III 

Calendar No. 26 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 35 

Condemning the military coup that took place on February 1, 2021, in 

Burma and the Burmese military’s detention of civilian leaders, calling 

for an immediate and unconditional release of all those detained and 

for those elected to serve in parliament to resume their duties without 

impediment, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 4, 2021 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. WYDEN, and Ms. 

COLLINS) submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

MARCH 24, 2021 

Reported by Mr. MENENDEZ, with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 

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

[Strike the preamble and insert the part printed in italic] 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the military coup that took place on February 

1, 2021, in Burma and the Burmese military’s detention 

of civilian leaders, calling for an immediate and unconditional release of all those detained and for those elected 

to serve in parliament to resume their duties without 

impediment, and for other purposes. 


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•SRES 35 RS 

Whereas Burma held general elections on November 8, 2020, 

that resulted in the National League for Democracy 

party securing enough seats to form the next government, which was set to convene on February 2, 2021; 

Whereas, on January 28, 2021, the Union Election Commission rejected allegations by the military of Burma (the 

‘‘Tatmadaw’’) that fraud played a significant role in determining the outcome of the November 2020 elections; 

Whereas, on February 1, 2021, the Tatmadaw and its 

aligned Union Solidarity and Development Party 

(‘‘USDP’’) conducted a military coup against the civilian 

government, resulting in the military illegally detaining 

State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win 

Myint, and members of Parliament, as well as pro-democracy activists from the 88 Generation and other civil society leaders; 

Whereas the Tatmadaw restricted freedom of movement, telecommunications, and the media, limiting access to information to and from Burma during a political and public 

health crisis; and 

Whereas senior generals of the Tatmadaw have been sanctioned by the United States Government for perpetrating 

gross human rights violations and are subject to ongoing 

investigations into their conduct by the International 

Criminal Court and the International Court of Justice: 

Now, therefore, be it 

Whereas Burma’s November 8, 2020, elections resulted in the 

National League for Democracy party securing enough 

seats in Parliament to form the next government, notwithstanding the disenfranchisement of more than 1,500,000 


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•SRES 35 RS 

voters, mostly from ethnic minority communities in 

Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Chin states; 

Whereas, on January 28, 2021, the Union Election Commission rejected allegations by the military of Burma (the 

‘‘Tatmadaw’’) that fraud played a significant role in determining the outcome of the November 2020 elections; 

Whereas, on February 1, 2021, the Tatmadaw and its aligned 

Union Solidarity and Development Party (‘‘USDP’’) conducted a military coup against the civilian government 

hours before Parliament was to convene in a new session, 

resulting in the military junta illegally detaining State 

Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win Myint, and 

members of Parliament, as well as pro-democracy activists 

from the 88 Generation and other civil society leaders; 

Whereas the Tatmadaw restricted freedom of movement, telecommunications, and the media, limiting access to information to and from Burma during a political and public 

health crisis; 

Whereas senior generals of the Tatmadaw have been sanctioned 

by the United States Government for serious human rights 

abuses and for their role in the coup and are subject to ongoing investigations into their conduct by the International Criminal Court and the International Court of 

Justice; 

Whereas, since August 25, 2017, 740,000 Rohingya have fled 

northern Rakhine State to neighboring Bangladesh to escape a systematic campaign of atrocities by Burma’s military and security forces, and over three years later, conditions are still not conducive to the safe, voluntary, and 

dignified return of the Rohingya to Burma; 


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Whereas, according to the Department of State’s August 24, 

2018, report entitled ‘‘Documentation of Atrocities in 

Northern Rakhine State’’, violence committed by the Burmese military (Tatmadaw) against the Rohingya, including from August to October 2017, was not only ‘‘extreme, 

large-scale, widespread, and seemingly geared toward both 

terrorizing the population and driving out the Rohingya 

residents,’’ but also ‘‘well-planned and coordinated’’; 

Whereas, on August 28, 2018, the United States Ambassador 

to the United Nations told the United Nations Security 

Council that the Department of State report’s findings 

were ‘‘consistent with’’ those in an August 27, 2018, report 

by the Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on 

Myanmar (IIFFMM) which urged that top Burmese military officials be investigated and prosecuted for genocide; 

and 

Whereas Secretary of State Antony Blinken committed at his 

nomination hearing before the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate on January 19, 2021, and in subsequent written responses to questions for the record, that he 

will oversee an interagency review of whether the atrocities 

committed against the Rohingya in Burma constitute 

genocide: Now therefore be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) stands with the people of Burma in their 

3 ambition for a genuine democracy, sustainable peace 

4 and genuine ethnic reconciliation, and the realization 

5 of fundamental human rights for all; 

6 (2) calls on the Tatmadaw to— 


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1 (A) immediately and unconditionally re2 lease all those detained as a result of the mili3 tary coup on February 1, 2021; 

4 (B) immediately restore all forms of com5 munications, including access to the internet; 

6 (C) remove all impediments to free travel 

7 that have been imposed as a result of the coup, 

8 separate from legitimate travel limits as a re9 sult of the COVID–19 pandemic; 

10 (D) return to power all members of the ci11 vilian government elected in the November 8, 

12 2020, elections and allow them to fulfill their 

13 mandate without impediment; 

14 (E) allow for freedom of expression, includ15 ing the right to protest, press freedom, and 

16 freedom of movement; and 

17 (F) allow unfettered reporting from local, 

18 national, and international media; 

19 (3) calls on social media companies, in par20 ticular Facebook, to suspend the accounts of USDP 

21 and Tatmadaw military leaders that have used their 

22 platforms to spread disinformation, fear, and psy23 chological violence; 

24 (4) supports the use of all diplomatic and devel25 opment tools to ensure that in conflict contexts vulVerDate Sep 11 2014 18:39 Mar 25, 2021 Jkt 019200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\SR35.RS SR35

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1 nerable groups, including ethnic and religious mi2 norities, as well as all children, youth, and teachers 

3 in educational settings are safe, and schools and uni4 versities are not targeted for attacks or use by the 

5 military; and 

6 (5) calls on the President, the Secretary of 

7 State, and the Secretary of Defense to immediately 

8 take all steps necessary under the coup designation 

9 and to— 

10 (A) reinstate and impose new targeted re11 strictions aimed at the Tatmadaw, military12 owned or controlled enterprises, and those re13 sponsible for the February 1, 2021, coup; 

14 (B) work with the international commu15 nity, including at the United Nations Security 

16 Council, with United States allies in the region, 

17 and with the Association of Southeast Asian 

18 Nations, to forcefully condemn the coup and 

19 enact multilateral, targeted sanctions on the 

20 military, military owned businesses, military 

21 partners’ business interests, and others con22 nected to the coup; 

23 (C) enact conditionality on diplomatic, eco24 nomic, and security relations with Burma, in25 cluding using the voice and vote of the United 


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1 States at multilateral development institutions, 

2 until all those detained in the February 1, 

3 2021, coup are released and there has been a 

4 full restoration of civilian-controlled parliament 

5 respecting the November 8, 2020, election re6 sults; and 

7 (D) utilize the United States Government’s 

8 position on the United Nations Security Council 

9 to bring about greater international cooperation 

10 in the pursuit of justice and accountability in 

11 Burma. 

12 That the Senate— 

13 (1) supports the people of Burma in their ambi14 tion for a genuine democracy, sustainable peace and 

15 genuine ethnic reconciliation, and the realization of 

16 fundamental human rights for all, including for eth17 nic minorities whose human rights have been violated 

18 repeatedly and who have been disenfranchised histori19 cally; 

20 (2) calls on the military junta to— 

21 (A) immediately and unconditionally re22 lease all those detained as a result of the mili23 tary coup on February 1, 2021; 


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1 (B) immediately restore all forms of com2 munications, including access to the internet 

3 without surveillance; 

4 (C) remove all impediments to free travel 

5 that have been imposed as a result of the coup; 

6 (D) return to power all members of the ci7 vilian government elected in the November 8, 

8 2020, elections and allow them to fulfill their 

9 mandate without impediment; 

10 (E) allow for freedom of expression, includ11 ing the right to protest, peaceful assembly, press 

12 freedom, and freedom of movement; and 

13 (F) allow unfettered reporting from local, 

14 national, and international media; 

15 (3) calls on social media companies to suspend 

16 the accounts of USDP and Tatmadaw military lead17 ers that have used their platforms to spread 

18 disinformation, fear, and psychological violence; 

19 (4) supports the use of all diplomatic and devel20 opment tools to ensure that vulnerable groups, includ21 ing ethnic and religious minorities, as well as all 

22 children, youth, and teachers in educational settings 

23 are safe, and schools and universities are not targeted 

24 for attacks or use by the military; 


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1 (5) expresses grave concern for the safety and se2 curity of hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees 

3 who previously fled the Tatmadaw, and now face 

4 challenging conditions in camps like Cox’s Bazar and 

5 Bhasan Char in Bangladesh or risk being turned 

6 away or moved into holding centers in other neigh7 boring countries; 

8 (6) calls on the President, the Secretary of State, 

9 and the Secretary of Defense to fully implement sec10 tion 7008 of the Department of State, Foreign Oper11 ations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 

12 2021 (division K of Public Law 116–260) and any 

13 similar or successor law governing United States for14 eign assistance following a coup d’etat, and to imme15 diately— 

16 (A) impose targeted restrictions aimed at 

17 the Tatmadaw, military-owned or controlled en18 terprises, and those responsible for the February 

19 1, 2021, coup; 

20 (B) work with the international commu21 nity, including at the United Nations Security 

22 Council, with United States allies in the region, 

23 and with the Association of Southeast Asian Na24 tions, to condemn the coup and take steps to en25 sure that international economic engagement in 


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1 Burma does not contribute to human rights 

2 abuses and enrich individuals connected to the 

3 coup; 

4 (C) support conditionality on diplomatic, 

5 economic, and security relations with Burma, 

6 including using the voice and vote of the United 

7 States at multilateral development institutions, 

8 until all those detained in the February 1, 2021, 

9 coup are released and there has been a full res10 toration of civilian-controlled parliament re11 specting the November 8, 2020, election results; 

12 and 

13 (D) utilize the United States Government’s 

14 position on the United Nations Security Council 

15 to bring about greater international cooperation 

16 in the pursuit of justice and accountability in 

17 Burma; and 

18 (7) urges the Secretary of State to swiftly con19 duct an Interagency Process and issue a determina20 tion as to whether the crimes committed by the Bur21 mese military against the Rohingya beginning in Au22 gust 2017 constitute crimes against humanity or 

23 genocide. 


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pamtmann on DSKBC07HB2PROD with BILLS
Calendar No. 26 

117TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 35 

RESOLUTION 

Condemning the military coup that took place on 

pediment, and for other purposes. parliament to resume their duties without imthose detained and for those elected to serve in an immediate and unconditional release of all military’s detention of civilian leaders, calling for February 1, 2021, in Burma and the Burmese 

MARCH 24, 2021 

Reported with an amendment and an amendment to the 

preamble 


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