SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability 
Act of 2019’’ or the ‘‘BURMA Act of 2019’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Definitions. 
Sec. 3. Findings. 
TITLE I—MATTERS RELATING TO THE CONFLICT IN BURMA 
Sec. 101. Statement of policy. 
Sec. 102. Sense of Congress with respect to humanitarian assistance, freedom 
of movement, and rights of returnees. 
Sec. 103. Sense of Congress on freedoms of press and association. 
Sec. 104. Imposition of sanctions for the violation of human rights. 
TITLE II—ASSISTANCE AND SANCTIONS WITH RESPECT TO 
BURMA 
Sec. 201. Authorization to provide humanitarian assistance. 
Sec. 202. Imposition of sanctions with respect to human rights abuses in 
Burma. 
TITLE III—GOVERNANCE OF THE BURMESE MINING AND 
GEMSTONE SECTORS 
Sec. 301. Sense of Congress on the mining sector of Burma. 
Sec. 302. Guidance relating to responsibility and transparency in the mining 
sector of Burma. 
TITLE IV—ACCOUNTABILITY FOR HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES AND 
STRATEGY FOR ECONOMIC GROWTH 
Sec. 401. Report on accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, 
and genocide in Burma. 
Sec. 402. Authorization to provide technical assistance for efforts against 
human rights abuses. 
Sec. 403. Strategy for promoting economic development in Burma. 
TITLE V—DETERMINATION OF BUDGETARY EFFECTS 
Sec. 501. Determination of budgetary effects. 
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 
In this Act:
(1) APPROPRIATE
CONGRESSIONAL
COMMIT-
TEES.—The term ‘‘appropriate congressional com-
mittees’’ means— 
(A) the Committee on Foreign Affairs, the 
Committee on Financial Services, and the Com-
mittee on Armed Services of the House of Rep-
resentatives; and 
(B) the Committee on Foreign Relations, 
the Committee on Banking, and the Committee 
on Armed Services of the Senate. 
(2) CRIMES
AGAINST
HUMANITY.—The term 
‘‘crimes against humanity’’ includes, when com-
mitted as part of a widespread or systematic attack 
directed against any civilian population, with knowl-
edge of the attack— 
(A) murder; 
(B) deportation or forcible transfer of pop-
ulation; 
(C) torture; 
(D) extermination; 
(E) enslavement; 
(F) rape, sexual slavery, or any other form 
of sexual violence of comparable severity; 
(G) persecution against any identifiable 
group or collectivity on political, racial, na-
tional, ethnic, cultural, religious, gender, or 
other grounds that are universally recognized as 
impermissible under international law; and 
(H) enforced disappearance of persons. 
(3) GENOCIDE.—The term ‘‘genocide’’ means 
any offense described in section 1091(a) of title 18, 
United States Code. 
(4) TRANSITIONAL JUSTICE.—The term ‘‘tran-
sitional justice’’ means the range of judicial, non-
judicial, formal, informal, retributive, and restorative 
measures employed by countries transitioning out of 
armed conflict or repressive regimes to redress leg-
acies of atrocities and to promote long-term, sustain-
able peace. 
(5) WAR CRIME.—The term ‘‘war crime’’ has 
the meaning given the term in section 2441(c) of 
title 18, United States Code. 
SEC. 3. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) On August 25, 2017, Burmese military and 
security forces violently and disproportionately re-
sponded to an attack on security outposts, resulting 
in a mass exodus of Rohingya from the Rakhine 
State of Burma into Bangladesh, which the Inter-
national Organization of Migration called ‘‘unprece-
dented in terms of volume and speed’’. 
(2) Between August 2017 and March 2019, in 
response to the violence perpetrated by the Burmese 
military and security forces, the United Nations esti-
mates more than 740,000 Rohingya, approximately 
75 percent of whom are women and children, have 
fled to Bangladesh, fearing loss of life, livelihoods, 
and shelter. Rohingya have continued to flee Burma 
in significant numbers, including in 2019. According 
to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refu-
gees, more than 1,400 Rohingya have arrived in 
Bangladesh since January 1, 2019. 
(3) Even after the Burmese military scaled 
back attacks against Rohingya in late 2017, security 
forces continued to impose restrictions on the basic 
freedoms of Rohingya in Rakhine State, including on 
freedom of movement. In November 2017, Amnesty 
International determined that Rohingya remaining 
in Rakhine are ‘‘trapped in a vicious system of state- 
sponsored, 
institutionalized 
discrimination 
that 
amounts to apartheid’’. 
(4) Despite the steps taken toward democracy 
in Burma, there exists limited control by the civilian 
government over civilian agencies as well as military
and security forces that carried out the violence in 
Rakhine State. The military and security forces con-
tinue to engage in grave human rights abuses 
against ethnic minorities throughout in the country. 
(5) Both government- and military-initiated in-
vestigations into human rights abuses in Burma in-
volving violence between ethnic minorities and Bur-
mese security forces have failed to yield credible re-
sults or hold perpetrators accountable. 
(6) In a public address on October 12, 2017, 
State Counsellor Aung San Suu Kyi laid out the fol-
lowing goals for the State of Rakhine: 
(A) Repatriation of those who have crossed 
over to Bangladesh. 
(B) Effective provision of humanitarian as-
sistance. 
(C) Resettlement of displaced populations. 
(D) Economic development and durable 
peace. 
(7) Due to restrictions enforced by the Rakhine 
State government and the national military and se-
curity forces, there has been little progress made 
since that time and limited ability for the inter-
national community to support, verify, or evaluate 
the Government of Burma’s efforts. There are also
credible reports of Burmese military and security 
forces bulldozing numerous villages where violence 
occurred, thus destroying physical evidence, and in 
some cases, constructing new military installations 
on top of the bulldozed villages. 
(8) On November 22, 2017, former Secretary of 
State Rex Tillerson stated that ‘‘After a careful and 
thorough analysis of available facts, it is clear that 
the situation in northern Rakhine state constitutes 
ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya. Those re-
sponsible for these atrocities must be held account-
able’’. He also said the violence ‘‘has a number of 
characteristics of certainly crimes against human-
ity’’. Despite repeated requests from Members of 
Congress, as well as the result of its own investiga-
tion (the executive summary of which was released 
on September 17, 2018), the Department has de-
clined to make a determination if the atrocities in 
Rakhine State constitute genocide or crimes against 
humanity. 
(9) On December 12, 2017, Wa Lone and 
Kyaw Soe Oo, two Reuters reporters covering the 
crisis in Rakhine State, were entrapped, arrested, 
and charged with violating the Official Secrets Act, 
continuing a trend of restricting media and free
speech and attempting to thwart coverage of the 
events in Rakhine State. 
(10) Another barrier to the voluntary, safe, dig-
nified and sustainable return of the Rohingya to 
Rakhine State is the refusal of the Government of 
Burma to reinstate the full citizenship of the 
Rohingya, as well as the Government’s unwillingness 
to consider the repeal of or amendments to the Citi-
zenship Act of 1982 that stripped the Rohingya of 
their full citizenship. 
(11) During 2018, the ongoing conflict in 
Burma escalated in Kachin and Shan States, re-
ignited in Karen (Kayin) State, and spread into 
Chin and Rakhine States. Along with the increase in 
fighting between Burma’s security forces and several 
ethnic armed organizations, there was a rise in alle-
gations of human rights abuses perpetrated by Bur-
mese security forces in these conflict areas. 
(12) In April 2018, thousands of civilians fled 
fighting between the military and ethnic armed 
groups in Kachin State, prompting peaceful dem-
onstrations. In December 2018, three prominent ac-
tivist in Kachin State, Lum Zawng, Nang Pu and 
Zau Jet were convicted and sentenced to 6 months 
imprisonment for defaming the military.
(13) On June 6, 2018, the United Nations Ref-
ugee Agency and the United Nations Development 
Programme signed a tripartite Memorandum of Un-
derstanding with Burma. The Office of the United 
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and var-
ious international human rights and international re-
lief agencies agreed that conditions in Rakhine State 
are not sufficient for the voluntary, safe, dignified, 
and sustainable return of the Rohingya. 
(14) The United Nations Independent Inter-
national Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar, the De-
partment of State, and more than a dozen human 
rights organizations have reported and documented 
a campaign of violence perpetrated by the security 
forces of Burma, which indiscriminately fired on and 
killed civilians, raped women and girls, and arrested 
Rohingya men without any cause or charges. Sat-
ellite images obtained by Amnesty International re-
veal that, out of the approximately 470 villages in 
northern Rakhine State, nearly 300 were partially or 
completely destroyed by fire since August 25, 2017, 
most of which were completely or partially populated 
by Rohingya Muslims. 
(15) In its report of September 17, 2018, the 
United Nations Independent International Fact-
Finding Mission on Myanmar determined that there 
was sufficient evidence of ‘‘genocidal intent’’ in the 
attacks against the Rohingya in Rakhine State, and 
probable ‘‘crimes against humanity’’ and ‘‘war 
crimes’’ in Burmese security forces assaults on eth-
nic minorities in Kachin and Shan States. The Mis-
sion recommended that the United Nations Security 
Council ‘‘should ensure accountability for crimes 
under international law committed in Myanmar, 
preferably by referring the situation to the Inter-
national Criminal Court or alternatively by creating 
an ad hoc international criminal tribunal’’. The Mis-
sion also recommended the imposition of targeted 
economic sanctions, including an arms embargo on 
Burma. 
(16) On September 3, 2018, Wa Lone and 
Kyaw Soe Oo were convicted and sentenced to seven 
years in prison and released as an act of Presi-
dential amnesty on May 6, 2019, after over 500 
days in jail. Time Magazine included pictures the 
two reporters on the cover of its ‘‘Person of the 
Year’’ issue on December 10, 2018, as two of the 
‘‘Guardians and the War on Truth’’. 
(17) According to the free-speech organization 
Athan, 44 journalists and 142 activists have faced
trial since 2016 charged with colonial-era laws used 
to stifle dissent, while tightening restrictions on ac-
tivist groups. 
(18) On September 28, 2018, the United Na-
tions Human Rights Council passed a resolution 
that calls for an independent mechanism to collect 
and analyze evidence in regard to the serious inter-
national crimes committed in Burma against 
Rohingya Muslims and other minorities since 2011. 
The resolution requests that the independent mecha-
nism ‘‘prepare files in order to facilitate and expe-
dite fair and independent criminal proceedings, in 
accordance with international law standards, in na-
tional, regional or international courts or tribunals 
that have or may in the future have jurisdiction over 
these crimes’’. 
(19) On November 15, 2018, the Government 
of Bangladesh and the Government of Burma aban-
doned plans to return more than 2,000 Rohingya to 
Rakhine State after it was determined that none 
were willing to voluntarily return given the current 
conditions in Rakhine State, as well as the Govern-
ment of Burma’s failure to ensure the returnees’ 
safety, dignity, or sustainability of their livelihoods.
(20) A December 2018 report by the Public 
Law Interest & Policy group noted that ‘‘the de-
struction of their villages, crops, and virtually all in-
frastructure clearly points to a strategy of ensuring 
the Rohingya’s permanent removal. The mass 
killings and accompanying brutality, including 
against children, women, pregnant women, the elder-
ly, and those crossing the border to Bangladesh fur-
ther suggest, however, that, at least in the minds of 
some perpetrators, the goal was not only to expel, 
but also to exterminate the Rohingya * * *’’ and 
that ‘‘there are reasonable grounds to believe that 
crimes against humanity, genocide, and war crimes 
have been committed against the Rohingya in 
Myanmar’s northern Rakhine State’’. 
(21) Despite substantial evidence of widespread 
and systematic atrocities committed by Burmese se-
curity forces in Rakhine State, State Counselor 
Aung San Suu Kyi and Burma’s Commander-in- 
Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing continue to 
maintain that no such widespread and systematic 
atrocities occurred. 
(22) On December 13, 2018, the United States 
House of Representatives passed House Resolution 
1091 (115th Congress) which expressed the sense of
TITLE I—MATTERS RELATING 
TO THE CONFLICT IN BURMA 
SEC. 101. STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
It is the policy of the United States as follows: 
(1) To support a complete transition to democ-
racy and genuine national reconciliation in Burma, 
including accountability for the atrocities committed 
by the Burmese military against the Rohingya popu-
lation and other ethnic minorities throughout the 
country. 
(2) To pursue a United States strategy of cali-
brated engagement, which is essential to support the 
establishment of a peaceful, prosperous, and demo-
cratic Burma that includes respect for the human 
rights of all its people regardless of ethnicity and re-
ligion. 
(3) To ensure that the guiding principles of 
such a strategy include— 
(A) supporting legal reforms, removing re-
maining restrictions on civil and political rights, 
and ensuring civilian governance, including re-
forms to the current constitutional provision re-
serving 25 percent of parliamentary seats for 
appointments by the military, which provides
the military with veto power over constitutional 
amendments; 
(B) establishing a fully democratic, plural-
istic, and representative political system that in-
cludes free, fair, and democratic elections in 
which all people of Burma can vote; 
(C) promoting national reconciliation and 
the conclusion of a nationwide cease-fire agree-
ment, including the development of a political 
system that is inclusive of ethnic Rohingya, 
Shan, Kachin, Chin, Karen, and other ethnic 
groups, measures to address natural resource 
governance, revenue-sharing, land rights, and 
constitutional change enabling inclusive peace; 
(D) ensuring accountability through inde-
pendent international investigations of genocide, 
war crimes, and crimes against humanity, in-
cluding sexual and gender-based violence, per-
petrated against the Rohingya and other ethnic 
minorities by the military and security forces of 
Burma, violent extremist groups and other com-
batants involved in the conflict; 
(E) strengthening Burma’s civilian govern-
mental institutions, including support for great-
er transparency and accountability;
(F) encouraging the establishment of pro-
fessional military, security, and police forces 
that operate under civilian control and are held 
accountable for human rights abuses, corrup-
tion, or other abuses of power; 
(G) combating corruption and illegal eco-
nomic activity, including that which involves the 
military and its close allies; 
(H) empowering local communities, civil 
society, and independent media; 
(I) encouraging the provision of full citi-
zenship for the Rohingya population in Burma, 
as well as durable solutions for those displaced 
in Bangladesh; 
(J) promoting responsible international 
and regional engagement; 
(K) strengthening respect for and protec-
tion of human rights and religious freedom; and 
(L) promoting broad-based, inclusive eco-
nomic development and fostering healthy and 
resilient communities.
SEC. 102. SENSE OF CONGRESS WITH RESPECT TO HUMANI-
TARIAN ASSISTANCE, FREEDOM OF MOVE-
MENT, AND RIGHTS OF RETURNEES. 
(a) SENSE OF CONGRESS.—It is the sense of Con-
gress that— 
(1) significant and sustained international fund-
ing, from both public and private sources, is nec-
essary to address the medium- and long-term im-
pacts of the crisis in Burma and the impact of the 
crisis on Bangladesh; and 
(2) the United States should make resolving the 
Rohingya crisis one of its top priorities in its en-
gagement with regional institutions, such as the As-
sociation of Southeast Asian Nations. 
(b) RESTORATION OF HUMANITARIAN ACCESS AND 
ACCOUNTABILITY IN RAKHINE STATE.—Congress calls on 
the Government of Burma, including the Burmese military 
and security forces, to ensure full and secure humani-
tarian access to the State of Rakhine and to cooperate 
with the ongoing international mechanism set up by the 
United Nations Human Rights Council in September 
2018 and funded by the United Nations General Assembly 
to gather evidence and other information pertaining to al-
legations of crimes against humanity and genocide com-
mitted in Burma.
(c) RIGHTS OF REFUGEES, INTERNALLY DISPLACED 
PERSONS, AND RETURNEES.— 
(1) BURMA.—Congress calls on the Government 
of Burma to— 
(A) ensure that Rohinyga in Burma have 
freedom of movement; 
(B) create conditions for return of those 
displaced from their homes and implement the 
recommendations of the Advisory Commission 
on Rakhine State, which includes full and equal 
citizenship; 
(C) work closely with the international 
community, including the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees, to ensure the dig-
nified, safe, sustainable and voluntary return of 
all those displaced from their homes, especially 
from Rakhine State, without an unduly high 
burden of proof; and 
(D) offer compensation or restitution to 
those refugees who do not want to return to 
their homes. 
(2) BANGLADESH.—Congress calls on the Gov-
ernment of Bangladesh to— 
(A) ensure that the rights of refugees are 
protected, including through allowing them to
build more permanent shelters, and ensuring 
equal access to healthcare, basic services, edu-
cation and work; 
(B) work closely with the international 
community, including the United Nations High 
Commissioner for Refugees, to ensure that any 
repatriation or resettlement of refugees be dig-
nified, safe, sustainable and voluntary; and 
(C) ensure that any relocation or local in-
tegration of refugees in Bangladesh be con-
sistent with international humanitarian prin-
ciples, including freedom of movement, and im-
plemented only through voluntary, fully in-
formed consent. 
SEC. 103. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON FREEDOMS OF PRESS 
AND ASSOCIATION. 
It is the sense of Congress that, in order to promote 
the freedom of the press and speech, the Government of 
Burma should undertake serious legal reforms including 
reform of the Official Secrets Act, 1923, the Unlawful As-
sociation Act, 1908, and the Penal Code. 
SEC. 104. IMPOSITION OF SANCTIONS FOR THE VIOLATION 
OF HUMAN RIGHTS. 
The President shall impose sanctions—
(1) against officials in Burma, including Com-
mander in Chief of the Armed Forces of Myanmar 
Min Aung Hlaing, under the Global Magnitsky 
Human Rights Accountability Act (22 U.S.C. 2656 
note); and 
(2) against military-owned enterprises, includ-
ing the Myanmar Economic Corporation and Union 
of Myanmar Economic Holding, under the Burmese 
Freedom and Democracy Act (50 U.S.C. 1701 note), 
the Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta’s 
Anti-Democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 (50 U.S.C. 
1701 note), and other relevant statutory authorities. 
TITLE 
II—ASSISTANCE 
AND 
SANCTIONS 
WITH 
RESPECT 
TO BURMA 
SEC. 201. AUTHORIZATION TO PROVIDE HUMANITARIAN AS-
SISTANCE. 
There is authorized to be appropriated $220,500,000 
for fiscal year 2020 to provide humanitarian assistance 
for Burma, Bangladesh, and the surrounding region, in-
cluding for the following purposes: 
(1) Assisting the victims of the Burmese mili-
tary’s crimes against humanity targeting Rohingya 
and other ethnic minorities in Rakhine, Kachin, and