The Trump Administration has described that Tatmadaw's assault on the Rohingya as "ethnic cleansing" and has applied "limited targeted sanctions" on five Tatmadaw officers and two military units. These organizations have released at least 17 reports documenting evidence that appears to support some of these allegations, and implicates specific Burmese security personnel and units as being responsible for the abuses. Some conclude that certain violations may constitute genocide; in other cases, some describe possible war crimes or crimes against humanity. CRS did not independently confirm the veracity of the findings in these reports. The UNFFM report recommends that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) refer the human rights abuse allegations to the International Criminal Court (ICC) for investigation and possible prosecution. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley presented to the U.N Security Council some of the details of a then unreleased version of the State Department's report. She stated, "The results are consistent with the recently-released UN independent international fact-finding mission on Burma." According to the publication's executive summary, "the vast majority of Rohingya refugees experienced or directly witnessed extreme violence and the destruction of their homes." The summary also concluded "that the recent violence in northern Rakhine State was extreme, large-scale, widespread, and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing the population and driving out the Rohingya residents." Burmese Security Force Officers and Units Allegedly Responsible for Human Rights Violations

The following tables list the names of Burmese security force officers ( Table 2 ) and units ( Table 3 ) that have been identified in one or more of the reports mentioned above as being responsible for human rights violations in Burma since 2011. For purposes of this report, the "types of responsibility" include the following:
Authorization —Authorized and/or ordered other security personnel to commit human rights abuses on Burmese civilians; Commission —Committed the human rights abuses and/or took no action to prevent the commission of human rights abuses; and Cover-up —Became aware of credible allegations that security personnel under their command had committed or were committing human rights violations, but took no action to stop the further commission of human rights violations; attempted to conceal alleged human rights violations by Burmese security personnel; and/or tried to prevent or undermine investigations or prosecutions of alleged human rights violations by Burmese personnel. Information in the tables suggests certain patterns about the human rights abuse allegations, including the following:
Pervasive and systemi c abuse by Tatmadaw — Table 3 includes more than 100 military units, including 3 Regional Operations Commands, 6 infantry divisions, and more than 90 infantry battalions, indicating that alleged human rights abuse is not limited to a few "troubled" units; Geographically pervasive —The reports link certain military units with similar human rights abuses in all of Burma's ethnic minority states—Chin, Kachin, Karen (Kayin), Karenni (Kayah), Mon, Rakhine, and Shan; "Trouble d " units —The reports repeatedly implicate certain units in abuses, including the following: Infantry Division 33 —This unit is identified in six reports, involving a variety of alleged abuses in the States of Kachin, Rakhine and Shan; Infantry Division 99 —This unit is also identified in six reports, involving a variety of alleged abuses in the States of Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan; and Infantry Battalions 324, 502, 503 and 567 —These units were identified in three different reports as committing a variety of human rights abuses. Accountability Options

The extensive list of reports alleging that Burma's security forces have committed genocide, crimes against humanity, and/or war crimes has reinforced calls for some form of accountability mechanism to investigate and possibly prosecute the perpetrators of the alleged abuses. Many of the reports and various human rights organizations have proposed various accountability mechanisms, including referral to the International Criminal Court (ICC), the creation of an ad hoc international criminal tribunal, the imposition of U.N. sanctions, and the enactment of bilateral restrictions on relations with the Burmese government and/or the Burmese military. Many observers expect China, and possibly Russia, to veto any proposed referral to the ICC. On September 6, 2018, the Pre-Trial Chamber agreed, deciding that the ICC Prosecutor can begin a preliminary investigation into the situation in Bangladesh, opening the possibility of prosecuting Burmese officials. The UNHRC requested that U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appoint "the staff of the mechanism as expeditiously as possible" and "allocate the resources necessary for the implementation of the present resolution." Various human rights organizations have also expressed support for the creation of such a mechanism. The 116 th Congress appropriated funds in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 ( P.L. Over the last few years, Congress has also included Burma-related provisions in pending appropriation legislation to shape U.S. policy in Burma. 34 , that resolves that the Senate (among other things):
condemns the violence and displacement inflicted on Burma's Rohingya and other ethnic minorities; and urges the Secretary of State to make a determination whether the actions by the Myanmar military constitute crimes against humanity or genocide and to work with interagency partners to impose targeted sanctions on Myanmar military officials, to include Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, responsible for these heinous acts through existing authorities. Many also stated that the Trump Administration's response to date has been inadequate given the severity of the human rights abuses.
At least 17 different reports by United Nations (U.N.) entities and independent human rights organizations have been released containing allegations that certain Burmese security force officers and units committed serious human rights violations dating back to 2011. These reports name nearly 40 individuals and over 100 security units as responsible for such gross human rights violations as murder, torture, rape and other forms of sexual violence, and forced labor. Some of these individuals, including Commander-in-Chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, were identified in four or more of the reports. Similarly, some of the security units, in particular Infantry Division 33 and Infantry Division 99, were cited by six or more of the reports. The reports suggest that the commission of human rights abuses by Burma's security forces is pervasive, systematic, and endemic. CRS did not independently verify the credibility of these reports.
The Trump Administration has labeled the alleged human rights violations as "ethnic cleansing" and has imposed "limited targeted sanctions" on five Burmese military officers and two military units it considers responsible for serious human rights violations against the Rohingya in Burma's Rakhine State. In August 2018, the State Department released a report summarizing the results of a survey of Rohingya refugees in Bangladesh that concluded that "the vast majority of Rohingya refugees experienced or directly witnessed extreme violence and the destruction of their homes." The report also stated "that the recent violence in northern Rakhine State was extreme, large-scale, widespread, and seemingly geared toward both terrorizing the population and driving out the Rohingya residents." The report, however, did not indicate if the violence constituted genocide, crimes against humanity, and/or war crimes.
Some Members of Congress and other observers view this response as too limited, and have called on the Trump Administration to take stronger action given the severity of the human rights abuses. The 116th Congress appropriated $3.75 million in the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2019 (P.L. 116-6) for the documentation of human rights violations against Rohingya and others in Burma. Congress has also placed restrictions and requirements on relations with Burma in previous appropriations legislation to address human rights issues.
Many of the reports advocate for some form of accountability for the reported human rights violations, including by calling for the U.N. Security Council to refer the alleged human rights violations in Burma to the International Criminal Court (ICC) or an ad hoc international criminal tribunal for investigation and possible prosecution. China and possibly Russia are likely to oppose an ICC referral, and recent statements by President Trump and National Security Advisor John Bolton suggest the United States may also oppose such a referral. The ICC's Pre-Trial Chamber had previously ruled that the ICC's Prosecutor can begin a preliminary investigation of the war crime of forced deportation of the country's Rohingya ethnic minority into neighboring Bangladesh.
In the interim, the United Nations Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar (UNFFM) has recommended that an independent international mechanism (IIM) be established to collect and preserve evidence of alleged acts of genocide, crimes against humanity, and war crimes committed in Burma since 2011. The U.N. Human Rights Council has approved the formation of an IIM, and has urged U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint "the staff of the mechanism as expeditiously as possible."
In addition to these measures to support some form of future criminal action against the alleged perpetrators, the UNFFM and others have expressed support for U.N. sanctions against the Burmese military and others considered responsible for the abuses. Some of the reports also call on individual nations to impose sanctions on Burma's military and its government.