ExecutiveOrdersEO
MemoMemorandumG.W. Bush · R

Presidential Memorandum

Report to the Congress Regarding Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma

This memorandum directs the Secretary of State to transmit to Congress a statutorily required six-month report on conditions in Burma and U.S. policy toward Burma, covering March 28, 2002 to September 27, 2002. The attached report details limited progress on democratization following Aung San Suu Kyi's release, ongoing human rights abuses, counternarcotics efforts, the HIV/AIDS crisis, economic deterioration, and maintenance of U.S. sanctions coordinated with the European Union.

Federal Register Open PDF 67 FR 75799

Impact dates

  1. Six-month periodic report to Congress (ongoing statutory requirement)

Key directives

  • Transmit attached report to appropriate committees of Congress
  • Arrange for publication in Federal Register

Who is ordered

Timeline

Immediate

  • Transmittal of report to Congress
  • Publication in Federal Register

Near term (90d)

  • U.S. to initiate $1 million HIV/AIDS program through international NGOs
  • Potential resumption of Burma-Thailand narcotics cooperation pending border tension resolution
  • Expected beginning of money laundering prosecutions under new Burmese law

Long term

  • Potential U.S. review of sanctions if significant progress on democracy and human rights
  • Possible foreign financing for Burma contingent on structural reforms and political transition
  • Wa group commitment to eliminate narcotics production by 2005

Risks & tensions

  • Statutory compliance document with no new policy creation; tension between maintaining sanctions and addressing growing humanitarian crisis
  • U.S. funds deliberately routed through NGOs to avoid Burmese government
  • Vague conditional language on potential sanctions relief lacks concrete benchmarks
Presidential Memorandum: Report to the Congress Regarding Conditions in Burma and U.S. Policy Toward Burma · Executive Orders