Title: Condemning the Burmese military for perpetrating gross violations of human rights as part of its brutal campaign to suppress the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma, a year after the coup d'état on February 1, 2021.
Policy area: International Affairs

Summary:
This resolution condemns the military coup that took place in Burma (Myanmar) on February 1, 2021.
The resolution denounces the Tatmadaw (the military of Burma) for perpetrating gross violations of human rights as part of its brutal campaign to suppress the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma and calls on the Tatmadaw to cease all violence against prodemocracy activists and reach a cease-fire with ethnic armed organizations, release all political prisoners, and engage in constructive dialogue with all parties to negotiate a pathway toward a government that reflects the will of the Burmese people.
The resolution also calls on the President to enact new targeted sanctions on individuals and entities affiliated with the Tatmadaw, including an international arms embargo and a prohibition on the sale of aviation fuel.

[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 896 Introduced in House (IH)]

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117th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. RES. 896

 Condemning the Burmese military for perpetrating gross violations of 
human rights as part of its brutal campaign to suppress the democratic 
  aspirations of the people of Burma, a year after the coup d'etat on 
                           February 1, 2021.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                            February 1, 2022

Ms. Eshoo (for herself, Mr. Levin of Michigan, Mr. Chabot, Ms. Tenney, 
   Mr. Meeks, Mr. Bera, Mr. Suozzi, Mr. Fitzpatrick, Mr. Khanna, Mr. 
Lowenthal, Mr. Cicilline, Mr. Connolly, Mr. Rice of South Carolina, Ms. 
 Schakowsky, Mrs. Napolitano, Mrs. Lawrence, Mr. Cohen, Ms. Meng, Mr. 
  McGovern, Mr. Price of North Carolina, Ms. Manning, Ms. Titus, Mr. 
Meijer, and Mr. Jackson) submitted the following resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the 
Committee on Ways and Means, for a period to be subsequently determined 
 by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as 
        fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                               RESOLUTION


 
 Condemning the Burmese military for perpetrating gross violations of 
human rights as part of its brutal campaign to suppress the democratic 
  aspirations of the people of Burma, a year after the coup d'etat on 
                           February 1, 2021.

Whereas after a decade of promising democratic reforms in Burma, the Burmese 
        military (hereinafter referred to as the ``Tatmadaw'') launched a coup 
        against the civilian government on February 1, 2021, preventing a 
        democratically elected Parliament from being seated;
Whereas the Tatmadaw seized control of the Government, declared a national state 
        of emergency, and unlawfully detained many democratically elected 
        officials, including State Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi, President Win 
        Myint, and dozens of Members of Parliament affiliated with the National 
        League for Democracy (NLD);
Whereas Burma's elections in November 2020 resulted in the NLD securing enough 
        seats in Parliament to form the next government, notwithstanding the 
        disenfranchisement of more than 1,500,000 voters, mostly from ethnic 
        minority communities in the Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Chin 
        states;
Whereas, on February 1, 2021, President Biden issued a statement condemning the 
        coup as a ``direct assault on [Burma's] transition to democracy and the 
        rule of law'' and called on the international community to come together 
        to press the Tatmadaw to relinquish power;
Whereas the House of Representatives adopted H. Res. 134 on March 19, 2021, 
        condemning the coup and calling for the restoration of civilian 
        government and the release of detained officials;
Whereas the people of Burma, insistent that their country continue along the 
        path toward democracy, courageously organized a civil disobedience 
        movement and took to the streets to demand that the Tatmadaw relinquish 
        power;
Whereas, on April 16, 2021, democratically elected Members of Parliament, who 
        had been denied the opportunity to serve by the Tatmadaw, formed a 
        National Unity Government that asserts it is the legitimate Government 
        of Burma;
Whereas the Tatmadaw has used lethal force, including extrajudicial executions, 
        to violently suppress the prodemocracy movement, killing more than 1,400 
        unarmed people since the coup began last year;
Whereas the Tatmadaw has relied heavily on mass arrests to stifle dissent and 
        has detained more than 10,700 protesters, activists, and journalists 
        since February 2021;
Whereas the Tatmadaw has used brutal and inhumane methods to intimidate, 
        degrade, and torture detainees;
Whereas Tatmadaw soldiers have perpetrated rape and other forms of sexual 
        violence with impunity;
Whereas the Tatmadaw has employed digital authoritarian tools and tactics to 
        silence opposition, including internet shutdowns, online censorship, and 
        high-tech surveillance;
Whereas the Tatmadaw has eroded the independence of the Burmese judiciary and 
        conducted sham trials to convict political prisoners including State 
        Councilor Aung San Suu Kyi and President Win Myint;
Whereas the Tatmadaw continues to perpetrate a horrific ethnic cleansing 
        campaign against the Rohingya Muslim population in Burma's Rakhine State 
        and has also committed atrocities against other ethnic minority 
        communities in the Kachin, Karen, Mon, Rakhine, Shan, and Chin States, 
        that the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar 
        has indicated amount to crimes against humanity;
Whereas the House of Representatives adopted H. Res. 1091 on December 13, 2018, 
        expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the atrocities 
        committed against the Rohingya by the Tatmadaw constitute genocide;
Whereas the turmoil caused by the coup and the Tatmadaw's violence and 
        mismanagement of the economy have resulted in a severe humanitarian 
        crisis that, according to a recent United Nations report, is projected 
        to drive nearly half the Burmese population into poverty this year;
Whereas the deteriorating security situation in Burma following the coup has 
        resulted in the internal displacement of nearly 300,000 people and 
        prompted thousands more to flee the country as refugees;
Whereas the Biden administration has frozen more than $1,000,000,000 in Burmese 
        Government funds held in the United States and coordinated with the 
        European Union, Canada, and the United Kingdom to impose targeted 
        sanctions against individuals and entities responsible for the coup, 
        including Min Aung Hlaing, the commander in chief of the Tatmadaw;
Whereas numerous civil society and human rights groups have recommended 
        additional sanctions targeting the largest sources of the Tatmadaw's 
        foreign currency revenue such as the state-controlled natural gas, 
        mining, and timber entities, including the highly lucrative Myanmar Oil 
        and Gas Enterprise; and
Whereas the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar, which was 
        established by the United Nations Human Rights Council to investigate 
        the Tatmadaw's crimes against humanity and compile evidence for future 
        prosecutions, is crucial to ensuring accountability for atrocities and 
        bringing justice to the people of Burma: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
            (1) condemns, in the strongest possible terms, the military 
        coup that took place in Burma on February 1, 2021;
            (2) denounces the Tatmadaw for perpetrating gross 
        violations of human rights as part of its brutal campaign to 
        suppress the democratic aspirations of the people of Burma;
            (3) stands in solidarity with the courageous people of 
        Burma as they struggle to wrest political power from the hands 
        of their authoritarian military;
            (4) calls on the Tatmadaw to--
                    (A) cease all violence against prodemocracy 
                activists and reach a cease-fire with ethnic armed 
                organizations;
                    (B) release all political prisoners;
                    (C) engage in constructive dialogue with all 
                parties to negotiate a pathway toward a government that 
                reflects the will of the Burmese people;
                    (D) grant humanitarian actors unhindered access to 
                all relevant areas of Burma to help alleviate the 
                immense suffering that has resulted from this past 
                year's violence and the COVID-19 pandemic; and
                    (E) respect the human rights and civil liberties of 
                all people of Burma, including ethnic minorities who 
                currently face state-sponsored persecution; and
            (5) calls on the President, and the relevant Federal 
        agencies, to take immediate action to--
                    (A) work with international partners and 
                multilateral institutions, including the United Nations 
                Security Council, to enact new targeted sanctions on 
                individuals and entities affiliated with the Tatmadaw, 
                including an international arms embargo and a 
                prohibition on the sale of aviation fuel to the Burmese 
                military;
                    (B) coordinate with like-minded partners and allies 
                to restrict the Tatmadaw's ability to finance its 
                military operations by imposing new sanctions on 
                Tatmadaw-linked individuals as well as Tatmadaw-
                controlled entities, including state-owned enterprises;
                    (C) issue public warnings to businesses and 
                individuals outlining the legal liability of doing 
                business with the Tatmadaw, including potential 
                liability associated with the Tatmadaw's crimes against 
                humanity;
                    (D) enhance enforcement of existing sanctions 
                prohibiting the importation of precious and 
                semiprecious gemstones, jade, and amber from Burma to 
                the United States;
                    (E) provide robust humanitarian assistance in 
                Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the surrounding region 
                and ensure that targeted sanctions allow all necessary 
                exemptions to permit the delivery of humanitarian 
                assistance to civilians in need;
                    (F) ensure that United States-based social media 
                companies, including Facebook, not allow their 
                platforms to be used as vehicles for disinformation 
                campaigns or advocating violence against the Burmese 
                people;
                    (G) make a genocide determination with regards to 
                the persecution of the Rohingya;
                    (H) direct the United States Permanent 
                Representative to the United Nations to use the voice, 
                vote, and influence of the United States to bring about 
                greater international cooperation to pursue justice and 
                accountability in Burma; and
                    (I) support inclusive international accountability 
                efforts, including the Independent Investigative 
                Mechanism for Myanmar, with a particular emphasis on 
                Burma's civil society organizations, to investigate and 
                hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable.
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