TAKE ACTION for the rohingya genocide

If passed, this bill would: 

1. Require the Secretary of State to make a determination whether the persecution of the Rohingya in Burma constitutes genocide. 

2. Authorize to impose sanctions on individuals and entities who helped stage the February 1 coup d’état and are responsible for the subsequent repression of fundamental freedoms, human rights abuses, use of indiscriminate violence towards civilians, and other gross atrocities. 

3. Authorize to prohibit the import of precious and semi-precious gemstones from Burma into the United States. 

4. Authorize support to civil society and for humanitarian assistance in Burma, Bangladesh, Thailand, and the surrounding region. 

5. Call for the United States to pressure the United Nations to take more decisive action with regards to Burma.

This past August marked the fourth year of the Burmese military’s genocide against the Rohingya, Burma’s ethnic Muslim minority. Unfortunately, the Rohingya have yet to receive justice for the atrocities that were committed against them. Furthermore, following the 2021 coup that saw the overthrow of the elected civilian government by the same army that terrorised the Rohingya, they remain vulnerable to the military’s genocidal persecution. 

A new shadow government has been formed as a response to the junta, alongside a steadily growing improvised armed resistance. The Tatmadaw, Burma’s army, have ratched attacks on villages and resistance fighters, many of whom come from the same villages targeted by the army. Civilians have fled into the forests, where they face disease, starvation, extreme weather, and dangerous animals; it appears that they have been abandoned by the international community. A number of international experts and countries including the United States and Great Britain have urged the National Unity Party (the shadow government), the resistance fighters, and the military to refrain from violence, a meaningless call as these organisations and countries have yet to impose any ramifications on the perpetrators of Burma’s ongoing crisis. 

What’s happening in Burma is not new nor is the protracted violence a surprise. Activists have been sounding the alarm for several years, warning countries that the junta’s coup was only a matter of time and would not bode well. Burma, like many other authoritarian states, has alleged that its Rohingya minority are not ethnically Burmese and are promulgating extremism within the country, weaponizing this claim to persecute, attack, and terrorise ethnic minorities. More than 1,000 people have been killed by security forces following the coup; Maj. Gen. Zaw Min Tun noted that his military could have killed more people if it wanted and thus were practising restraint. 

Moreover, the Biden administration is being further pressured to declare that the crimes against the Rohingya amount to genocide now that the military has once again gained control of the government. Indeed, as a response to the events in Burma, Senator Markey sponsored the Rohingya Genocide Determination Act, which would require Secretary of State Antony Blinken and various U.S. agencies to determine if the atrocities committed by the Burmese military constitute a genocide. So far, it has only been introduced in the Senate. Representative Gregory Meeks and Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD) are also expected to introduce a bill to sanction key members of the Burmese military sometime this month. Cardin previously led the senate call for an immediate and unconditional end to the military coup in Burma. Additionally, Congress has held multiple hearings on the violence that followed the overthrow of the government, acknowledging the brutality that the Rohingya as well as the general public have faced. 

These bills test Biden’s commitment to defending human rights. Strengthening democracy and protecting human rights are the pillars of Biden’s foreign policy, as he pledges to fix the image of the United States in the wake of the Trump presidency. The previous violence against the Rohingya was not enough to convince the State Department to proclaim genocide; the recent coup, however, changes that and has reinvigorated officials and human rights activists to demand Biden hold the military accountable. Notably, American allies, including Canada and Turkey, have already called it a genocide, whilst The Gambia has even gone so far as to lodge a formal case with the International Court of Justice against Burma on the basis of the Genocide Convention. The administration has committed to giving $155 million in aid to the Rohingya refugees as a response to the humanitarian crisis.

This is not enough. In a letter to Secretary Blinken, more than sixteen senators have criticized the pace at which the administration is taking on this issue, noting that ‘the time to recognize the crime of genocide against the Rohingya is long overdue.’ As the United States flounders on its commitment to protecting human rights, civilians are at the mercy of a violent military and the fallout from the coup continues to deteriorate, compounded by the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic and economic woes. The letter also reiterates the importance of a genocide designation. By declaring what has happened in Burma as a gencide, it sends a clear message to both the Burmese military and other human rights violators that there will be consequences for these actions. Once a genocide designation has been determined, the United States can move on to hold key members of Burma’s military and security apparatus accountable for their involvement through more stringent and stronger ramifications.