[Congressional Bills 109th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [S. Res. 484 Agreed to Senate (ATS)] 109th CONGRESS 2d Session S. RES. 484 Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the military junta in Burma for its recent campaign of terror against ethnic minorities and calling on the United Nations Security Council to adopt immediately a binding, non-punitive resolution on Burma. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES May 18, 2006 Mr. McConnell (for himself, Mr. Brownback, Mrs. Feinstein, Mr. Leahy, Mr. Lautenberg, Mr. Frist, Mr. Obama, Mr. McCain, Mr. Lieberman, and Mr. Reid) submitted the following resolution; which was considered and agreed to _______________________________________________________________________ RESOLUTION Expressing the sense of the Senate condemning the military junta in Burma for its recent campaign of terror against ethnic minorities and calling on the United Nations Security Council to adopt immediately a binding, non-punitive resolution on Burma. Whereas the regime in Burma, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), reportedly threatened to abolish the pro-democracy National League for Democracy; Whereas recent reports indicate that the SPDC escalated its brutal campaign against ethnic groups in November 2005; Whereas reports indicate that the military operation has resulted in approximately 13,000 new internally displaced persons in Burma; Whereas reports estimate that approximately 540,000 people are now internally displaced within Burma, the most serious internal displacement crisis in Asia; Whereas the Thailand Burma Border Consortium reports that the military junta in Burma has destroyed, relocated, or forced the abandonment of approximately 2,800 villages in eastern Burma over the past 10 years; Whereas refugees continue to pour across Burma's borders; Whereas those forced to flee their homes in Burma are increasingly vulnerable, and the humanitarian situation grows more dire as the rainy season approaches; Whereas the United Nations Security Council was briefed on the human rights situation in Burma for the first time ever in December 2005; Whereas United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan and Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs Ibrahim Gambari acknowledged the seriousness of the problems in Burma, and the Secretary-General's office suggested the first-ever course of action on Burma at the United Nations Security Council at the December 2005 briefing; Whereas numerous efforts outside the United Nations Security Council to secure reform in Burma, including 28 consecutive non-binding resolutions of the United Nations General Assembly and United Nations Commission on Human Rights, have failed to bring about change; Whereas there is ample precedent in the United Nations Security Council for action on Burma; and Whereas Daw Aung San Suu Kyi remains the world's only incarcerated Nobel Peace Prize recipient: Now, therefore, be it Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate-- (1) to condemn the military junta in Burma for its recent campaign of terror against ethnic minorities; (2) to call on the United States and other democracies to continue to work with the Association of South East Asian Nations to promote democracy, human rights, and justice in Burma; and (3) to call on the United States to lead an effort at the United Nations Security Council to pass immediately a binding, non-punitive resolution calling for the immediate and unconditional release of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and all other prisoners of conscience in Burma, condemning these atrocities, and supporting democracy, human rights, and justice in Burma. <all>