Feinstein, Gregg, and 30 Senators Urge the Obama

Administration to Support UN Commission of Inquiry to

Investigate Possible War Crimes in Burma

Washington, DC – U.S. Senators Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.) and Judd Gregg

(R-N.H.) today led a bipartisan group of 30 other senators in urging the Obama
Administration to support the creation of a United Nations Commission of
Inquiry to investigate possible crimes against humanity and war crimes in
Burma. Senator Feinstein is the co-chair of the Senate Women’s Caucus on
Burma.

At a meeting of the United Nations Human Rights Council in March, the Special
Rapporteur on human rights in Burma, Tomas Ojea Quintana, reported: “the
possibility exists that some of [the regime’s] human rights violations may
entail categories of crimes against humanity or war crimes under the terms of
the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court.” Further, he stated:
“United Nations institutions may consider the possibility to establish a
commission of inquiry with a specific fact-finding mandate to address the
question of international crimes.”

Below is the text of the letter sent by the bipartisan group of 32

senators to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton:

July 30, 2010

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton Secretary of State

United States Department of State Washington, D.C. 20520

Dear Madame Secretary:

We write to urge you to support the establishment of a United Nations

Commission of Inquiry to investigate whether crimes against humanity and war
crimes took place in Burma. While your administration continues along a path
of sanctions and pragmatic engagement with Burma, we believe that such a
commission will help convince Burma’s military regime that we are serious
about our commitment to democracy, human rights, and the rule of law for the
people of Burma.

At the 13th regular session of the UN Human Rights Council in March, UN

Special Rapporteur for the Human Rights Situation in Burma, Mr. Tomas Ojea
Quintana, released his latest report and urged the United Nations “to consider
the possibility to establish a commission of inquiry with a specific fact finding
mandate to address the question of international crimes” in Burma.

The Special Rapporteur argued that: “[g]iven the gross and systematic nature
of human rights violations in Myanmar over a period of many years, and the
lack of accountability, there is an indication that those human rights violations
are the result of a state policy that involves authorities in the executive,
military, and judiciary at all levels.” Mr. Quintana further stated that
“[a]ccording to consistent reports, the possibility exists that some of these
human rights violations may entail categories of crimes against humanity or
war crimes under the terms of the Statute of the International Criminal
Court.” We appreciate the comments made by Douglas Griffiths, US Charge
d’Affaires at US Mission to the UN in Geneva, in response to the report that
“[t]his recommendation serves to underscore the seriousness of the human
rights problems in the country and the pressing need for the international
community to find an effective way to address challenges there.”

Indeed, a number of reports have documented a consistent pattern of human

rights abuses by the regime in Burma which must be addressed: the use of
child soldiers, the destruction of villages and the displacement of ethnic
minorities, the use of rape as a weapon of war, extrajudicial killings, forced
relocation, and forced labor.

These abuses have been exacerbated by the regime’s intention to hold

elections in 2010 based on a constitution which disallows the full participation
of Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, the National League for Democracy, political
prisoners, religious clergy and ethnic nationalities.

As President Obama stated in his Nobel Peace Prize acceptance speech: “When
there is genocide in Darfur; systematic rape in Congo; or repression in Burma
-- there must be consequences. And the closer we stand together, the less
likely we will be faced with the choice between armed intervention and
complicity in oppression.” Australia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, and the
United Kingdom have all stated their support for the establishment of a
Commission of Inquiry on Burma, and we must stand together with them and
the people of Burma.

We appreciate your attention to this request and we look forward to hearing

from you.

Sincerely,

Dianne Feinstein, United States Senator Judd Gregg, United States Senator
Richard Durbin, United States Senator Jeff Bingaman, United States Senator
Barbara Boxer, United States Senator Ron Wyden, United States Senator
Mark Udall, United States Senator Ben Cardin, United States Senator
Jeff Merkley, United States Senator Frank Lautenberg, United States Senator
Sherrod Brown, United States Senator Joseph Lieberman, United States
Senator Barbara Mikulski , United States Senator
Sam Brownback, United States Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, United States
Senator Robert Casey, United States Senator
Michael Bennet, United States Senator George Voinovich, United States
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse, United States Senator
Charles Schumer, United States Senator Russ Feingold, United States Senator
Bernard Sanders, United States Senator Susan Collins, United States Senator
Kay Hagan, United States Senator Tom Harkin, United States Senator
Richard Burr, United States Senator Patrick Leahy, United States Senator
Amy Klobuchar, United States Senator Al Franken, United States Senator
Patty Murray, United States Senator Roland Burris, United States Senator
Robert Menendez, United States Senator

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