A resolution urging the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh to ensure the safe, dignified, voluntary, and sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees who have been displaced by the campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted by the Burmese military.

Bill: 115-sres-376
Sponsor: Sen. Merkley, Jeff [D-OR]
Introduced: 2018-01-23 in the Senate
Policy area: International Affairs
Subjects: Asia
Bangladesh
Burma
Conflicts and wars
Congressional tributes
Human rights
Military operations and strategy
News media and reporting
Racial and ethnic relations
Refugees, asylum, displaced persons
Terrorism
United Nations

Summary:
action_date: 2018-01-23
text: 
Condemns: (1) the violence and displacement inflicted on Burma's (Myanmar's) Rohingya and other ethnic minorities, and (2) the attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army militant group. Calls for an immediate halt to all hostilities by Burmese authorities.
 
Calls on:
 
 
the government of Burma to allow full access to Rakhine State and to ensure the full participation of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and that the voices of refugees are represented,
 
the UNHCR and international nongovernmental organizations to play a role in monitoring repatriation efforts by the governments of Bangladesh and Burma, and 
 
the United Nations to consider the feasibility of Bangladesh's proposal for a safe zone or for a peacekeeping mission to protect vulnerable communities under international supervision. 

 
Commends: (1) the positive role of the government of Bangladesh in receiving Rohingya refugees and urges that government to continue allowing the full participation of the UNHCR and human rights organizations in accessing refugee camps, and (2) the Bangladesh's efforts to provide shelter and relief for such refugees.
 
Calls for any return of Rohingya to include specified guarantees.
 
Recognizes that any forced relocation of Rohingya refugees into areas not of their choosing is unacceptable.
 
Calls on the government of Burma to:
 
 
allow for a flexible and practical approach to dealing with evidence of Rohingya residence in Burma; 
 
address root causes consistent with the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations and fully implement such recommendations; 
 
address the issue of statelessness for the Rohingya, the deprivation of rights, and institutionalized and pervasive discrimination; and 
 
release journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo. 

 
Calls on the government of Bangladesh to ensure that all refugees have freedom of movement and are not subject to unsafe, involuntary, precipitous, or uninformed returns to Burma.


Legislative actions:
action_date: 2018-03-21
text: Placed on Senate Legislative Calendar under General Orders. Calendar No. 358.
action_date: 2018-03-21
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Corker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title and with an amended preamble. Without written report.
action_date: 2018-03-21
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Reported by Senator Corker with an amendment in the nature of a substitute and an amendment to the title and with an amended preamble. Without written report.
action_date: 2018-03-20
text: Committee on Foreign Relations. Ordered to be reported with an amendment in the nature of a substitute favorably.
action_date: 2018-01-23
text: Referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. (text of measure as introduced: CR S468-469)
action_date: 2018-01-23
text: Introduced in Senate