FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Maryland Delegate Bilal Ali (Baltimore City – District 41) has introduced an historic new bill to ensure that Maryland spends and invests taxpayers’ money in a manner that reflects Maryland values of upholding human rights and opposition to genocide and crimes against humanity.
The Maryland End Genocide Bill (HB 1787) will require that the State of Maryland spend and invest taxpayers money in accordance with Maryland values. It seeks to ensure that the State of Maryland, through its spending and investing of taxpayers’ money, uses its influence to press corporations to adopt a formal policy of refusing to do business with governments that engage in genocide or crimes against humanity.
Maryland Delegate Bilal Ali (Baltimore City – District 41)
“With this bill, we will ensure that Maryland citizens’ tax dollars will be spent ethically and invested responsibly. It is an expression of Maryland citizens’ values that we use our taxpayer dollars to press companies to refuse to do business with governments engaged in genocide or crimes against humanity.”
Simon Billenness, Executive Director, International Campaign for the Rohingya
“We welcome the State of Maryland in using its influence to press companies to reconsider doing business with the government of Burma (Myanmar). We hope that this pressure will help end Burma’s genocide of the Rohingya people.”
“Governments require corporate investment and trade. But no government can expect to do business as usual if it engages in genocide or crimes against humanity. We can deny corporations our investment and our purchases until they refuse to support governments that engage in these grave abuses of human rights.”
Contacts:
Maryland Delegate Bilal Ali (Baltimore City – District 41)
(410) 841-3268
[email protected]
http://msa.maryland.gov/msa/mdmanual/06hse/html/msa17369.html
ABOUT MARYLAND DELEGATE BILAL ALI
Mr. Bilal Abdul Malik Ali serves as a delegate to the Maryland General Assembly representing Maryland’s District 41. He serves on the House Ways and Means committee.[2] He is a member of the Baltimore City Delegation and the Legislative Black Caucus of Maryland.
Simon Billenness, Executive Director, International Campaign for the Rohingya
(617) 596-6158
[email protected]
www.rohingyacampaign.org
ABOUT INTERNATIONAL CAMPAIGN FOR THE ROHINGYA
The International Campaign for the Rohingya advocates and amplifies the voice of the Rohingya with international organizations, governments, corporations, and civil society. Its mission is to help the Rohingya secure peace, security, and their rights wherever they reside. As a member of the “No Business With Genocide” campaign, International Campaign for the Rohingya presses corporations to speak out to end the genocide of the Rohingya in Burma (Myanmar).
Iman Awad, National Legislative Director, Emgage Action
(443) 417-0139
[email protected]
www.emgageusa.org
Emgage Action mobilizes Muslim Americans in support of key issues from criminal justice reform to healthcare to human rights, and prepares them for effective advocacy based on principled positions that uphold our values as Americans and as Muslims.
Key Provisions of the Maryland End Genocide Bill (HB 1787)
Full text of the bill: http://mgaleg.maryland.gov/2018RS/bills/hb/hb1787F.pdf
Procurement
The Maryland End Genocide Bill (HB 1787) will direct the state government, beginning on January 1st, 2020, to enter into contracts with only those corporations that have adopted a formal policy of refusing to do business with governments that engage in genocide or crimes against humanity.
Investment
The bill require the State Treasurer to ensure that any shares held by the State are voted in favor of shareholder resolutions that ask companies to adopt a policy of refusing to do business with governments that engage in genocide or crimes against humanity.
Market Participation
In both the procurement and investment provisions of the bill, the State of Maryland will act as a market participant. The State of Maryland will act in the marketplaces for goods, services, and capital just as any other consumer or investor does, free to apply both financial and ethical criteria in its purchasing and investing.
Establishment of the Maryland Commission on Genocide Prevention
The bill will establish the Maryland Commission on Genocide Prevention to research which governments are at risk of committing genocide or crimes against humanity, identify corporations that do business with those governments, and hold hearings on the implementation of the Act.
Overall Impact
Overall, the impact of the bill will be to use the State of Maryland’s procurement and investment processes to create market incentives for corporations to adopt a policy of refusing to do business with governments that engage in genocide or crimes against humanity.
The State of Maryland will join the citizens of Maryland and around the world who use ethical purchasing practices to influence corporations to help end genocide.
The State of Maryland will also join the shareholders of Chevron who in 2017 voted more than 72,000 of their shares in favor of a resolution asking the company to adopt a policy of refusing to do business with governments that engage in genocide or crimes against humanity.
The State of Maryland will also highlight and develop further ways in which the State can help end genocide through the work of its Maryland Commission on Genocide Prevention.
About End Genocide Laws
During the American Revolution, town meetings adopted resolutions calling for a boycott of British-made goods. The Boston Tea Party seized on the spirit of these resolutions through its historic act of dumping British tea in Boston Harbor. This revolutionary campaign is captured in T.H. Breen’s book “The Marketplace of Revolution: How Consumer Politics Shaped American Independence.” It was in part through this “boycott British” campaign that the American colonies united and rose up to secure their independence.
City and state “End Genocide” laws build on this American tradition. These laws follow in the footsteps of other similar successful campaigns. In the 1980s, the anti-apartheid movement forced corporations to divest from South Africa under pressure from municipal and state laws. In the 1990s, over 100 corporations withdrew from Burma (Myanmar) after Massachusetts and over 20 cities passed laws effectively boycotting companies doing business in the country. In the 2000s, the Save Darfur campaign mobilized pressure on oil companies in Sudan. Today, the fossil fuel divestment campaign is succeeding in mobilizing state and local government to tackle climate change.
By passing a Genocide Prevention Law, a city or state can express its citizens’ values while also ensuring that, by its spending and investment of taxpayer dollars, it represents its citizens’ values as an actor in the marketplace for goods, services, and capital. In so doing, the city or state will also act in solidarity with people at risk of genocide or other grave human rights abuses.
For more information, read “End Genocide, Starting With Your Hometown.”
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.