119-hres106

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Res. 106 Introduced in House

    (IH) ]

<DOC>

119th CONGRESS
 1st Session
H. RES. 106

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
 Nations Security Council should immediately impose an arms embargo 
 against the military of Burma.

_______________________________________________________________________

 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

 February 4, 2025

Ms. Tenney (for herself, Mr. Castro of Texas, Ms. Norton, Mr. Sherman, 
 Mr. Cohen, Mr. McGovern, and Mr. Wilson of South Carolina) submitted 
 the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on 
 Foreign Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

 RESOLUTION

 Expressing the sense of the House of Representatives that the United 
 Nations Security Council should immediately impose an arms embargo 
 against the military of Burma.

Whereas the military of Burma (also referred to as the ``Tatmadaw'') conducted a 
 coup against the democratically elected civilian government on February 
 1, 2021;
Whereas, on February 2, 2021, the Department of State concluded that Daw Aung 
 San Suu Kyi, the leader of Burma's ruling party, and President Win 
 Myint, the duly elected head of government, were deposed in a military 
 coup on February 1, 2021;
Whereas the Tatmadaw has detained the elected civilian leaders of the country, 
 nullified the results of the November 2020 democratic elections, and 
 installed a junta, the State Administration Council, under a ``state of 
 emergency'';
Whereas the Tatmadaw has restricted freedom of movement, telecommunications, 
 internet service, and the media, limiting access to information to and 
 from Burma during a political crisis and international pandemic;
Whereas protests opposing the coup have continued across Burma, and hundreds of 
 innocent people have died at the hands of the Tatmadaw through the 
 brutal use of force;
Whereas the United States has sanctioned Tatmadaw officials, including Commander 
 in Chief Min Aung Hlaing and Burma's chief of police, Than Hlaing, and 
 Bureau of Special Operations commander, Lieutenant General Aung Soe;
Whereas the United States has also designated two entities linked to the coup 
 leaders, Myanma Economic Holdings Public Company Limited

    (MEHL) and 
 Myanmar Economic Corporation Limited

    (MEC) ;
Whereas, on April 13, 2021, the United Nation's High Commissioner for Human 
 Rights Michelle Bachelet said, ``There are clear echoes of Syria in 
 2011.'' in the current situation in Burma, and warned, ``I fear the 
 situation in Myanmar is heading towards a full-blown conflict. States 
 must not allow the deadly mistakes of the past in Syria and elsewhere to 
 be repeated.''; and
Whereas, on February 3, 2021, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres 
 stated, ``We will do everything we can to mobilize all the key actors 
 and international community to put enough pressure on Myanmar to make 
 sure that this coup fails.'': Now, therefore, be it
 Resolved, That it is the sense of the House of Representatives 
that--

    (1) the United Nations Security Council should immediately 
 impose an arms embargo against the military of Burma to prevent 
 the continued acquisition of arms and military equipment and 
 the proliferation of weapons throughout the country, and to 
 hold the Tatmadaw accountable for--
        (A) ongoing violations of human rights and the 
 security forces' history of grave abuses against 
 peaceful protestors of military rule and against the 
 Rohingya and other ethnic minority groups;
        (B) obstructing humanitarian access to civilian 
 populations in dire need of assistance;
            (C) using increasingly lethal force against 
 peaceful, prodemocracy demonstrators; and
            (D) threatening and arbitrarily detaining 
 government officials, activists, journalists, students, 
 and civil servants, and imposing rolling internet 
 shutdowns that put lives at risk;

    (2) the lifting of a United Nations arms embargo should be 
 contingent upon the Tatmadaw--
        (A) implementing a permanent cease-fire;
        (B) releasing the democratically elected government 
 leaders from imprisonment;
            (C) bearing the primary responsibility for gross 
 human rights abuses and forced displacement perpetrated 
 by the Tatmadaw's violent rule, including but not 
 limited to the Rohingya, Karen, Rakhine, and Kachin 
 ethnic minorities;
            (D) allowing for consistent, unimpeded humanitarian 
 access to vulnerable civilian populations;
        (E) fully restoring internet and telecommunications 
 access within the country of Burma; and
        (F) establishing a clear and verifiable process to 
 immediately transition power back to a democratically 
 elected civilian-led government; and

    (3) the international community should continue to support 
 civilians, particularly ethnic minorities, who have been 
 adversely affected by the coup in Burma and should promote 
 peace and reconciliation dialogues within local civil society.
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