Senate Foreign Relation Committee Passes Biparitsan
Resolution Condemning Burmese Ethnic Cleansing, Calling for Safe Repatriation
of Rohingya
March 21, 2018
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senators Jeff Merkley (D-OR),
Todd Young (R-IN), Tim Kaine (D-VA), and John McCain (R-AZ) today announced
that a bipartisan Senate resolution condemning the Burmese campaign of ethnic
cleansing against the Rohingya and calling for the “safe, dignified, voluntary
and sustainable return” of the refugees who have been displaced by this
violence was voted out of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on a
bipartisan vote with unanimous support.
The senators introduced the resolution in January, as
planned repatriation from Bangladesh to Burma was postponed amid fears that the
repatriation as planned would be neither safe nor voluntary.
“The crimes that the Burmese military perpetrated against
the Rohingya are horrific and will haunt us for generations to come,” said
Merkley, who led a congressional fact-finding mission to Burma and Bangladesh
in November. “In the refugee camps in Bangladesh, Rohingya refugees described
to me systemic campaigns of rape and murder. Women showed me the scars on their
bodies from burns they suffered as their homes burnt around them. Children
showed me their drawings of the Burmese military shooting innocent villagers as
they fled. After a campaign of such violent ethnic cleansing, we must ensure
that any repatriation of the Rohingya to their homeland is voluntary, safe and
dignified. And with monsoon season approaching and 100,000 refugees immediately
at risk, we have no time to delay in tackling this life-and-death issue.”
“I am pleased that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee
passed our bipartisan resolution condemning the Burmese military’s campaign of
ethnic cleansing against the Rohingya,” said Young. “The resolution will now
advance to the full Senate, and I will continue working with the administration
and the international community to hold the perpetrators accountable and ensure
refugee returns are voluntary, safe, and dignified.”
“The situation in Burma remains dire as the military’s campaign
of ethnic cleansing and violence has forced hundreds of thousands of Rohingya
into Bangladesh,” said Kaine. “Though Bangladesh’s efforts to protect these
vulnerable individuals have been extremely generous, any plans to repatriate
the Rohingya to Burma should be done in a voluntary and dignified manner. Our resolution makes clear that the U.S.
Congress will continue to closely monitor the Burmese government’s treatment of
the Rohingya to ensure that the atrocities against them stop and the refugees
are safe and treated fairly in Bangladesh or upon their return to Burma.”
“The systematic human rights abuses committed against the
Rohingya people in Burma have shocked all people of conscience,” said Senator
John McCain, Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee. “Nearly 700,000
innocent men, women, and children have been forced from their homes by the
Burmese military’s bloody and brutal campaign. Now, as the governments of Burma
and Bangladesh move forward with plans for repatriation, many Rohingya fear
their return home will be met with more violence. Rohingya refugees should not
have to return to the same brutality they once fled. The United States and the
international community must ensure that their return home will be safe,
voluntary and dignified, and that those responsible for the violence will be
held accountable.”
Read also: Key Outcomes of U.S. Priorities at the UN Human Rights
Council's 37th Session: https://www.state.gov/r/pa/prs/ps/2018/03/279545.htm
The resolution is cosponsored by Senators Dianne
Feinstein (D-CA), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Dick Durbin (D-IL), Marco Rubio (R-FL),
Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Elizabeth
Warren (D-MA), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Tina Smith (D-MN), and Chris Coons (D-DE).
The full text of the bipartisan resolution follows below.
Urging the Governments of Burma and Bangladesh to ensure
the safe, dignified, voluntary, and sustainable return of the Rohingya refugees
who have been displaced by the campaign of ethnic cleansing conducted by the
Burmese military.
Whereas, on August 25, 2017, attacks on security posts in
Burma by the military group Arakan Rohingya Salvation Army resulted in a
brutal, systematic, and disproportionate reprisal by the Burmese military and
security forces on Rohingya villages in Rakhine State;
Whereas more than 650,000 Rohingya refugees have fled to
Bangladesh since the Burmese military commenced its scorched-earth campaign,
with the burning of villages and local monuments, and reports of widespread
gang rape, starvation, killing, and forcible deportation;
Whereas the Government of Burma has consistently denied
access to the United Nations Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar established to
investigate human rights violations around the country;
Whereas Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina proposed
that “safe zones” be created inside Burma to protect all civilians irrespective
of religion and ethnicity under United Nations (UN) supervision;
Whereas the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
(UNHCR)’s mandate is to provide, in collaboration with other actors,
international protection to refugees and to assist them in finding durable
solutions through voluntary repatriation, local integration, or resettlement;
Whereas the UN General Assembly has repeatedly affirmed
UNHCR’s function of facilitating the voluntary repatriation of refugees and, in
recognition of the importance of sustainable return, has widened its mandate to
include providing assistance for their rehabilitation and dealing with the
consequences of their return;
Whereas the fundamental operational principles of
voluntary repatriation are safety, to include legal and physical safety, and
dignity, to include treatment with respect and full acceptance by their
national authorities, including the full restoration of refugees’ rights;
Whereas, on November 23, 2017, the Government of Burma
and the Government of Bangladesh signed an agreement, known as the
“Arrangement”, on the return of displaced persons from Rakhine State, which is
modeled after the 1992 repatriation agreement between Burma and Bangladesh;
Whereas the Arrangement includes references to restoring
normalcy and human rights in Rakhine State, for refugee returns to comply with
international standards of safety, dignity, and voluntariness, and to
commencing a process to address root causes in line with the Rakhine Advisory
Commission recommendations;
Whereas approximately 236,000 Rohingya refugees returned
to Burma under the terms of the 1992 agreement, only to continue to be denied
citizenship, face prejudice, violence, and persecution, and in many instances
be forced to live in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps with their
freedom of movement restricted;
Whereas Burma’s 1982 citizenship law stripped Rohingya of
their Burmese citizenship, rendering them stateless;
Whereas the Government of Burma continues to
systematically discriminate against the Rohingya people, including by
continuing to restrict registration of Rohingya births and to deny them freedom
of movement, access to healthcare, land, education, marriage, voting rights,
and political participation;
Whereas the Government of Burma has repeatedly abused
land use laws to unjustly seize land from Rohingya refugees;
Whereas UNHCR is working closely with the Government of
Bangladesh and partners to provide protection and assistance to the Rohingya
refugees and to support the host populations affected by the influx;
Whereas the Government of Burma has not reached an
agreement with UNHCR on its role in the safe, dignified, and voluntary return
of Rakhine State refugees;
Whereas Myanmar Minister of Social Welfare, Relief and
Resettlement Dr. Win Myat Aye, on December 28, 2017, announced that the
repatriation process will begin on January 22, 2018;
Whereas there is concern that up to 100,000 Rohingya
could be at risk of forced return into two “model villages” or supported by
1,200 tents provided by the Government of Burma, without assurances of their
safety or details regarding long term solutions to address root causes of
Rohingya disenfranchisement;
Whereas “model villages” and similar tactics in Burma
dating back to colonial rule have been used to strategically shift population
groups and deepen religious and cultural divides;
Whereas on December 12, 2017, Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo,
two journalists reporting and documenting atrocities against the Rohingya, were
arrested and on January 10, 2018, formally prosecuted with violating the
“Official Secrets Act,” further risking Burma’s democratic transition;
Whereas UNHCR, as of December 17, 2017, reports that
conditions in Burma’s Rakhine State are not yet conducive to enable safe and
sustainable return, as refugees continue to flee Rakhine State into neighboring
Bangladesh;
Whereas UNHCR reports that those who arrive have suffered
immense violence and trauma in Burma, with some having witnessed the deaths of
family members and friends and most having little or nothing to return to, with
their homes and villages destroyed; and
Whereas there is concern that deep divisions between
communities remain unaddressed and humanitarian access is inadequate: Now,
therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Senate—
(1) condemns the violence and displacement inflicted on
Burma’s Rohingya and other ethnic minorities;
(2) Calls for an immediate halt to all hostilities by
Burmese authorities;
(3) Condemns the attacks by the Arakan Rohingya Salvation
Army militant group;
(4) Calls on the Government of Burma to allow full access
to Rakhine State and ensure the full participation of UNHCR, the
internationally endorsed organization tasked with ensuring that refugee returns
are voluntary, safe, dignified, and meet international refugee and human rights
standards, and that the voices of refugees are represented in order to ensure
the sustainability of such returns and to prevent further waves of
displacement;
(5) Commends the positive role of the Government of
Bangladesh in receiving Rohingya refugees to date and urges the Government of
Bangladesh to continue allowing the full participation of UNHCR and human
rights organization in accessing refugee camps;
(6) Calls on UNHCR and international nongovernmental
organizations to play a role in monitoring repatriation efforts by the
Governments of Bangladesh and Burma to ensure a process that meets
international norms for voluntary, safe, and dignified repatriation;
(7) Calls on the UN to consider the feasibility of
Bangladesh’s proposal for a “safe zone” or for a peacekeeping mission to
protect and defend vulnerable communities under international supervision;
(8) Agrees that any return of Rohingya should include
guarantees that any returns of refugees will be voluntary and dignified, that
there will be no threats to protection or security upon return, that refugees
will be able to return to their places of origin or other locations as desired,
and be able to enjoy equal rights with others in Burma, including the
restoration or granting of full citizenship, freedom of movement, and access to
basic services;
(9) Recognizes that any forced relocation of Rohingya
refugees into temporary settlements, IDP camps, “model villages,” or other
areas not of refugees’ choosing is unacceptable;
(10) Calls on the Government of Burma to allow for a
flexible and practical approach to dealing with evidence of Rohingya residence
in Burma, recognizing that the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh possess a wide
range of documents and that some refugees have no documents and will need to
establish their residence by other means;
(11) Calls on the Government of Burma to address root
causes consistent with the Rakhine Advisory Commission recommendations and
fully implement all of the recommendations of the Commission, including
providing equal access to full restoration or granting of full citizenship for
the Rohingya population;
(12) Calls on the Government of Burma to acknowledge and
address the issue of statelessness for the Rohingya, the deprivation of rights,
and institutionalized and pervasive discrimination of the Rohingya population
in order to bring about any sustainable solutions;
(13) Commends the Government and the people of Bangladesh
for their extraordinary generosity and efforts to provide shelter and relief
for nearly 1,000,000 Rohingya refugees forced to flee their homes in Burma;
(14) Calls on the Government of Bangladesh to ensure all
refugees have freedom of movement and under no circumstances are subject to
unsafe, involuntary, precipitous, or uninformed returns to Burma; and
(15) Calls on the Government of Burma to immediately
release journalists Wa Lone and Kyaw Soe Oo.