November 2, 2017
The Honorable Rex Tillerson
Secretary of State
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520
The Honorable Steven Mnuchin
Secretary of the Treasury
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20220
Re: Burma and Targeted Sanctions
Dear Secretaries Tillerson and Mnuchin,
The US government urgently needs to act to help address the grave human rights and humanitarian crisis that has resulted from the Burmese military’s brutal response to the Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army (ARSA)’s August 25 attack on government posts in Burma’s Rakhine State.
As you know, since late August, Burmese security forces have waged a campaign of ethnic cleansing and committed numerous crimes against humanity against the Rohingya population, a long-persecuted ethnic and religious minority group predominantly in Rakhine State. In response to these abuses, more than 600,000 Rohingya have fled to Bangladesh over the past two months.
Satellite images commissioned by independent organizations show hundreds of burned villages – and tens of thousands of torched buildings. Refugees have provided first-hand accounts of unfathomable brutality: soldiers burning infants alive, gang-raping women, shooting villagers fleeing their homes – violations that research by nongovernmental organizations has found to be widespread and systematic.
United Nations investigators who have conducted interviews of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh have noted “a consistent, methodical pattern of actions resulting in gross human rights violations affecting hundreds of thousands of people.” The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad al Hussein, has called the scale and nature of the atrocities in Rakhine a “textbook example of ethnic cleansing.”
Despite international condemnation, Burmese authorities continue to restrict access to the region for most international humanitarian organizations, a UN fact-finding mission, and independent media. The commander-in-chief of the Burmese military, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, and other Burmese officials, refuse to acknowledge the atrocities their forces have committed.
We commend the U.S. government for the nearly $104 million in humanitarian assistance it has provided in fiscal year 2017, nearly $40 million of which was provided in direct response to the Rakhine State crisis, to displaced populations in Burma and refugees in neighboring countries. We also strongly support the State Department’s statement that “individuals or entities responsible for atrocities, including non-state actors and vigilantes, be held accountable.”
It is critical that the U.S. government respond to the severity and scope of the Burmese military’s ethnic cleansing campaign with effective action. To this end, we urge the administration to immediately and robustly impose targeted economic sanctions authorized under the 2008 JADE Act and the 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.
Under the JADE Act, the president is empowered to issue travel restrictions and financial sanctions against Burmese military officials and their immediate family members if they are “involved in…gross violations of human rights in Burma or in the commission of other human rights abuses.” Steps taken by the previous administration to lift sanctions did not unravel existing authorities but only waived them, and, according to recent State Department releases, some JADE Act authorities are currently in use, such as the ban on current and former Burmese military officials traveling to the United States. The administration should move to robustly and vigorously employ the remaining authorities.
In addition to the JADE Act, the administration should exercise its authority granted under the Global Magnitsky Act, which allows for the levying of travel restrictions and financial sanctions against individuals responsible for acts of significant corruption and gross violations of internationally recognized human rights committed against individuals who seek “to obtain, exercise, defend, or promote internationally recognized human rights and freedoms, such as the freedom of religion.” Given that the Burmese military’s actions against the Rohingya people are motivated at least in part on religious grounds, the Global Magnitsky Act is applicable.
Given the systemic nature of the crimes being perpetrated against the Rohingya people, it is important that sanctions designations levied under either the JADE Act or Global Magnitsky Act target appropriately senior officials who likely ordered criminal acts or appear to have been criminally responsible as a matter of command responsibility. Command responsibility would encompass those senior-most members of the Burmese security forces who knew or had reason to know that their subordinates were committing extrajudicial killings, rape, arson and other abuses, and failed to take all necessary and reasonable steps to prevent such abuses or punish those responsible.
As you recently said, Secretary Tillerson, “the world cannot just sit idly by and be witness to these atrocities.” The JADE Act and Global Magnitsky Act provide the executive branch with tools for action. The United States should employ them to the fullest to prevent dire consequences for Burma’s future and send an unmistakable signal to the rest of the world.
Thank you for your attention to this important matter.
Sincerely,
Human Rights Watch
Human Rights First
AFL-CIO
ALTSEAN-Burma
Ameinu (Our People)
Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain
American Jewish Committee
American Jewish World Service
Anti-Defamation League
Association Suisse Birmanie
Boat People SOS
Buddhist Global Relief
Burma Action Ireland
Burma Campaign UK
Burma Human Rights Network
Burma Task Force
Burmese Rohingya Organisation UK
Center for Justice & Accountability
Christian Solidarity Worldwide
Congregation Tehillah
CREDO
Emgage Action
Estonian American National Council
Equal Rights Trust
Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR-USA)
Freedom House
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Fortify Rights
Global Centre for the Responsibility to Protect
Global Progressive Hub
Holocaust, Genocide, and Interfaith Education Center at Manhattan College
Info Birmanie
Institute for Asian Democracy
Interfaith Center of New York
International Campaign for the Rohingya
International State Crime Initiative
Investors Against Genocide
Jacob Blaustein Institute for the Advancement of Human Rights
JACOB: The Jewish Alliance of Concern Over Burma
Jewish Council for Public Affairs
Joint Baltic American National Committee
Jubilee Campaign USA Inc
Just Foreign Policy
Magnitsky Act Initiative
Muslim Bar Association of New York
Muslim Public Affairs Council
Partners Relief & Development
Physicians for Human Rights
Refugees International
Society for Threatened Peoples – Germany
STAND: The Student-Led Movement to End Mass Atrocities
The Network of Chinese Human Rights Defenders
The Network of Spiritual Progressives
T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights
Unitarian Universalist Service Committee
U.S. Committee for Refugees and Immigrants
Viet Tan
Win Without War
Petition to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) and the International Labour Organization (ILO)
We, the undersigned, representing concerned citizens, civil society organizations, and advocates for human rights, urgently call upon theUnited Nations Security Council (UNSC)and theInternationalLabour Organization (ILO)to take immediate action to address the humanitarian crisis resulting from the forced conscription law imposed by the military junta in Myanmar.
Background:
OnFebruary 10, 2024, the military junta in Myanmar announced its illegitimate enforcement of the People’s Military Service Law (Nº 27/2010), compelling up to 50,000 people per year to serve in the military for up to five years. This forced conscription isa blatant violation ofinternational law and fundamental human rights, threatening peace, stability, and the well-being of the people of Myanmar. It poses a significant threat in Myanmar and the region for several reasons:
Illegitimate military:The Myanmar military began an attempted coup in February 2021, and since then has no longer been working in service to the nation of Myanmar. Rather, it now operates under the command of an unelected and illegitimate military junta. Under this leadership, the military has launched a nationwide campaign of heinous crimes against the people of Myanmar in an attempt to suppress and control them. To date, the military haskilledover4,500 people, andarrestedmore than26,000including the President, State Counsellor, elected members of parliament, journalists, pro-democracy activists, religious leaders and others. Over 20,000 remain incarcerated. The military has committed massacres, indiscriminate airstrikes, artillery shelling, sexual and gender-based violence, mass torture and mass arson. As a result,2.4 million peoplehave fled their homes since the attempted coup began.
Forced Conscription of Women, Children, Professionals and Retirees:The junta’s decision to use conscription is widely understood among Myanmar people as a desperate attempt to compensate for its growing combat losses and defections. The junta’s State Administration Council (SAC) will forcibly recruit civilians, includingmenaged18-35 years,womenaged18-27 yearsand professionals such as doctors and engineers. Those who refuse will facea five-year jailterm. This adds to the junta’s illegitimate use of other forms of forced recruitment such as the Reserve Forces Law (2010) under which wives and children of soldiers aged over 15 are currently forced to undergo military training and retired or discharged military personnel are forced to serve for unspecified lengths of time. The junta’s forced recruitment is an extreme measure, particularly in relation to children and retirement aged people. Further, the forced recruitment of young women is especially egregious given the junta’s ongoing use of sexual violence.
Exacerbation of Violence:
The implementation of forced conscription by the military junta escalates the already unprecedented violence in Myanmar. As the junta faces growing resistance from democratic forces, it resorts to forced conscription as a means of psychological warfare to terrorize the population into submission. This escalation of violence further destabilises the country and heightens tensions within communities. (1)
Use of Human Shields and Atrocities:
The military junta has a track record of using civilians, including women and children, as human shields, minesweepers, and porters. Forcing conscription provides the junta with a ready pool of recruits to exploit in these dangerous roles, exposing them to the risk of abuse, torture, and even death.
Moreover, the junta’s history of committing atrocities, including sexual violence against women, raises serious concerns about the safety and well-being of those subjected to forced conscription.
Civilian Backlash and Fallout:
The announcement of forced conscription has triggered a major backlash among Myanmar’s civilian population, leading to widespread fear, anger, and resistance. Many young people are considering drastic measures to evade conscription, such as fleeing the country or joining resistance forces. This mass opposition to conscription is likely to further destabilize the country and contribute to social unrest
Humanitarian Crisis and Refugee Outflow: Forced conscription has already led to a rush of people seeking to leave Myanmar, leading to overcrowding and chaos at border crossings. This mass exodus poses humanitarian challenges for neighbouring countries and increases the risk of conflict spillover. Moreover, the targeting of specific ethnic and religious groups, such as the Rohingya, for conscription further exacerbates existing tensions and raises concerns about potential genocide or ethnic cleansing.
Petition:
1. We call upon theUnited Nations Security Council (UNSC)to:
Immediately convene an emergency meeting to address the crisis in Myanmar and propose a binding resolution under Chapter VII of the UN Charter.
Directly address the Myanmar crisis with relevant partners to manage its consequences, as relying solely on ASEAN has proven ineffective and contributed to escalating regional instability in Southeast Asia.
Imposing targeted sanctions especially on providing insurance to jet fuel import; banning the import of jet fuel into Myanmar; and a comprehensive arms embargo against the military junta to halt the enforcement of the Conscription Law and prevent further human rights violations.
Refer the situation in Myanmar to the International Criminal Court or establish an ad hoc tribunal to hold perpetrators of atrocities accountable.
2. We call upon theInternational Labour Organization (ILO)to:
Reject the forced conscription law imposed by the military junta in Myanmar as a grave violation of international labour standards and fundamental human rights.
Take decisive action against the State Administrative Council (SAC) for illegitimately forcing this law, which has a documented history of committing heinous crimes against humanity, including sexual violence against women, forced portering, and the use of civilians as human shields. Such actions constitute egregious violations of human rights and demand immediate accountability.
Condemn the use of forced labour and take immediate action to investigate and monitor instances of forced conscription in Myanmar.
Provide technical assistance and support to the legitimate government of Myanmar, theNational Unity Government (NUG),Ethnic Representation Organisations (ERO), andcivil society organizationsto address forced labour, protect the rights of affected individuals.
Conclusion:
The forced conscription law imposed by the military junta in Myanmar represents a severe threat to peace, stability, and human security in the region. We urge the United Nations Security Council and the International Labour Organization to act swiftly and decisively to address this crisis and uphold the principles of justice, dignity, and human rights for all.