 

9 whether— 

10 (A) the persecution of, including attacks 

11 against, Rohingya in Burma by the Burmese 

12 military constitutes genocide; and 

13 (B) events that took place during or after 

14 the coup of February 1, 2021, in any state in 

15 Burma constitute war crimes or crimes against 

16 humanity. 

17 (c) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

18 (b) shall include the following: 

19 (1) A description of— 

20 (A) credible evidence of events that may 

21 constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, 

22 or genocide committed by the Burmese military 

23 against Rohingya and members of other ethnic 

24 minority groups, including the identities of any 

25 other actors involved in the events; 


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1 (B) the role of the civilian government in 

2 the commission of any events described in sub3 paragraph (A); 

4 (C) credible evidence of events of war 

5 crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide 

6 committed by other armed groups in Burma; 

7 (D) attacks on health workers, health fa8 cilities, health transport, or patients and, to the 

9 extent possible, the identities of any individuals 

10 who engaged in or organized such attacks in 

11 Burma; and 

12 (E) to the extent possible, the conventional 

13 and unconventional weapons used for any 

14 events or attacks described in this paragraph 

15 and the sources of such weapons. 

16 (2) In consultation with the Administrator of 

17 the United States Agency for International Develop18 ment, the Attorney General, and heads of any other 

19 appropriate United States Government agencies, as 

20 appropriate, a description and assessment of the ef21 fectiveness of any efforts undertaken by the United 

22 States to promote accountability for any atrocity 

23 crimes perpetrated against Rohingya by the Bur24 mese military, the government of the Rakhine State, 


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1 pro-government militias, or other armed groups op2 erating in the Rakhine State, including efforts— 

3 (A) to train civilian investigators, within 

4 and outside of Burma and Bangladesh, to docu5 ment, investigate, develop findings of, identify, 

6 and locate alleged perpetrators of war crimes, 

7 crimes against humanity, or genocide in Burma; 

8 (B) to promote and prepare for a transi9 tional justice mechanism for the perpetrators of 

10 war crimes, crimes against humanity, and geno11 cide occurring in the Rakhine State in 2017; 

12 and 

13 (C) to document, collect, preserve, and pro14 tect evidence of war crimes, crimes against hu15 manity, and genocide in Burma, including by— 

16 (i) providing support for ethnic 

17 Rohingya, Shan, Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, 

18 and Kayin and other ethnic minorities; 

19 (ii) Burmese, Bangladeshi, foreign, 

20 and international nongovernmental organi21 zations; 

22 (iii) the Independent Investigative 

23 Mechanism for Myanmar; and 

24 (iv) other entities engaged in inves25 tigative activities with respect to war 


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1 crimes, crimes against humanity, and 

2 genocide in Burma. 

3 (3) A detailed study of the feasibility and desir4 ability of a transitional justice mechanism for 

5 Burma, such as an international tribunal, a hybrid 

6 tribunal, or other options, that includes— 

7 (A) a discussion of the use of universal ju8 risdiction or of legal cases brought against 

9 Burma by other countries at the International 

10 Court of Justice regarding any atrocity crimes 

11 perpetrated in Burma; 

12 (B) recommendations for any transitional 

13 justice mechanism the United States should 

14 support, the reason the mechanism should be 

15 supported, and the type of support that should 

16 be offered; and 

17 (C) consultation regarding transitional jus18 tice mechanisms with representatives of 

19 Rohingya and individuals from other ethnic mi20 nority groups who have suffered human rights 

21 violations and abuses. 

22 (d) PROTECTION OF WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.— 

23 The Secretary of State shall seek to ensure that the identi24 fication of witnesses and physical evidence used for the 

25 report required by this section are not publicly disclosed 


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1 in a manner that might place witnesses at risk of harm 

2 or encourage the destruction of evidence by the military 

3 or government of Burma. 

4 (e) FORM OF REPORT; PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.— 

5 (1) FORM.—The report required by subsection 

6 (b) shall be submitted in unclassified form but may 

7 include a classified annex. 

8 (2) PUBLIC AVAILABILITY.—The unclassified 

9 portion of the report required by subsection (b) shall 

10 be posted on a publicly available internet website. 

11 (f) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMITTEES DE12 FINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate congres13 sional committees’’ means the Committee on Foreign Re14 lations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Af15 fairs of the House of Representatives. 

16 SEC. 403. AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE TECHNICAL AS17 SISTANCE FOR EFFORTS AGAINST HUMAN 

18 RIGHTS ABUSES. 

19 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State is author20 ized to provide assistance to support appropriate civilian 

21 or international entities that— 

22 (1) identify suspected perpetrators of war 

23 crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide; 


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

2 crimes and preserving the chain of custody for such 

3 evidence; 

4 (3) conduct criminal investigations of such 

5 crimes; and 

6 (4) support investigations conducted by other 

7 countries, and by entities mandated by the United 

8 Nations, such as the Independent Investigative 

9 Mechanism for Myanmar. 

10 (b) AUTHORIZATION FOR TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE

11 MECHANISMS.—The Secretary of State, taking into ac12 count any relevant findings in the report submitted under 

13 section 402, is authorized to provide support for the estab14 lishment and operation of transitional justice mechanisms, 

15 including a hybrid tribunal, to prosecute individuals sus16 pected of committing war crimes, crimes against human17 ity, or genocide in Burma. 

18 TITLE V—UNITED NATIONS 

19 ACTION 

20 SEC. 501. SUPPORT FOR GREATER UNITED NATIONS AC21 TION WITH RESPECT TO BURMA. 

22 (a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con23 gress that— 

24 (1) the United Nations Security Council has 

25 not taken adequate steps to condemn the February 


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1 1, 2021, coup in Burma, pressure the Burmese mili2 tary to cease its violence against civilians, or secure 

3 the release of those unjustly detained; and 

4 (2) countries, such as the People’s Republic of 

5 China and the Russian Federation, that are directly 

6 or indirectly shielding the Burmese military from 

7 international scrutiny and action, should be obliged 

8 to endure the reputational damage of doing so by 

9 taking public votes on resolutions related to Burma 

10 that apply greater pressure on the Burmese military 

11 to restore Burma to its democratic path. 

12 (b) SUPPORT FOR GREATER ACTION.—The President 

13 shall direct the United States Permanent Representative 

14 to the United Nations to use the voice, vote, and influence 

15 of the United States to spur greater action by the United 

16 Nations and the United Nations Security Council with re17 spect to Burma by— 

18 (1) pushing the United Nations Security Coun19 cil to consider a resolution condemning the February 

20 1, 2021, coup and calling on the Burmese military 

21 to cease its violence against the people of Burma 

22 and release without preconditions the journalists, 

23 pro-democracy activists, and political officials that it 

24 has unjustly detained; 


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1 (2) pushing the United Nations Security Coun2 cil to consider a resolution that immediately imposes 

3 a global arms embargo against Burma to ensure 

4 that the Burmese military is not able to obtain 

5 weapons and munitions from other nations to fur6 ther harm, murder, and oppress the people of 

7 Burma; 

8 (3) pushing the United Nations and other 

9 United Nations authorities to cut off assistance to 

10 the Government of Burma while providing humani11 tarian assistance directly to the people of Burma 

12 through civil society organizations, particularly such 

13 organizations working with ethnic minorities that 

14 have been adversely affected by the coup and the 

15 Burmese military’s violent crackdown; 

16 (4) objecting to the appointment of representa17 tives to the United Nations and United Nations bod18 ies such as the Human Rights Council that are 

19 sanctioned by the Burmese military; 

20 (5) working to ensure the Burmese military is 

21 not recognized as the legitimate government of 

22 Burma in any United Nations body; and 

23 (6) spurring the United Nations Security Coun24 cil to consider multilateral sanctions against the 

25 Burmese military for its atrocities against Rohingya 


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1 and individuals of other ethnic and religious minori2 ties, its coup, and the crimes against humanity it 

3 has and continues to commit in the coup’s after4 math. 

Æ 


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