Congress is not giving up on the Rohingya! After much anticipation, the House companion bill to the newest incarnation of the Burma Act was introduced on Tuesday, June 14. The Burma United through Rigorous Military Accountability Act (H.R. 3190) — sponsored by Rep. Eliot Engel (D-N.Y.) and Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio) — authorizes significant humanitarian assistance and aims to hold Burma’s Tatmadaw military accountable not only for the atrocities it continues to perpetrate against the Rohingya Muslim minority population, but also for campaigns targeting other minority groups within the Buddhist-majority country.
The “Burma Act of 2019” (H.R. 3190) would:
- Prohibit expansion of American military assistance to Burma until reforms take place;
- Require reporting on crimes against humanity, war crimes, and genocide;
- Impose trade, visa, and financial penalties on those responsible for orchestrating the atrocities;
- Support U.S. assistance in investigations that could lead to the eventual prosecution of war criminals; and,
- Promote reforms to limit the Tatmadaw’s stronghold on Burma’s abundant natural resources.
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Rep. Engel, Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and champion of the Rohingya cause, promised, “We will not rest until there is justice.”
Like Jewish World Watch, certain members of Congress remain steadfast and indefatigable in their refusal to stand idly by in the face of the world’s most recent genocide. This is not the first time Reps. Engel and Chabot have tried to ring the alarm for the Rohingya. They co-sponsored similar legislation two years in a row, only to see it flounder in the Senate. Rep. Chabot spearheaded a successful House resolution last year, which labeled the atrocities committed against the Rohingya by the Tatmadaw as genocide — a significant accomplishment in the face of the the State Department’s persistent refusal to make such a designation, despite mounting evidence from myriad reputable sources including the UN, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum, Fortify Rights, and the Public International Law and Policy Group — the entity contracted by the State Department to assist in its assessment.
This time around, Reps. Engel and Chabot are back with an even more comprehensive bill that would enact several measures to ensure justice, including targeted sanctions against those in the upper echelons of the Tatmadaw and other bans and financial penalties that follow the cash and impact the many businesses owned by the Tatmadaw and their family members.
On April 11, Senator Ben Cardin (D-M.D.) reintroduced the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act (S. 1186) in the Senate. Like its House companion, the Senate bill includes targeted sanctions, new funds for humanitarian assistance to Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar, periodic reporting on sanctions compliance, and assistance to investigative and justice-seeking mechanisms.
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Jewish World Watch is confident that the time is ripe to have these two bills finally move through both chambers and catalyze tangible changes for the 1 million Rohingya who escaped genocide and now live in squalid camps in neighboring Bangladesh, as well as numerous other minority groups still suffering inside Myanmar, facing various forms of persecution at the hands of the unrepentant Tatmadaw.
These pieces of legislation are poised to exert real pressure on the perpetrators of violence and help to create a better future for survivors of the genocide. But the path will not be easy and success is far from certain. Previous bills have failed to pass, largely because Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has refused to bring the Senate versions to vote. We must send a clear message that intransigence in the face of genocide and crimes against humanity will not be tolerated and is a failure of moral leadership. Our rallying cry must be widespread, loud, and persistent to show our legislators that meaningful action is long overdue.
Washington’s inaction in the face of such clear-cut genocide and other mass atrocities not only jeopardizes the United States’ position as a global promoter of human rights, but also sends the worst possible message to the Tatmadaw and other egregious rights violators around the world: that they can continue perpetrating unconscionable abuses with zero repercussions and with total impunity. We already see this happening inside Myanmar, as the Tatmadaw preys upon other minority groups using the same tactics it employed against the Rohingya, and continues to terrorize those internally displaced Rohingya who remain inside Rakhine state.
We have a collective responsibility to help end this ongoing genocide. Jewish World Watch is working in coalition with American Jewish World Service and other organizations through the Jewish Rohingya Justice Network to amplify our voices and broaden our reach. Please join us in making noise for the Rohingya by contacting your members of Congress and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 3190 and S. 1186.