Sec. 6541. Report on accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Burma
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It is the policy of the United States— to continue the support of ongoing mechanisms and special procedures of the United Nations Human Rights Council, including the United Nations Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar and the Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Myanmar; and to refute the credibility and impartiality of efforts sponsored by the Government of Burma, such as the Independent Commission of Enquiry, unless the United States Ambassador at Large for Global Criminal Justice determines the efforts to be credible and impartial and notifies the appropriate congressional committees in writing and in unclassified form regarding that determination.
Not later than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, after consultation with the heads of other United States Government agencies and representatives of human rights organizations, as appropriate, shall submit to the appropriate congressional committees a report that— evaluates the persecution of Rohingya in Burma by the Burmese military; after consulting with the Atrocity Early Warning Task Force, or any successor entity or office, provides a detailed description of any proposed atrocity prevention response recommended by the Task Force as it relates to Burma; summarizes any atrocity crimes committed against Rohingya or members of other ethnic minority groups in Burma between 2012 and the date of the submission of the report; describes any potential transitional justice mechanisms for Burma; provides an analysis of whether the reports summarized under paragraph
(3)amount to war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide; includes an assessment on which events that took place in the state of Rakhine in Burma, starting on August 25, 2017, constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide; and includes a determination with respect to whether events that took place during or after the coup of February 1, 2021, in any state in Burma constitute war crimes or crimes against humanity. The report required by subsection
(b)shall include the following: A description of— credible evidence of events that may constitute war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide committed by the Burmese military against Rohingya and members of other ethnic minority groups, including the identities of any other actors involved in the events; the role of the civilian government in the commission of any events described in subparagraph (A); credible evidence of events of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide committed by other armed groups in Burma; attacks on health workers, health facilities, health transport, or patients and, to the extent possible, the identities of any individuals who engaged in or organized such attacks in Burma; and to the extent possible, the conventional and unconventional weapons used for any events or attacks described in this paragraph and the sources of such weapons. In consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Attorney General, and heads of any other appropriate United States Government agencies, as appropriate, a description and assessment of the effectiveness of any efforts undertaken by the United States to promote accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide perpetrated against Rohingya by the Burmese military, the government of the Rakhine State, pro-government militias, or other armed groups operating in the Rakhine State, including efforts— to train civilian investigators, within and outside of Burma and Bangladesh, to document, investigate, develop findings of, identify, and locate alleged perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, or genocide in Burma; to promote and prepare for a transitional justice mechanism for the perpetrators of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide occurring in the Rakhine State in 2017; and to document, collect, preserve, and protect evidence of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Burma, including by— providing support for ethnic Rohingya, Shan, Rakhine, Kachin, Chin, and Kayin and other ethnic minorities; Burmese, Bangladeshi, foreign, and international nongovernmental organizations; the Independent Investigative Mechanism for Myanmar; and other entities engaged in investigative activities with respect to war crimes, crimes against humanity, and genocide in Burma. A detailed study of the feasibility and desirability of a transitional justice mechanism for Burma, such as an international tribunal, a hybrid tribunal, or other options, that includes— a discussion of the use of universal jurisdiction or of legal cases brought against Burma by other countries at the International Court of Justice regarding any atrocity crimes perpetrated in Burma; recommendations for any transitional justice mechanism the United States should support, the reason the mechanism should be supported, and the type of support that should be offered; and consultation regarding transitional justice mechanisms with representatives of Rohingya and individuals from other ethnic minority groups who have suffered human rights violations and abuses. The Secretary of State shall seek to ensure that the identification of witnesses and physical evidence used for the report required by this section are not publicly disclosed in a manner that might place witnesses at risk of harm or encourage the destruction of evidence by the military or government of Burma. The report required by subsection
(b)shall be submitted in unclassified form but may include a classified annex. The unclassified portion of the report required by subsection
(b)shall be posted on a publicly available internet website. In this section, the term appropriate congressional committees means— the Committee on Foreign Relations and the Committee on Armed Services of the Senate; and the Committee on Foreign Affairs and the Committee on Armed Services of the House of Representatives.