Burma has a Buddhist majority (87.9 percent) with Christian (6.2 percent), Muslim (4.3 percent), Animist (0.8 percent), and Hindu (0.5 percent) populations. The 2008 constitution recognizes all these religions, with Buddhism as the de facto state religion. Religious and ethnic minorities not belonging to the majority Bamar ethnicity and Buddhist faith have faced longstanding persecution. Burma’s race and religion laws regulate religious conversion, marriage, and births and restrict the religious freedom of non-Buddhists, particularly Muslims. In November 2020, Burma held its second democratic general election, where Suu Kyi’s NLD secured another majority win. The NLD government faced criticism for its inaction on the atrocities perpetrated against religious and ethnic minorities, most notably military operations in Rakhine; indeed, Suu Kyi defended the military in the ICJ. In February 2021, the Tatmadaw seized power from and detained Leader Suu Kyi and other NLD officials in a military coup. Rohingya Refugees Burma’s longstanding and continuous military operations in Rakhine have caused internal displacement and sparked mass migration to Bangladesh and other Southeast Asian countries for many years. At the end of 2020, there were nearly one million registered refugees residing in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh, including Muslims, Christians, and Hindus. The Burmese government’s ongoing actions and policies have made it impossible for refugees to safely return home. In 2020, the Bangladeshi government directed thousands of Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar to relocate to the cyclone- and flood-prone island of Bhasan Char. While the majority of Rohingya refugees fled to Bangladesh, a significant number escaped to Malaysia, Indonesia, and Thailand. Some Rohingya refugees have managed to settle successfully in these countries, but others have faced discrimination or further religious freedom violations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, governments in Malaysia and Thailand turned back boats with Rohingya refugees, resulting in many deaths. In April 2020, at least 32 Rohingya Muslims died on a ship that drifted for weeks after it failed to reach Malaysia. Violence, Discrimination, and Intolerance toward Rohingya Muslims The government has effectively institutionalized discrimination against Rohingya Muslims through restrictions on participation in elections, marriage, family planning, employment, education, religious choice, property rights, and freedom of movement. The government has proclaimed that the Rohingya are not citizens of their birthplace and homeland of Burma; it fails to acknowledge the Rohingya as one of the 135 legally recognized national races or ethnic groups of Burma and instead refers to them as foreign migrants. The Tatmadaw has been accused of targeting the Rohingya with killings, mass rape, and other sexual violence; disappearances; forced starvation; arbitrary detentions and arrests; and looting, burning, and property confiscations. Two Tatmadaw soldiers reportedly in ICC custody confessed on video to committing atrocities against Rohingya, claiming that superiors ordered units to “exterminate all Kalar”—a derogatory name for the Rohingya. In June, the Tatmadaw resurfaced on Facebook, nearly two years after the platform removed numerous army accounts and pages for spreading hatred against Rohingya Muslims. The military spokesman said the Tatmadaw intends to combat information deemed anti-nationalist or fake news via Facebook through two newly created Burmese-language military accounts that remain open following the coup. Despite its role in hosting content inciting violence in the past, Facebook has not shared evidence from its platform with international justice mechanisms. Some political candidates employed anti-Muslim slogans and speech ahead of national elections in November. Days before the election, hardline Buddhist nationalist monk Ashin Wirathu— who had been charged with sedition and was removed by Facebook in 2018 for posts inciting violence and genocide against Muslims—handed himself over to authorities after more than a year on the run. Abuses against Christians The Burmese government also has violently targeted Christian communities. In March, in one example of Burmese military airstrikes on predominately Christian villages, 21 people were killed, including a seven-year-old boy, in Chin state. According to Chin Christian leaders, more than 1,500 villagers fled their homes. Chin Christian leaders suspect army personnel fired indiscriminately in part because the inhabitants were Christian. In February, the Tatmadaw filed charges against two Baptist pastors in Kachin for holding an event at their church which allegedly supported ethnic rebel groups. Key U.S. Policy During FY 2020, the United States provided more than $437 million to support Rohingya refugees’ host communities and internally displaced Rohingya within Burma, including those who fled mass atrocities in Rakhine State. Several U.S. officials expressed concern over the ongoing conflict in Burma. Then Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo addressed the “violent oppression” of Rohingya Muslims by the Burmese military and called for justice and accountability for the Rohingya. In October, then Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs David Hale spoke with Leader Suu Kyi to reaffirm U.S. support for democratic reform and an end to conflict, particularly in Rakhine State. On December 2, the U.S. Department of State redesignated Burma as a CPC under IRFA for engaging in or tolerating systematic, ongoing, egregious violations of religious freedom, and it reimposed as the relevant presidential action the existing ongoing arms embargo referenced in 22 CFR 126.1. In January 2021, Secretary of State Antony Blinken stated during his confirmation hearing that the administration of President Joseph R. Biden would review whether the Burmese government’s persecution of the Rohingya constituted genocide. After the February 2021 coup, the Biden administration reimposed broad sanctions against the Burmese military. U S C I R F – R E C O M M E N D E D F O R C O U N T R I E S O F PA R T I C U L A R C O N C E R N ( C P C ) 15 BURMA Background