[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>