Today the US House of Representatives passed the BURMA Act of 2019 by a huge bipartisan vote of 394 - 21. The passage of the BURMA Act in the House of Representatives includes targeted financial sanctions against Myanmar’s senior military leaders and military-owned business conglomerates who have been found complicit in grave violence against the people of Myanmar. Global Witness welcomes the Burma Act as an important step for the US to live up to its commitments to human rights and accountability abroad.
All eyes now turn to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) conference, where conferees will decide in the coming weeks on whether to include language from the BURMA Act in the final NDAA. Today’s passage demonstrates US leadership and commitment to the people of Burma – it is now up to the NDAA conferees to honor that commitment.
Global Witness' latest policy briefing shows that targeted economic sanctions against senior members of Myanmar’s military and military-owned companies are crucial to combat the dominance of the military and undermine their ability to perpetrate campaigns of violence against the people of Myanmar.
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Briefing Resetting Myanmar Policy
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