A bipartisan group of five influential American Senators Monday urged Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to release the official report containing findings, which documents the alleged atrocities committed by Burmese security forces against Rohingyas.
In a letter, the five Senators Susan Collins, Marco Rubio, Jeff Merkley, Richard Durbin and Tim Kaine urged Pompeo to take actions against individuals or entities involved in the violent campaign.
The State Department Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL), and the Office for Global Criminal Justice (GCJ) are currently documenting atrocities committed by Burmese security forces against Rohingya civilians. DRL and GCJ are now preparing a report, that will analyze over 1,000 interviews with Rohingya civilians, documenting the atrocities to which they have been subjected.
“The evidence collected in this report will be critical in holding Burmese military officials accountable for their crimes,” said the Senators in their letter dated June 7. A copy of the letter was released Monday.
“We therefore urge you to publicly release the entire report, including any findings of crimes against humanity and genocide. It is of vital importance that the report be scrupulously fact-based and retain its integrity, irrespective of any diplomatic or political considerations,” the Senators wrote.
They also urged the top American diplomat to use all tools at his disposal to respond to the crisis, including through existing law that allows for targeted sanctions against Burmese individuals or entities who were involved in the violent campaign against the Rohingya.
Commending the strong statement from US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, who characterized the actions of the Burmese authorities as, “a brutal sustained campaign to cleanse the country of an ethnic minority,” the lawmakers said that since August 2017, approximately 693,000 Rohingya refugees have fled Burma due to targeted violence and grave human rights violations perpetrated by Burmese military officials—including mass murder, rape, and arson.
“Thousands of Rohingya women were subjected to horrific sexual violence, many of whom are now due to give birth in Bangladeshi refugee camps. At every turn, the Government of Burma has blocked access to Rakhine State by humanitarian groups and neutral observers such as the UN Fact Finding Mission on Myanmar,” they said.
Strongly supporting State Department’s ongoing efforts to address the needs of the Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh and those Rohingya who are internally displaced in Burma, the Senators hoped that the investigation will prompt a process that will bring justice to the Rohingya victims and accountability to the security forces that perpetrated these brutal crimes.
“We urge you to publicly release the Department of State’s report immediately upon its conclusion, per your commitment in testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee on May 24, 2018,” they said.
The Senators urged Pompeo to press the Burmese Government to fully implement any memorandum of understanding with UNHCR and UNDP that would create the conditions to facilitate the safe, voluntary, and dignified return of Rohingya refugees to their homes in Burma.
“The violence since August 2017 was just the latest episode in the brutal crackdown against the Rohingya, who like other violently persecuted minorities in Burma, have faced deep-seeded prejudices for generations. That is why there can be no meaningful resolution to the Rohingya crisis without the full adoption of the recommendations of the Kofi Annan Advisory Commission,” they said.