Today’s passage of the Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2021 (BURMA Act) in the U.S. House of Representatives is a meaningful and welcome next step in the fight for justice for the Rohingya people.
Jewish World Watch and the entire Jewish Rohingya Justice Network thanks House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory Meeks (D-NY) for his leadership in introducing the bill last year and working tirelessly to see it passed in Committee and on the House floor today.
“Jewish World Watch applauds the meaningful action shown by Members of the House today following Sec. Blinken’s recent genocide determination,” said JWW Executive Director Serena Oberstein, “today’s decision brings the Rohingya and people of Myanmar one step closer to justice.
It comes on the heels of Secretary of State Antony Blinken’s genocide determination and the U.S. Department of Treasury’s additional sanctions, both enacted last month in a double rebuke of the Burmese military’s yearslong campaign of terror.
The BURMA Act is needed as law now more than ever. This legislation, which has received Senate Republican support in past Congresses, would impose additional sanctions, hold the regime accountable for its atrocities and send increased humanitarian assistance to communities affected by this crisis. Unfortunately, the nearly identical Senate version of this legislation (S. 2937) has not received even a single Republican cosponsor in the Senate this Congress, despite strong advocacy from the Burmese people, diaspora communities throughout the U.S., along with organizations and constituents spread throughout the country including many within the Jewish community. This must change.
The people of Burma need international support to restore their country to a true democracy and bring justice and accountability to all those who continue to suffer at the hands of the brutal Burmese military.