II 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1186 

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

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

APRIL 11, 2019 

Mr. CARDIN (for himself, Mr. YOUNG, Mr. DURBIN, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. 

MERKLEY, Ms. COLLINS, Ms. CANTWELL, Mr. MURPHY, Mr. WYDEN, 

Mr. CASEY, Mr. MARKEY, Mr. KAINE, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. SCHATZ, Mr. 

COONS, and Mr. BOOKER) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

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 2019’’. 

6 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

7 Congress makes the following findings: 

8 (1) The United States policy of principled en9 gagement since 1988 has fostered positive demoVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Apr 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1186.IS S1186

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1 cratic reforms in Burma, but there remain impor2 tant structural, societal, and systemic impediments 

3 to the realization of a fully democratic civilian gov4 ernment. 

5 (2) On August 25, 2017, Burmese military 

6 forces initiated a violent crackdown in Burma’s 

7 Rakhine state, attacking police posts and inciting 

8 what was, for an extended period of time, the 

9 world’s fastest-growing refugee crisis. Refugee flows 

10 have since slowed down significantly, but continue to 

11 this day. 

12 (3) More than 727,000 Rohingya have fled to 

13 Bangladesh since August 2017, fearing loss of liveli14 hoods and shelter and disproportionate use of force 

15 by the military of Burma. As of January 2019, over 

16 900,000 Rohingya reside in refugee camps in Ban17 gladesh. 

18 (4) In April 2018, the Department of State de19 termined that ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya 

20 minority in Rakhine State occurred during the pre21 vious year, as documented in the annual Country 

22 Report on Human Rights Practices for Burma. 

23 (5) On December 21, 2017, and August 17, 

24 2018, using the authority granted by the Global 

25 Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act (subVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Apr 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00002 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1186.IS S1186

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1 title F of title XII of Public Law 114–328), the 

2 United States Government imposed sanctions on 

3 Maung Maung Soe and added Lt. General Aung 

4 Kyaw Zaw, Major General Khin Hlaing, Major Gen5 eral Khin Maung Soe, and Brigadier General Thura 

6 San Lwin, as well as the 33rd Light Infantry Divi7 sion and the 99th Light Infantry Division, to the 

8 Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. 

9 (6) On August 24, 2018, the United Nations 

10 Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on 

11 Myanmar issued a report stating that ‘‘there is suf12 ficient information to warrant the investigation and 

13 prosecution of senior officials in the Tatmadaw 

14 chain of command, so that a competent court can 

15 determine their liability for genocide in relation to 

16 the situation in Rakhine State’’. 

17 (7) On September 24, 2018, the Department of 

18 State released a report that laid out a compelling 

19 case for crimes against humanity committed by the 

20 Burmese military against Burma’s Rohingya popu21 lation in Rakhine state, while stopping short of a 

22 legal determination. 

23 (8) On September 28, 2018, the United Na24 tions Human Rights Council approved the establish25 ment of ‘‘an independent mechanism to collect and 


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1 analyze evidence in regard to the serious inter2 national crimes committed in Myanmar against 

3 Rohingya Muslims and other minorities since 2011’’. 

4 (9) Amnesty International and Human Rights 

5 Watch have reported and documented a campaign of 

6 violence perpetuated by the security forces of Burma 

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

8 ‘‘ethnic cleansing’’ and includes indiscriminate at9 tacks on civilians; rape of women and girls; and ar10 bitrary arrest and detention of Rohingya men with11 out charge. 

12 (10) The Government of Burma continues to 

13 block access to northern Rakhine State by United 

14 Nations and other humanitarian organizations, pre15 venting hundreds of thousands of vulnerable 

16 Rohingya, Rakhine, and other ethnic groups, includ17 ing children with acute malnutrition, from receiving 

18 humanitarian aid. 

19 (11) The people of Burma continue to suffer 

20 from ongoing armed conflict between the military of 

21 Burma, known as the Tatmadaw, the Arakan Army, 

22 and nearly 20 armed ethnic organizations. 

23 (12) Corruption and lack of transparency allow 

24 Burma’s military junta to use the trade of Burma’s 

25 natural resources, in particular jade and rubies, to 


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1 enrich notorious leaders, including former dictator 

2 Than Shwe and United States-sanctioned drug lord 

3 Hsueh Kang Wei. Vested interests in jade and ru4 bies undermine prospects for resolving the most in5 tractable armed conflict in Burma. 

6 (13) Any prospects for a full democracy in 

7 Burma are contingent on ending the civil wars and 

8 finding a path toward national reconciliation that 

9 builds respect for the dignity of Burma’s ethnic and 

10 religious minorities. 

11 SEC. 3. DEFINITIONS. 

12 In this Act: 

13 (1) APPROPRIATE CONGRESSIONAL COMMIT14 TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com15 mittees’’ means— 

16 (A) the Committee on Foreign Relations 

17 and the Committee on Armed Services of the 

18 Senate; and 

19 (B) the Committee on Foreign Affairs and 

20 the Committee on Armed Services of the House 

21 of Representatives. 

22 (2) CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY.—The term 

23 ‘‘crimes against humanity’’ includes, when com24 mitted as part of a widespread or systematic attack 


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1 directed against any civilian population, with knowl2 edge of the attack— 

3 (A) murder; 

4 (B) deportation or forcible transfer of pop5 ulation; 

6 (C) torture; 

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

8 of sexual violence of comparable severity; 

9 (E) persecution against any identifiable 

10 group or collectivity on political, racial, na11 tional, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender or 

12 other grounds that are universally recognized as 

13 impermissible under international law; and 

14 (F) enforced disappearance of persons. 

15 (3) GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘genocide’’ means 

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

17 United States Code. 

18 (4) TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘tran19 sitional justice’’ means the range of judicial, non20 judicial, formal, informal, retributive, and restorative 

21 measures employed by countries transitioning out of 

22 armed conflict or repressive regimes— 

23 (A) to redress legacies of atrocities; and 

24 (B) to promote long-term, sustainable 

25 peace. 


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1 (5) 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 in12 clude— 

13 (A) support for meaningful legal and con14 stitutional reforms that remove remaining re15 strictions on civil and political rights and insti16 tute civilian control of the military, civilian con17 trol of the government, and the constitutional 

18 provision reserving 25 percent of parliamentary 

19 seats for the military, which provides the mili20 tary with veto power over constitutional amend21 ments; 

22 (B) the establishment of a fully demo23 cratic, pluralistic, civilian controlled, and rep24 resentative political system that includes reguVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Apr 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00007 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1186.IS S1186

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

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

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

8 safe and voluntary return of displaced persons 

9 to villages of origins, and constitutional change 

10 allowing inclusive permanent peace; 

11 (D) independent and international inves12 tigations into credible reports of war crimes, 

13 crimes against humanity, including sexual and 

14 gender-based violence and genocide, perpetrated 

15 against ethnic minorities like the Rohingya by 

16 the government, military, and security forces of 

17 Burma, violent extremist groups, and other 

18 combatants involved in the conflict; 

19 (E) accountability for determinations of 

20 war crimes, crimes against humanity, including 

21 sexual and gender-based violence and genocide 

22 perpetrated against ethnic minorities like the 

23 Rohingya by the Government, military, and se24 curity forces of Burma, violent extremist 


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1 groups, and other combatants involved in the 

2 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 

10 society, and independent media; 

11 (I) promoting responsible international and 

12 regional engagement; 

13 (J) strengthening respect for and protec14 tion of human rights and religious freedom; 

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

17 supporting the return of the displaced Rohingya 

18 to their homes and granting or restoring full 

19 citizenship for the Rohingya population; and 

20 (L) promoting broad-based, inclusive eco21 nomic development and fostering healthy and 

22 resilient communities. 


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1 SEC. 5. AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS FOR HUMAN2 ITARIAN ASSISTANCE AND RECONCILIATION. 

3 There is authorized to be appropriated not less than 

4 $220,500,000 for fiscal year 2020 for humanitarian as5 sistance and reconciliation activities for ethnic groups and 

6 civil society organizations in Burma, Bangladesh, Thai7 land, and the region. The assistance may include— 

8 (1) assistance for the victims of the Burmese 

9 military’s crimes against humanity targeting 

10 Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in Rakhine 

11 State, Kachin, and Shan States, including those dis12 placed in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the re13 gion; 

14 (2) support for voluntary resettlement or repa15 triation in Burma, pending a genuine repatriation 

16 agreement that is developed and negotiated with 

17 Rohingya involvement and consultation; 

18 (3) assistance to promote ethnic and religious 

19 tolerance, to combat gender-based violence, and to 

20 support victims of violence and destruction in 

21 Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan States, including victims 

22 of gender-based violence and unaccompanied minors; 

23 (4) support for formal education for children 

24 currently living in the camps, and opportunities to 

25 access higher education in Bangladesh; 


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1 (5) support for programs to investigate and 

2 document allegations of war crimes and crimes 

3 against humanity, including sexual and gender-based 

4 violence and genocide committed in Burma; 

5 (6) assistance to ethnic groups and civil society 

6 in Burma to help sustain ceasefire agreements and 

7 further prospects for reconciliation and sustainable 

8 peace; and 

9 (7) promotion of ethnic minority inclusion and 

10 participation in Burma’s political processes. 

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 

23 conservation, cultural protection, and empowerment 

24 of local populations, including free, prior, and in25 formed 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, 

11 should— 

12 (1) ensure the dignified, safe, sustainable, and 

13 voluntary return of all those displaced from their 

14 homes, especially from Rakhine State, without an 

15 unduly high burden of proof, and the opportunity to 

16 obtain appropriate compensation to restart their 

17 lives in Burma; 

18 (2) ensure that those returning are granted or 

19 restored full citizenship and all the rights that ad20 here to citizenship in Burma; 

21 (3) offer to those who do not want to return 

22 meaningful opportunity to obtain appropriate com23 pensation or restitution; 

24 (4) not place returning Rohingya in internally 

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1 stead make efforts to reconstruct Rohingya villages 

2 as and where they were; 

3 (5) facilitate the return of any funds collected 

4 by the Government by harvesting the land previously 

5 owned and tended by Rohingya farmers for them 

6 upon their return; 

7 (6) fully implement all of the recommendations 

8 of the Advisory Commission on Rakhine State; and 

9 (7) ensure there is proper consultation, buy-in, 

10 and confidence building from the Rohingya refugee 

11 community on decisions being made on their behalf. 

12 (b) FREEDOM OF MOVEMENT OF REFUGEES AND IN13 TERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS.—Congress recognizes 

14 that the Government of Bangladesh has provided long15 standing support and hospitality to people fleeing violence 

16 in Burma, and calls on the Government of Bangladesh— 

17 (1) to ensure all refugees, including Rohingya 

18 persons living in camps in Bangladesh and in inter19 nally displaced persons camps in Burma, have free20 dom of movement, including outside of the camps, 

21 and under no circumstance are subject to unsafe, in22 voluntary, or uninformed repatriation; 

23 (2) to ensure the dignified, safe, sustainable, 

24 and voluntary return of those displaced from their 

25 homes, and offer to those who do not want to return 


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1 meaningful means to obtain compensation or restitu2 tion; and 

3 (3) to ensure the rights of refugees are pro4 tected, including through allowing them to build 

5 more permanent shelters, and ensuring equal access 

6 to healthcare, basic services, education, and work. 

7 SEC. 8. MILITARY COOPERATION. 

8 (a) PROHIBITION.—Except as provided under sub9 section (b), the President may not furnish any security 

10 assistance or engage in any military-to-military programs 

11 with the armed forces of Burma, including training or ob12 servation or participation in regional exercises, until the 

13 Secretary of State, in consultation with the Secretary of 

14 Defense, certifies to the appropriate congressional com15 mittees that the Burmese military has demonstrated sig16 nificant progress in abiding by international human rights 

17 standards and is undertaking meaningful and significant 

18 security sector reform, including transparency and ac19 countability to prevent future abuses, as determined by 

20 applying the following criteria: 

21 (1) The military adheres to international 

22 human rights standards and institutes meaningful 

23 internal reforms to stop future human rights viola24 tions. 


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1 (2) The military supports efforts to carry out 

2 meaningful and comprehensive independent and 

3 international investigations of credible reports of 

4 abuses and is holding accountable those in the Bur5 mese military responsible for human rights viola6 tions. 

7 (3) The military supports efforts to carry out 

8 meaningful and comprehensive independent and 

9 international investigations of reports of conflict-re10 lated sexual and gender-based violence and is hold11 ing accountable those in the Burmese military who 

12 failed to prevent, respond to, investigate, and pros13 ecute violence against women, sexual violence, or 

14 other gender-based violence. 

15 (4) The Government of Burma, including the 

16 military, allows immediate and unfettered humani17 tarian access to communities in areas affected by 

18 conflict, including Rohingya and other minority com19 munities in Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan States, spe20 cifically to the United Nations High Commissioner 

21 for Refugees and other relevant United Nations 

22 agencies. 

23 (5) The Government of Burma, including the 

24 military, cooperates with the United Nations High 

25 Commissioner for Refugees and other relevant 


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1 United Nations agencies to ensure the protection of 

2 displaced persons and the safe and voluntary return 

3 of Rohingya and other minority refugees and inter4 nally displaced persons. 

5 (6) The Government of Burma, including the 

6 military, takes steps toward the implementation of 

7 the recommendations of the Advisory Commission on 

8 Rakhine State. 

9 (b) EXCEPTIONS.— 

10 (1) CERTAIN EXISTING AUTHORITIES.—The 

11 Department of Defense may continue to conduct 

12 consultations based on the authorities under section 

13 1253 of the Carl Levin and Howard P. ‘‘Buck’’ 

14 McKeon National Defense Authorization Act for 

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

16 2151 note). 

17 (2) HOSPITALITY.—The United States Agency 

18 for International Development and the Department 

19 of State may provide assistance authorized by part 

20 I of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 

21 2151 et seq.) to support ethnic armed groups and 

22 the Burmese military for the purpose of supporting 

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1 logues, and related processes, in furtherance of in2 clusive, sustainable reconciliation. 

3 (c) MILITARY REFORM.—The certification required 

4 under subsection (a) shall include a written justification 

5 in classified and unclassified form describing the Burmese 

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

7 human rights violations, and increase transparency and 

8 accountability. 

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

10 shall be construed to authorize Department of Defense as11 sistance to the Government of Burma except as provided 

12 in this section. 

13 (e) REPORT.— 

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

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

16 every 180 days thereafter, the Secretary of State 

17 and the Secretary of Defense shall submit to the ap18 propriate congressional committees a report, in both 

19 classified and unclassified form, on the strategy and 

20 plans for military-to-military engagement between 

21 the United States Armed Forces and the military of 

22 Burma. 

23 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required under 

24 paragraph (1) shall include the following elements: 


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1 (A) A description and assessment of the 

2 Government of Burma’s strategy for— 

3 (i) security sector reform, including as 

4 it relates to an end to involvement in the 

5 illicit trade in jade, rubies, and other nat6 ural resources; 

7 (ii) reforms to end corruption and il8 licit drug trafficking; and 

9 (iii) constitutional reforms to ensure 

10 civilian control of the Government. 

11 (B) A list of ongoing military activities 

12 conducted by the United States Government 

13 with the Government of Burma, and a descrip14 tion of the United States strategy for future 

15 military-to-military engagements between the 

16 United States and Burma’s military forces, in17 cluding the military of Burma, the Burma Po18 lice Force, and armed ethnic groups. 

19 (C) An assessment of the progress of the 

20 military of Burma towards developing a frame21 work to implement human rights reforms, in22 cluding— 

23 (i) cooperation with civilian authori24 ties to investigate and prosecute cases of 

25 human rights violations; 


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1 (ii) steps taken to demonstrate respect 

2 for internationally recognized human rights 

3 standards and implementation of and ad4 herence to the laws of war; and 

5 (iii) a description of the elements of 

6 the military-to-military engagement be7 tween the United States and Burma that 

8 promote such implementation. 

9 (D) An assessment of progress on the 

10 peaceful settlement of armed conflicts between 

11 the Government of Burma and ethnic minority 

12 groups, including actions taken by the military 

13 of Burma to adhere to ceasefire agreements, 

14 allow for safe and voluntary returns of dis15 placed persons to their villages of origin, and 

16 withdraw forces from conflict zones. 

17 (E) An assessment of the Burmese mili18 tary recruitment and use of children as soldiers. 

19 (F) An assessment of the Burmese mili20 tary’s use of violence against women, sexual vio21 lence, or other gender-based violence as a tool 

22 of terror, war, or crimes against humanity. 

23 (f) CIVILIAN CHANNELS.—Any program initiated 

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1 ment channels with the democratically elected Government 

2 of Burma. 

3 (g) REGULAR CONSULTATIONS.—Any new program 

4 or activity in Burma initiated under this section shall be 

5 subject to prior consultation with the appropriate congres6 sional committees. 

7 SEC. 9. TRADE RESTRICTIONS. 

8 (a) REINSTATEMENT OF IMPORT RESTRICTIONS ON

9 JADEITE AND RUBIES FROM BURMA.— 

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

11 Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 (Public Law 

12 108–61; 50 U.S.C. 1701 note) is amended by adding 

13 at the end the following: 

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

15 section shall remain in effect until the President deter16 mines and certifies to the appropriate congressional com17 mittees that the Government of Burma has taken meas18 ures to reform the gemstone industry in Burma, including 

19 measures to require— 

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

21 ownership of entities in that industry; and 

22 ‘‘(2) the publication of project revenues, pay23 ments, and contract terms relating to that indus24 try.’’. 


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1 (2) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 3A 

2 of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 

3 2003 is further amended— 

4 (A) in subsection (b)— 

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

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

7 through ‘‘2008’’ and inserting ‘‘beginning 

8 on the date that is 15 days after the date 

9 of the enactment of the Burma Human 

10 Rights and Freedom Act of 2019’’; and 

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

12 date of the enactment of this Act’’ and in13 serting ‘‘the date of the enactment of the 

14 Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 

15 2019’’; and 

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

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

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

19 days after the date of the enactment of the 

20 Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 

21 2019’’. 

22 (3) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made 

23 by this subsection shall apply with respect to articles 

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1 tion, on or after the 15th day after the date of the 

2 enactment of this Act. 

3 (b) REVIEW OF ELIGIBILITY FOR GENERALIZED SYS4 TEM OF PREFERENCES.— 

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

6 after the date of enactment of this Act, the Presi7 dent shall submit to the committees specified in 

8 paragraph (2) a report that includes a detailed re9 view of the eligibility of Burma for preferential duty 

10 treatment under the Generalized System of Pref11 erences under title V of the Trade Act of 1974 (19 

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

13 (2) COMMITTEES SPECIFIED.—The committees 

14 specified in this paragraph are— 

15 (A) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

16 Committee on Finance, and the Committee on 

17 Foreign Relations of the Senate; and 

18 (B) the Committee on Appropriations, the 

19 Committee on Foreign Affairs, and the Com20 mittee on Ways and Means of the House of 

21 Representatives. 

22 SEC. 10. VISA BAN AND ECONOMIC SANCTIONS WITH RE23 SPECT TO MILITARY OFFICIALS RESPON24 SIBLE FOR HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS. 

25 (a) LIST REQUIRED.— 


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

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

3 President shall submit to the appropriate congres4 sional committees a list of— 

5 (A) senior officials of the military and se6 curity forces of Burma that the President de7 termines have knowingly played a direct and 

8 significant role in the commission of gross viola9 tions of human rights, war crimes, or crimes 

10 against humanity (including sexual or gender11 based violence), in Burma, including against the 

12 Rohingya minority population; and 

13 (B) entities owned or controlled by officials 

14 described in subparagraph (A). 

15 (2) INCLUSIONS.—The list required by para16 graph (1) shall include— 

17 (A) each senior official of the military and 

18 security forces of Burma— 

19 (i) in charge of a unit that was oper20 ational during the so-called ‘‘clearance op21 erations’’ that began during or after Octo22 ber 2016; and 

23 (ii) who— 

24 (I) knew, or should have known, 

25 that the official’s subordinates were 


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1 committing gross violations of human 

2 rights, war crimes, or crimes against 

3 humanity (including sexual or gender4 based violence); and 

5 (II) failed to take adequate steps 

6 to prevent such violations or crimes or 

7 punish the subordinates responsible 

8 for such violations or crimes; and 

9 (B) each entity owned or controlled by an 

10 official described in subparagraph (A). 

11 (3) UPDATES.—Not later than one year after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less 

13 frequently than every 180 days thereafter, the Presi14 dent shall submit to the appropriate congressional 

15 committees an updated version of the list required 

16 by paragraph (1). 

17 (b) SANCTIONS.— 

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

19 deny a visa to, and the Secretary of Homeland Secu20 rity shall exclude from the United States, any indi21 vidual included in the most recent list required by 

22 subsection (a). 

23 (2) BLOCKING OF PROPERTY.— 

24 (A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of the 

25 Treasury shall, pursuant to the International 


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1 Emergency Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 

2 1701 et seq.), block and prohibit all trans3 actions in all property and interests in property 

4 of a person included in the most recent list re5 quired by subsection (a) if such property and 

6 interests in property are in the United States, 

7 come within the United States, or are or come 

8 within the possession or control of a United 

9 States person. 

10 (B) INAPPLICABILITY OF NATIONAL EMER11 GENCY REQUIREMENT.—The requirements of 

12 section 202 of the International Emergency 

13 Economic Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1701) shall 

14 not apply for purposes of this paragraph. 

15 (3) AUTHORITY FOR ADDITIONAL FINANCIAL

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

17 consultation with the Secretary of State, prohibit or 

18 impose strict conditions on the opening or maintain19 ing in the United States of a correspondent account 

20 or payable-through account by a foreign financial in21 stitution that the President determines has, on or 

22 after the date of the enactment of this Act, know23 ingly conducted or facilitated a significant trans24 action or transactions on behalf of a person included 


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1 in the most recent list required by subsection (a) or 

2 included on the SDN list pursuant to subsection (c). 

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

4 subsection may be construed to apply with respect to 

5 any transaction with a nongovernmental humani6 tarian organization in Burma. 

7 (c) CONSIDERATION OF INCLUSIONS IN SDN LIST.— 

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

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

10 President shall— 

11 (A) determine whether the individuals 

12 specified in paragraph (2) should be included 

13 on the SDN list; and 

14 (B) submit to the appropriate congres15 sional committees a report, in classified form if 

16 necessary, on the procedures for including those 

17 individuals on the SDN list under existing au18 thorities of the Department of the Treasury. 

19 (2) INDIVIDUALS SPECIFIED.—The individuals 

20 specified in this paragraph are— 

21 (A) the head of a unit of the military or 

22 security forces of Burma that was operational 

23 during the so-called ‘‘clearance operations’’ that 

24 began during or after October 2016, includ25 ing— 


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1 (i) Senior General Min Aung Hlaing; 

2 (ii) Deputy Commander-in-Chief and 

3 Vice Senior-General Soe Win; 

4 (iii) the Commander of the 33rd Light 

5 Infantry Division, Brigadier-General Aung 

6 Aung; and 

7 (iv) the Commander of the 99th Light 

8 Infantry Division, Brigadier-General Than 

9 Oo; and 

10 (B) any senior official of the military or 

11 security forces of Burma for which the Presi12 dent determines there are credible reports that 

13 the official— 

14 (i) aided, participated in, or is other15 wise implicated in gross violations of 

16 human rights, war crimes, or crimes 

17 against humanity (including sexual or gen18 der-based violence), in Burma; 

19 (ii)(I) knew, or should have known, 

20 that the official’s subordinates were com21 mitting such violations or crimes; and 

22 (II) failed to take adequate steps to 

23 prevent such violations or crimes or punish 

24 the subordinates responsible for such viola25 tions or crimes; or 


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1 (iii) took significant steps to impede 

2 the investigation or prosecution of such 

3 violations or crimes. 

4 (d) TERMINATION OF SANCTIONS.—The President 

5 may terminate the application of sanctions under this sec6 tion with respect to an individual placed on the list re7 quired by subsection (a) under paragraph (1)(A) of that 

8 subsection, or an entity placed on that list because the 

9 entity is owned or controlled by such an individual, if the 

10 President determines and reports to the appropriate con11 gressional committees not later than 15 days before the 

12 termination of the sanctions that— 

13 (1) the individual has— 

14 (A) publicly acknowledged the role of the 

15 individual in committing past gross violations of 

16 human rights, war crimes, or crimes against 

17 humanity (including sexual or gender-based vio18 lence); 

19 (B) cooperated with independent efforts to 

20 investigate such violations or crimes; 

21 (C) been held accountable for such viola22 tions or crimes; and 

23 (D) demonstrated substantial progress in 

24 reforming the individual’s behavior with respect 


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1 to the protection of human rights in the con2 duct of civil-military relations; and 

3 (2) removing the individual or entity from the 

4 list is in the national interest of the United States. 

5 (e) EXCEPTIONS.— 

6 (1) HUMANITARIAN ASSISTANCE.—A require7 ment to impose sanctions under this section shall 

8 not apply with respect to the provision of medicine, 

9 medical equipment or supplies, food, or any other 

10 form of humanitarian or human rights-related as11 sistance provided to Burma in response to a humani12 tarian crisis. 

13 (2) UNITED NATIONS HEADQUARTERS AGREE14 MENT.—Subsection (b)(1) shall not apply to the ad15 mission of an individual to the United States if such 

16 admission is necessary to comply with United States 

17 obligations under the Agreement between the United 

18 Nations and the United States of America regarding 

19 the Headquarters of the United Nations, signed at 

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

21 November 21, 1947, or under the Convention on 

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

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

24 international obligations of the United States. 


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1 (3) EXCEPTION RELATING TO IMPORTATION OF

2 GOODS.— 

3 (A) IN GENERAL.—The authority to block 

4 and prohibit all transactions in all property and 

5 interests in property under this section shall not 

6 include the authority to impose sanctions on the 

7 importation of goods. 

8 (B) GOOD DEFINED.—In this paragraph, 

9 the term ‘‘good’’ means any article, natural or 

10 man-made substance, material, supply or manu11 factured product, including inspection and test 

12 equipment, and excluding technical data. 

13 (f) WAIVER.—The President may waive a require14 ment of this section if the Secretary of State, in consulta15 tion with the Secretary of the Treasury, determines and 

16 reports to the appropriate congressional committees that 

17 the waiver is important to the national security interest 

18 of the United States. 

19 (g) IMPLEMENTATION; PENALTIES.— 

20 (1) IMPLEMENTATION.—The President may ex21 ercise all authorities provided under sections 203 

22 and 205 of the International Emergency Economic 

23 Powers Act (50 U.S.C. 1702 and 1704) to carry out 

24 this section. 


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1 (2) PENALTIES.—A person that violates, at2 tempts to violate, conspires to violate, or causes a 

3 violation of paragraph (2) or (3) of subsection (b) or 

4 any regulation, license, or order issued to carry out 

5 either such paragraph shall be subject to the pen6 alties set forth in subsections (b) and (c) of section 

7 206 of the International Emergency Economic Pow8 ers Act (50 U.S.C. 1705) to the same extent as a 

9 person that commits an unlawful act described in 

10 subsection (a) of that section. 

11 (h) REPORT TO CONGRESS ON DIPLOMATIC ENGAGE12 MENT.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the en13 actment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the President 

14 shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees 

15 a report on diplomatic efforts to impose coordinated sanc16 tions with respect to persons sanctioned under— 

17 (1) section 10; or 

18 (2) section 1263 of the Global Magnitsky 

19 Human Rights Accountability Act (subtitle F of title 

20 XII of Public Law 114–328; 22 U.S.C. 2656 note) 

21 for activities described in subsection (a) of that sec22 tion in or with respect to Burma. 

23 (i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

24 (1) ACCOUNT; CORRESPONDENT ACCOUNT; PAY25 ABLE-THROUGH ACCOUNT.—The terms ‘‘account’’, 


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1 ‘‘correspondent account’’, and ‘‘payable-through ac2 count’’ have the meanings given those terms in sec3 tion 5318A of title 31, United States Code. 

4 (2) KNOWINGLY.—The term ‘‘knowingly’’, with 

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

6 means that a person has actual knowledge, or should 

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

8 result. 

9 (3) SDN LIST.—The term ‘‘SDN list’’ means 

10 the list of specially designated nationals and blocked 

11 persons maintained by the Office of Foreign Assets 

12 Control of the Department of the Treasury. 

13 (4) UNITED STATES PERSON.—The term 

14 ‘‘United States person’’ has the meaning given that 

15 term in section 595.315 of title 31, Code of Federal 

16 Regulations (as in effect on the day before the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act). 

18 SEC. 11. STRATEGY FOR PROMOTING ECONOMIC DEVELOP19 MENT. 

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

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

22 the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Administrator of 

23 the United States Agency for International Development 

24 shall jointly submit to the appropriate congressional com25 mittees a strategy to support sustainable, inclusive, and 


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1 broad-based economic development, in accordance with the 

2 priorities of disadvantaged communities in Burma and in 

3 consultation with relevant civil society and local stake4 holders, and to improve economic conditions and govern5 ment transparency. 

6 (b) ELEMENTS.—The strategy required by subsection 

7 (a) shall include a roadmap— 

8 (1) to assess and recommend measures to diver9 sify control over and access to participation in key 

10 industries and sectors, including efforts to remove 

11 barriers and increase competition, access, and oppor12 tunity in sectors dominated by officials of the Bur13 mese military, former military officials, and their 

14 families, and businesspeople connected to the mili15 tary of Burma, with the goal of eliminating the role 

16 of the military in the economy of Burma; 

17 (2) to increase transparency disclosure require18 ments in key sectors of the economy of Burma to 

19 promote responsible investment, including through 

20 efforts— 

21 (A) to provide technical support to develop 

22 and implement policy reforms related to public 

23 disclosure of the beneficial owners of entities in 

24 key sectors identified by the Government of 

25 Burma, specifically by— 


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1 (i) working with the Government of 

2 Burma to require— 

3 (I) the disclosure of the ultimate 

4 beneficial ownership of entities in the 

5 ruby industry; and 

6 (II) the publication of project 

7 revenues, payments, and contract 

8 terms relating to that industry; and 

9 (ii) ensuring that reforms complement 

10 disclosures due to be put in place in 

11 Burma as a result of its participation in 

12 the Extractives Industry Transparency Ini13 tiative; and 

14 (B) to identify the persons seeking or se15 curing access to the most valuable resources of 

16 Burma; and 

17 (3) to promote universal access to reliable, af18 fordable, energy efficient, and sustainable power, in19 cluding leveraging United States assistance to sup20 port reforms in the power sector and electrification 

21 projects that increase energy access, in partnership 

22 with multilateral organizations and the private sec23 tor. 


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1 SEC. 12. REPORT ON CRIMES AGAINST HUMANITY AND SE2 RIOUS 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 

6 a report detailing the credible reports of crimes against 

7 humanity and serious human rights abuses committed 

8 against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in 

9 Burma, including credible reports of war crimes, crimes 

10 against humanity, and genocide, and on potential 

11 transnational justice mechanisms in Burma. 

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

14 (1) a description of credible reports of war 

15 crimes, crimes against humanity, including sexual 

16 and gender-based violence, and genocide perpetrated 

17 against the Rohingya and other ethnic minorities in 

18 Burma, including— 

19 (A) incidents that may constitute such 

20 crimes 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 crimes; 

24 (C) incidents that may constitute such 

25 crimes committed by violent extremist groups or 

26 antigovernment forces; 


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1 (D) any incidents that may violate the 

2 principle of medical neutrality and, if possible, 

3 identification of the individual or individuals 

4 who engaged in or organized such incidents; 

5 and 

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

7 the conventional and unconventional weapons 

8 used for such crimes and the origins of such 

9 weapons; 

10 (2) a description and assessment by the Depart11 ment of State, the United States Agency for Inter12 national Development, the Department of Justice, 

13 and other appropriate Federal departments and 

14 agencies of programs that the United States Govern15 ment has already or is planning to undertake to en16 sure accountability for credible reports of war 

17 crimes, crimes against humanity, including sexual 

18 and gender-based violence, and genocide perpetrated 

19 against the Rohingya and other ethnic minority 

20 groups by the Government, security forces, and mili21 tary of Burma, violent extremist groups, and other 

22 combatants involved in the conflict, including pro23 grams— 

24 (A) to train investigators within and out25 side of Burma and Bangladesh on how to docuVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:41 Apr 22, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S1186.IS S1186

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

3 crimes in Burma; 

4 (B) to promote and prepare for a transi5 tional justice process or processes for the per6 petrators of such crimes in Burma; and 

7 (C) to document, collect, preserve, and pro8 tect evidence of reports of such crimes in 

9 Burma, including support for Burmese and 

10 Bangladeshi, foreign, and international non11 governmental organizations, the United Nations 

12 Human Rights Council’s investigative team, 

13 and other entities; and 

14 (3) a detailed study of the feasibility and desir15 ability of potential transitional justice mechanisms 

16 for Burma, including a hybrid or ad hoc tribunal as 

17 well as other international justice and accountability 

18 options. The report should be produced in consulta19 tion with Rohingya representatives and those of 

20 other ethnic minorities who have suffered grave 

21 human rights abuses. 

22 (c) PROTECTION OF WITNESSES AND EVIDENCE.— 

23 The Secretary shall take due care to ensure that the iden24 tification of witnesses and physical evidence are not pub25 licly disclosed in a manner that might place such persons 


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1 at risk of harm or encourage the destruction of evidence 

2 by the Government of Burma. 

3 SEC. 13. TECHNICAL ASSISTANCE AUTHORIZED. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of State, in con5 sultation with the Department of Justice and other appro6 priate Federal departments and agencies, is authorized to 

7 provide appropriate assistance to support entities that, 

8 with respect to credible reports of war crimes, crimes 

9 against humanity, including sexual and gender-based vio10 lence, and genocide perpetrated by the military, security 

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

12 all other armed groups fighting in Rakhine State— 

13 (1) identify suspected perpetrators of such 

14 crimes; 

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

16 crimes and preserve the chain of custody for such 

17 evidence; 

18 (3) conduct criminal investigations; and 

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

20 as appropriate. 

21 (b) ADDITIONAL ASSISTANCE.—The Secretary of 

22 State, after consultation with appropriate Federal depart23 ments and agencies and the appropriate congressional 

24 committees, and taking into account the findings of the 

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


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1 is authorized to provide assistance to support the creation 

2 and operation of transitional justice mechanisms for 

3 Burma. 

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

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

6 it is the sense of Congress that— 

7 (1) Reuters journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe 

8 Oo should be immediately released and should have 

9 access to lawyers and their families; and 

10 (2) the Government of Burma should repeal the 

11 Official Secrets Act, a colonial-era law that was used 

12 to arrest these journalists, as well as other laws that 

13 are used to arrest journalists and undermine press 

14 freedom around the world. 

15 SEC. 15. MEASURES RELATING TO MILITARY COOPERATION 

16 BETWEEN BURMA AND NORTH KOREA. 

17 (a) IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The President may, with re19 spect to any person described in paragraph (2)— 

20 (A) impose the sanctions described in para21 graph (1) or (3) of section 10(b); or 

22 (B) include that person on the SDN list 

23 (as defined in section 10(i)). 

24 (2) PERSONS DESCRIBED.—A person described 

25 in this paragraph is an official of the Government of 


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1 Burma or an individual or entity acting on behalf of 

2 that Government that the President determines pur3 chases or otherwise acquires defense articles from 

4 the Government of North Korea or an individual or 

5 entity acting on behalf of that Government. 

6 (b) RESTRICTION ON FOREIGN ASSISTANCE.—The 

7 President may terminate or reduce the provision of United 

8 States foreign assistance to Burma if the President deter9 mines that the Government of Burma does not verifiably 

10 and irreversibly eliminate all purchases or other acquisi11 tions of defense articles by persons described in subsection 

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

13 or entities acting on behalf of that Government. 

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

15 the term ‘‘defense article’’ has the meaning given that 

16 term in section 47 of the Arms Export Control Act (22 

17 U.S.C. 2794). 

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

19 FORCE. 

20 Nothing in this Act shall be construed as an author21 ization for the use of force. 

Æ 


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