58 Human Rights Groups Call on Tillerson, Mnuchin to Impose Burma Sanctions

Washington, D.C.—In response to the ongoing human rights and humanitarian crisis in Burma, Human Rights First, in coalition with 58 human rights, labor rights, and religious organizations today called on Secretaries Tillerson and Mnuchin to take immediate action against Burmese military officials responsible for crimes against humanity and other atrocities committed against the country’s Rohingya population. The call came in a letter urging the Trump Administration to impose targeted economic sanctions authorized under the 2008 JADE Act and the 2016 Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act.

“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,” wrote the NGOs. “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.”

Added Rob Berschinski, Human Rights First’s senior vice president for policy, “The horrific, ongoing crimes taking place in Burma are fueled by a sense of impunity. Through the JADE Act and Global Magnitsky Act, the Trump Administration has tools at its disposal to bring some form accountability to individual perpetrators. With Secretary Tillerson traveling to Burma, the U.S. government must send a strong message that there will be consequences for the murder and rape of innocents.”