The Burmese army's campaign of genocide against the Rohingya was premeditated

The Burmese army's campaign of genocide against the Rohingya was premeditated and planned.

In its damning report, Fortify Rights details how the Myanmar authorities made “extensive and systematic preparations” for attacks against Rohingya civilians during the weeks and months before militants attacked police on August 25, 2017. The report finds “reasonable grounds” that crimes against Rohingya constitute genocide and crimes against humanity. Today, please tell your U.S. senators to pass targeted and tough sanctions on Burma's army.

Today, email your U.S. senators to sanction Burma's army now
Thanks to your phone calls and emails, 25 senators have co-sponsored the the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2018 (S.2060). Last month, senators Gary Peters (D, Michigan), Maria Cantwell (D, Washington), and Christopher Murphy (D, Connecticut) signed up as co-sponsors.
One man, Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), is standing in the way of this bill. as Senate Majority Leader, he is blocking a vote on the Senate floor on the Burma sanctions bill.
But we do have influence. As Majority Leader, Senator McConnell listens closely to his Republican caucus. If your senators are Republican, please demand that they support and co-sponsor the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2018 (S.2060).


Today, email your U.S. senators to sanction Burma's army now

After you have emailed your senators, please follow up by phone. Call the Congressional Switchboard at (202) 224-3121 and ask to be connected to your senators' office. Or simply search the web for the phone number of their office in Washington, DC.

• Check to see if your senators have sponsored the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2018 (S.2060). (If you live in Maryland, Massachusetts, or Oregon, both of your senators are already sponsors.) If they are a co-sponsor, call to thank them.
• When you reach your legislator's office, ask to be connected to the staffer responsible for foreign policy. (Before being connected, ask for the spelling of the staffer's name and their email address.)
• Simply tell the staffer - in person or on their voicemail - to support and co-sponsor S. 2060: the Burma Human Rights and Freedom Act of 2018.
• Leave your name, number, and city of residence to indicate that you live in the district.
• Follow up with an email to the staffer. The staffer's email will follow this format: "[first name]_[last name]@[senator's last name].senate.gov".
• Email me at simon.billenness@rohingyacampaign.org and tell me how your call went and send me the name and email of the staffers.
• And, finally, if this is the level of activism that you'd like to continue, contact me. I'm looking for a few good folks in every state willing to work together to form a local chapter of the International Campaign for the Rohingya. If that's you, let's talk!

Let’s make this a habit of calling Congress every week until they do the job of putting effective pressure on Burma.
Thank you,

Simon Billenness, Executive Director