Washington, DC –

Today, House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Gregory W. Meeks (D-NY), House Foreign Affairs Asia-Pacific Subcommittee Ranking Member Steve Chabot (R-OH) and Senator Benjamin L. Cardin (D-MD) introduced the “Burma Unified through Rigorous Military Accountability Act of 2021” or BURMA Act.

Key elements of the legislation include:

Authorization 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.

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

Authorization for a new position at the State Department, a Special Coordinator for Burmese Democracy, to promote an international effort to impose and enforce multilateral sanctions on Burma and coordinate United States.

Government interagency efforts on Burma.

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

Call for the Department of State to make a genocide determination with regards to the persecution of the Rohingya.

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

Full Statement here:

https://foreignaffairs.house.gov/press-releases…

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