Burma Tier 1 | Uscirf-Recommended Countries of Particular Concern (Cpc)

BURMA TIER 1 | USCIRF-RECOMMENDED COUNTRIES OF PARTICULAR CONCERN (CPC) KEY FINDINGS Of the myriad religious freedom challenges the government of enmity toward Muslims in Burma in 2017, and some Buddhist Burma (also known as Myanmar) confronted in 2017, the crisis leaders propagated chauvinistic and racist attitudes. Decades- in Rakhine State was the most exigent. Military and security long discriminatory policies and practices perpetuated by forces launched a brutal response to attacks carried out by successive governments and the military also continued to Rohingya Muslim insurgents against border guard and law restrict religious freedom for religious and ethnic minorities. enforcement personnel in October 2016 and August 2017. The For example, some Christians face bureaucratic hurdles and retaliatory acts included indiscriminate and disproportionate societal pressure that make it difficult to gather in public to attacks against innocent civilians, even children: looting, burn- worship or obtain permission to build churches, and converts ing, and destroying property; arbitrary detentions and arrests; to Christianity experience harassment. In November 2017, a rape and other sexual violence; enforced disappearances; and USCIRF delegation visited Burma to assess religious freedom extrajudicial killings. U.S. and United Nations (UN) officials conditions. Based on the systematic, ongoing, egregious vio- characterized the abuses as ethnic cleansing. The violence, lations of religious freedom occurring in the country, in 2018 which was also perpetrated by nonstate actors in Rakhine USCIRF again finds that Burma merits designation as a “coun- State, first prompted 74,000 Rohingya Muslims to flee to try of particular concern,” or CPC, under the International Bangladesh, followed by upward of 688,000, a number that Religious Freedom Act (IRFA). The U.S. State Department continued to grow after the reporting period. Extreme nation- has designated Burma as a CPC since 1999, most recently in alist sentiment among some Buddhists continued to drive December 2017. RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE U.S. GOVERNMENT • Redesignate Burma as a CPC under rights and humanitarian laws, including • Encouraging Burma’s government IRFA; specific abuses related to freedom of to become party to the International • Maintain the existing, ongoing arms religion or belief; Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; embargo referenced in 22 CFR 126.1 • Retain the position of the U.S. Special • Work with Burma’s government in of the International Traffic in Arms Representative and Policy Coordinator support of a credible path to citizen- Regulations; for Burma and ensure that religious ship for Rohingya Muslims, to ensure • Use targeted tools against specific freedom is a priority for that office and their freedom of movement, and to officials, agencies, and military units for U.S.-Burma relations, including by: restore their political rights to vote identified as having participated in or • Urging the government of Burma, and run for office; being responsible for human rights representatives from all religious • Use the term “Rohingya” both pub- abuses, including particularly severe communities residing in Burma licly and privately, which legitimizes violations of religious freedom; these (including leaders and laypersons), their status and respects the right of tools include the “specially designated and other relevant stakeholders to Rohingya Muslims to identify as they nationals” list maintained by the U.S. combat intolerance and promote choose; and Department of the Treasury’s Office inclusivity in the spirit of the Rabat • Press for at the highest levels and of Foreign Assets Control, visa denials Plan of Action on the prohibition work to secure the unconditional under section 604(a) of IRFA and of advocacy of national, racial, or release of prisoners of conscience the Global Magnitsky Human Rights religious hatred that constitutes and persons detained or awaiting Accountability Act, and asset freezes incitement to discrimination, hostility, trial, and press Burma’s government under the Global Magnitsky Act; or violence; to treat prisoners humanely and allow • Work with bilateral and multilateral • Advising Burma’s government to them access to family, human rights partners to put concerted pressure draft its bill protecting against hate monitors, adequate medical care, and on Burma’s government and military speech consistent with international lawyers, and the ability to practice to allow an independent investigation standards and review existing laws, their faith. into the root causes of conflict and the policies, and regulations to ensure human rights violations in areas like that they combat intolerance, Rakhine, Kachin, and Shan states, and discrimination, and incitement to to hold accountable perpetrators or violence without restricting speech; inciters of severe violations of human USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 TIER 1 TIER BURMA COUNTRY FACTS FULL NAME RELIGIOUS DEMOGRAPHY* Union of Burma, also known as Myanmar, or 89.8% Buddhist the Union of Myanmar 6.3% Christian 2.3% Muslim (4.3% when accounting for nonenumerated GOVERNMENT Muslims in Rakhine State at the time of the 2014 census) Parliamentary Republic 0.8% Animist POPULATION 0.5% Hindu 51,486,000+ 0.2% Other 0.1% None GOVERNMENT-RECOGNIZED RELIGIONS/FAITHS Buddhism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and Animism * Population and religious demography figures sourced from Burma’s 2014 census; all other data from the CIA World Factbook BACKGROUND intensified in Kachin State and northern Shan State Throughout 2017, the horrific human rights abuses in as the government-led peace process failed to move Rakhine State drew the international community’s forward. Moreover, the internal and external displace- strong condemnation, directed at both the Rohingya ment prompted by these conflicts heightened the risk insurgents who targeted security personnel and the of trafficking and exploitation, particularly of individ- military’s brutal response. Yet Burma met the interna- uals who attempted to cross the country’s border. (For tional community’s scrutiny with silence, denial, and further information describing how religious freedom distortions of fact. Rather than embrace transparency and related human rights concerns transcend borders, and collaboration, Burma’s military and ruling National refer to USCIRF’s September 2017 report, A Right for All: League for Democracy (NLD) government closed ranks, Freedom of Religion or Belief in ASEAN.) largely cutting off access to affected areas by interna- During the year, authorities detained, arrested, or tional human rights monitors, independent media, and charged journalists and social media users, constricting humanitarian aid and workers. While the scope and both freedom of the press and freedom of expression. scale of the human rights and humanitarian crisis— For example, in July 2017, authorities arrested Swe including religious freedom violations—in Rakhine Win, Myanmar Now editor-in-chief, for alleged online State is unique to Rohingya Muslims, it is nonetheless defamation after he wrote a Facebook post criticizing U symptomatic of the endemic abuses perpetrated for Wirathu, a firebrand monk long associated with Burma’s decades by both state and nonstate actors against reli- extreme nationalist and anti-Muslim movements; his gious and ethnic minorities in Burma. For nearly seven trial was ongoing at the end of the reporting period. decades, anyone not belonging to the majority Bamar The increasingly limited space for peaceful speech ethnic group or the majority Buddhist faith has been and dissent could diminish further as the government at risk of discrimination, deprivation of rights, impris- considers legislation to protect against hate speech. In onment, and violence, particularly violence stemming September 2017, Burma’s Ministry of Religious Affairs from the military’s longstanding conflicts with ethnic and Culture submitted to parliament a draft anti-hate armed organizations (EAOs). In fact, in 2017, fighting speech bill that human rights organizations viewed as USCIRF | ANNUAL REPORT 2018 TIER 1 TIER BURMA inconsistent with international standards. Although northern Rakhine State. The international community the version of the bill submitted in September no longer condemned ARSA’s attacks—which resulted in the contained limits on blasphemy or political speech, it deaths of 12 security officials and several dozen insur- focused on censorship and broadly defined hate speech gents—and Burma’s government labeled the group in a manner that would allow the government to further a terrorist organization. Rather than apprehend the suppress criticism and dissent. At the end of 2017, the perpetrators and protect innocent civilians and other bill remained pending in parliament. Drafting legisla- security personnel from further violence, Burma’s tion against hate speech was among the last projects on military, aided by local Buddhists acting as vigilan- which prominent lawyer and NLD advisor U Ko Ni, who tes, swiftly implemented a brutal crackdown against was Muslim, worked prior to his assassination in Janu- Rohingya Muslims. Collectively, their indiscriminate ary 2017. At year’s end, the primary suspect in his killing and disproportionate attacks resulted in the deaths remained at large. of at least 6,700 Rohingya Muslims in the first month, In 2017, the UN made several attempts to investigate including hundreds of children. By year’s end, more human rights abuses, all of

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