“Burmese government’s horrific treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, in particular, demands a strong U.S. response”
WASHINGTON, DC—U.S. Rep. Ed Royce (R-CA), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and U.S. Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), the Committee’s Ranking Member, sent a letter to the Secretary of the Treasury Jacob Lew urging the Obama Administration to impose sanctions on those responsible for the increasing human rights abuses against Rohingya Muslims and others in Burma, where thousands have been displaced or disenfranchised.
In the letter to Treasury Secretary Lew, Royce and Engel write: “As you know, President Obama signed Executive Order 13619 in 2012 to hold those who are responsible for human rights violations in Burma accountable. … Mr. Secretary, we urge you to use this important tool to respond to human rights abuses in Burma. The failure to do so undermines U.S. policy of promoting democratic reforms and human rights. It is imperative that we employ whatever tools are available to address these conditions and the government of Burma’s role in fueling them.”
The signed letter is available HERE.
The text of the letter follows:
August 11, 2015
The Honorable Jacob Lew
Secretary of the Treasury
U.S. Department of the Treasury
1500 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW
Washington, D.C. 20220
Dear Mr. Secretary:
We are writing to request that you use existing authorities to respond to the continued escalation of human rights abuses in Burma. The Burmese government’s horrific treatment of the Rohingya Muslim minority, in particular, demands a strong U.S. response.
Since 2012, the persecution of the Rohingya at the hands of national and regional government authorities and local actors in western Burma’s Rakhine State has displaced or disenfranchised tens of thousands of people. Many of these individuals are rendered “stateless” by current Burmese government policy, and even those who gain full or naturalized citizenship still lack basic freedoms, including freedom of movement or the ability to access government permits that are essential to their livelihood.
As a result, thousands of men, women, and children have fled by sea with hundreds dying when their boats were abandoned by their human smugglers and traffickers. These abuses and systematic government policies of persecution have led United to End Genocide and the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum to warn about a high risk of further atrocities, even genocide.
As you know, President Obama signed Executive Order 13619 in 2012 to hold those who are responsible for human rights violations in Burma accountable. The order allows the Administration to add those responsible for or complicit in human rights abuses in Burma to a Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list and to impose sanctions. Despite the continued escalation of human rights abuses in Burma since the order was signed, only one individual has been added to the Specially Designated Nationals (SDN) list. It is important to take appropriate action in response to human rights abuses: these human rights abusers should have their bank accounts and other financial assets frozen.
Mr. Secretary, we urge you to use this important tool to respond to human rights abuses in Burma. The failure to do so undermines U.S. policy of promoting democratic reforms and human rights. It is imperative that we employ whatever tools are available to address these conditions and the government of Burma’s role in fueling them.
We look forward to your response.
Sincerely,
EDWARD R. ROYCE
Chairman
ELIOT L. ENGEL
Ranking Member
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