This op-ed was originally published by Inter Press Service, on August 26, 2019.

By Nadine Maenza and Anurima Bhargava

Monsoon season is currently wreaking havoc on the more than 911,000 Rohingya refugees displaced from their homeland in Burma to the ramshackle camps of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. Two years ago, in August 2017, a brutal military crackdown pushed more than 700,000 Rohingya Muslims and other ethnic and religious minorities from Burma’s Rakhine State to flee for safety. The Burmese military has shamefully denied and tried to hide its barbarism, which includes arbitrary detention, enforced disappearances, displacement, rape, torture and arbitrary killings. And, Burma’s government has repudiated the international community’s attempts to document the crimes committed under international law, all while denying Rohingya basic rights like freedom of movement, access to health care and basic necessities, and citizenship.

Shockingly, those responsible for these heinous crimes—either by the explicit actions of Burma’s military or the complicit indifference of Burma’s government—have thus far faced no serious consequences. Where is the U.S. government’s admonition and strong policy response?

First, it is imperative that the U.S. government decide whether the atrocities committed against Rohingya Muslims, Christians and others in Burma constitute more than ethnic cleansing. When the U.S. Department of State last year issued its report documenting atrocities in northern Rakhine State, it created an expectation that a more serious determination—either crimes against humanity or genocide—would be forthcoming. The label “ethnic cleansing” unequivocally fails to capture the full extent of crimes that religious and ethnic communities in Burma have suffered at the hands of the military.

Second, the U.S. government must sanction Burmese military officials and the companies under the military’s control so that those who perpetrated these atrocities are held accountable for their crimes. The U.S. Department of the Treasury has imposed economic sanctions on five military officials and two military units under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act, and the State Department placed travel bans on four other senior military leaders, including the commander-in-chief, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing. As commissioners on the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) who recently travelled to Burma, we welcome these first steps. But banning the ability to travel to the United States is paltry compared to the monstrous acts the military has undertaken against religious and ethnic minorities. Targeted tools like economic sanctions must also be imposed on military officials and other responsible parties.

Thanks to a recent report issued by the United Nations’ Independent International Fact-Finding Mission, the international community now has a comprehensive list of the military’s businesses to consider for sanctions. The entities on the list—including two major holding companies: Myanmar Economic Holdings Limited (MEHL) and Myanmar Economic Corporation (MEC)—are owned or influenced by Burma’s military and use the ill-gotten gains from their business ventures to commit human rights violations.

There may be legitimate concerns about the impact that sanctions or other bans will have on Burma’s economy and the overall bilateral relationship; for example, some fear that sanctions will push Burma into China’s arms. These two countries are fair-weather friends: chummy when it’s advantageous and oppositional when it’s not. Sanctions by the United States and others will not change this calculus.

Tragically, Rohingya Muslims are not the only victims. Burma’s military and security forces have used the same playbook of ruthless tactics in Rakhine State as they have been using for decades against ethnic minorities—many of whom are Christians—in Kachin and northern Shan states and elsewhere. For two decades, USCIRF has tracked, monitored and raised these abuses with the U.S. government.

For these and other systematic, ongoing and egregious violations of religious freedom, we call on the State Department to redesignate Burma as a “country of particular concern” (CPC) pursuant to the International Religious Freedom Act. This designation acknowledges that Burma is not living up to its commitments under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights that protects the fundamental right to thought, conscience and religion.

Accountability is paramount, and the U.S. government must lead the way with a strong and substantive response. Yet for Rohingya Muslims and other religious and ethnic minorities, their future also is about justice and the ability to safely and voluntarily return home with dignity. Rohingya Muslims need to know that they can return—either from refugee camps in Bangladesh or from the internally displaced persons camps in Rakhine State—to their homelands. Plans by the governments of Bangladesh and Burma to repatriate Rohingya refugees should not move forward until conditions are independently verified as safe and Rohingya are consulted about their return, neither of which has happened. Other religious and ethnic minorities that face ongoing threats from the military and ethnic armed organizations require similar safe returns.

But first, the impunity and cycle of violence in Burma must end, and that starts when the U.S. government—including both the Administration and the U.S. Congress—steps up and leads the way for the international community to take a stand against such horrific human rights abuses.

Nadine Maenza is vice chair at the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) and the founding Executive Director of Patriot Voices.

Anurima Bhargava is a USCIRF commissioner, a civil rights lawyer who served in the Justice Department under the Obama Administration, and the president of Anthem of Us.

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on threats to religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected] or Kellie Boyle at [email protected] or +1-703-898-6554.

USCIRF Statement on UN Report of “Genocidal Intent” by Burmese Military in Sexual Violence Against Rohingya Muslims and Others

WASHINGTON, DC -- In response to a report released yesterday by United Nations-commissioned investigators concluding that the sexual violence committed by Burmese troops against Rohingya Muslims and others --abuse that is still ongoing in some parts of Burma— is an indication of the military’s genocidal intent, United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) Vice Chair Nadine Maenza and Commissioner Anurima Bhargava issued the following statements:

“The evidence of unspeakable atrocities against Rohingya Muslims and others at the hands of Burma’s military continues to grow. We call on the administration to change the designation to genocide or crimes against humanity,” said Maenza. “We also call on the administration and Congress to be vocal leaders, calling for additional targeted sanctions against Burma’s military leaders and their financial interests. These atrocities should not be tolerated.”

“The UN-commissioned report details the military’s systematic and widespread campaign of sexual and gender-based violence as part of its organized effort to destroy the Rohingya Muslim population,” said Bhargava. “The brutal and horrific sexual violence endured by hundreds of girls and women - largely through gang rapes perpetrated by the Burmese military - cannot continue to remain unaddressed.  The United States and the international community must put the path for justice and accountability into place immediately.”

As the August 25th second anniversary of the Burmese military crackdown approaches, USCIRF calls for a host of sanctions against -- and action by -- the Burmese government to ensure the safe return of Rohingyas to their homeland.  

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The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) is an independent, bipartisan federal government entity established by the U.S. Congress to monitor, analyze and report on religious freedom abroad. USCIRF makes foreign policy recommendations to the President, the Secretary of State and Congress intended to deter religious persecution and promote freedom of religion and belief. To interview a Commissioner, please contact USCIRF at [email protected].

This op-ed originally appeared in The Christian Post on August 23, 2019.

By USCIRF Commissioner Nadine Maenza and Congressman Doug Lamborn

Around the world, 6.5 billion people—85% of the world’s population—live in countries with high restrictions on religious freedom. Among the world’s worst offenders is Iran, where the government systematically targets Sunni Muslims, Sufis, Baha’is, Christians and Jews with arbitrary detention, harassment and imprisonment for following their faith.

Youcef Nadarkhani, an evangelical pastor and a Muslim convert to Christianity, is one such Iranian who, today, sits in Tehran’s notorious Evin Prison for simply living according to his conscience. That is why, as people of faith and as strong advocates for the freedom of religion or belief abroad, we have partnered to advocate on Pastor Nadarkhani’s behalf—to call for his immediate release and to shed light on the egregious conditions facing religious minorities throughout Iran.

One year ago, armed men raided Pastor Nadarkhani’s home in the middle of the night, beat him, committed violent acts against his family and then hauled him off to jail, where he remains today. The arrest came after the government accused and tried Nadarkhani in 2016 on charges of promoting “Zionist Christianity” and “acting against national security.” 

Iranian authorities have long harassed Pastor Nadarkhani: detaining him for “apostasy” and “evangelism” in 2006; arresting him for protesting government policy mandating Qur’anic study for his children, who are Christian, in 2009; and arresting him and his wife, Fatemah Pasandideh, in 2010. After the 2010 arrest, the Court of Appeals in Gilan determined that Pastor Nadarkhani had committed apostasy and sentenced him to execution by hanging. The sentence sparked an international outcry that led to Pastor Nadarkhani’s acquittal in a retrial. This international attention, however, did not bring an end to his harassment, and in fact led to the imprisonment of his legal counsel, Mohammad Ali Dadkhah.

Iran’s treatment of Christians like Youcef Nadarkhani has long merited our attention and condemnation, but it is getting worse. The government increasingly accuses Christians of espionage and disloyalty, despite their formal protection under the constitution and long history in the country.

Last Christmas, more than 150 Christians were arrested in Iran. In May 2019 security forces shut down a church in Tabriz. Muslim converts to Christianity are particularly at risk, and leaders who welcome these men and women often pay the price. Iran’s government believes that by targeting the leadership of its Christian community, it can bully all those whose faith differs from the government-endorsed version of Ja’afri Shi’a Islam into silence.

In targeting Pastor Nadarkhani, Iran’s government betrays both its disdain for religious freedom and its unwillingness to confront its own failures. It would rather use violence and repression against a peaceful community of faith than improve the political, social, and economic conditions of Iran’s diverse and largely tolerant population. It is unjust that Christians in Iran, along with Baha’is, Zoroastrians, Sufis and non-believers, are paying the price for their government’s failures. It is also against international law, specifically Article 18 of the UN Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which declares “everyone has the right to freedom of thought, conscience and religion.” Iran’s 83 million people deserve to have their rights respected regardless of whether the government endorses their religion or beliefs.

The United States must continue to press for Pastor Nadarkhani’s release. That is why we have chosen to use our platforms to jointly advocate for Pastor Nadarkhani through the Defending Freedoms Project (DFP) and the Religious Prisoners of Conscience (RPOC) Project that allow Members of Congress and USCIRF Commissioners, respectively, to stand in solidarity with religious prisoners of conscience, let them know they have not been forgotten, and encourage accountability for their unjust treatment.

Together we call on the U.S. Department of the Treasury to use the Global Magnitsky Act and other relevant sanctions authorities to punish members of the Tehran Revolutionary Court responsible for the pastor’s unjust treatment, including Judge Mashallah Ahmadzadeh. For decades America’s tireless advocacy for religious freedom has earned it the respect of people the world over. At this critical time in US-Iran relations, the world is watching.

Our ongoing advocacy for religious freedom sends an unmistakable signal of the United States’ commitment to all communities of faith and belief that we will continue to be a voice on behalf of their freedom.