September 6, 2017

Recent media reports indicate that about 120,000 Rohingya Muslims have fled their homes as members of the military have burned down entire villages and killed at least 400. At least 30,000 remain trapped on the border without basic food and medicine. The Burmese military has blocked both the media and international humanitarian organizations from entering the region. What many have called the “most persecuted community in the world” is now facing even more violence and genocide.

Here in the U.S., we believe in the strongest possible protections for religious liberties for all communities including the rights of religious minorities abroad.

This is why we urge President Trump and Secretary Tillerson to demonstrate American leadership by calling for an immediate humanitarian intervention on behalf of the Rohingya Muslims in Burma.

President Trump, Secretary Tillerson, and Ambassador Haley must immediately call on the Burmese Head of State Aung San Suu Kyi to stop the military’s firing on Rohingyas and allow media, relief agencies, and human rights organizations immediate access to the region.

The United States must also call on Bangladesh to allow Rohingyas full access to humanitarian agencies on their own soil. Our government must support the United Nations investigation into mass rape, killing, and other abuses; and the Burmese government must permit the UN investigation team to enter the region.