As secretary of State, Mike Pompeo wields tremendous influence over whether a genocide declaration ultimately is made. | Mark Wilson/Getty Images Foreign Policy Lawmakers, activists pressure Pompeo on 'genocide' declaration

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is facing new pressure from lawmakers and activists to declare that Myanmar’s military is guilty of committing genocide against Rohingya Muslims.

The House is expected to easily pass a resolution as early as next week declaring that the Rohingya are victims of genocide and crimes against humanity in the wake of a massive military crackdown against them that began in August 2017.


The resolution, sponsored by Rep. Steve Chabot (R-Ohio), urges Pompeo to take a stand on the matter. It also calls for sanctions and other punishments for the perpetrators in Myanmar, which is also known as Burma.

“The deliberate campaign of murder, intimidation and displacement against the Rohingya by Burma’s security forces clearly meets legal standards for genocide,” Rep. Ed Royce (R-Calif.), the chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, told POLITICO in a statement. “It’s long past time the U.S. call these atrocities what they are.”

Separately, the U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum and the Public International Law & Policy Group released statements Monday arguing that the evidence indicates that Myanmar committed genocide. The PILPG unveiled a report that analyzed research conducted under a contract with the State Department, but its conclusions were its own.

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The Rohingya have faced decades of persecution in Buddhist-majority Myanmar, where the military-dominated government has stripped them of citizenship and describes them as illegal migrants from Bangladesh.

Last year, the Myanmar military carried out its most brutal campaign against the Rohingya in memory, killing thousands and forcing some 700,000 to flee to Bangladesh.

The Trump administration has so far refused to take a position on whether Myanmar committed genocide or crimes against humanity. It has instead accused the Asian country of ethnic cleansing, a term that, unlike the others, has little meaning in international law.

Last year, the Trump administration declared that the Islamic State terrorist group had committed genocide against Christians and other groups in Iraq and Syria.

It’s not clear why the administration has held off on a similar declaration for the Rohingya Muslims. However, there are divisions within the State Department, in particular the East Asian and Pacific Affairs bureau, that are wary of damaging relations with Myanmar. The U.S. has been trying to woo Myanmar away from China and toward greater democracy.

Sen. Ed Markey (D-Mass.) noted that the PILPG report's analysis was based on data the State Department also had, "yet we don’t have any policy announcement from Secretary Pompeo on a genocide determination. What is the reason for this silence?"

The State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. As secretary of State, Pompeo wields tremendous influence over whether a genocide declaration ultimately is made.

Some Rohingya supporters on Monday said that, along with a genocide declaration, the U.S. must take specific actions to punish Myanmar, including sanctioning the top military chief and military-owned businesses.

“By not acting, the U.S. government is making itself complicit in the genocide of the Rohingya,” said Simon Billenness, executive director of the International Campaign for the Rohingya.

A United Nations panel has already declared that Myanmar’s military leaders should face trial for crimes against humanity and genocide. The International Criminal Court has also taken some steps to assert jurisdiction over the case of the Rohingya.

The Trump administration has placed sanctions on several individual Myanmar military officials as a way of expressing its displeasure over the Rohingya’s treatment, and it has devoted hundreds of millions of dollars to help Rohingya refugees now stuck in Bangladeshi camps.

Last month, Vice President Mike Pence confronted Myanmar’s de facto civilian leader, Aung San Suu Kyi, in public over the case of the Rohingya, calling it “a tragedy” that is “without excuse,” but avoiding the term “genocide.”

Suu Kyi, who has no control over the military in her country, effectively dismissed Pence’s complaint, saying “we understand our country better than any other country does.”

The Trump administration in general views international laws and courts with suspicion. President Donald Trump, who has said almost nothing in public about the Rohingya, has further made it clear that human rights will not be the top priority in U.S. national security decision-making.