US Campaign for Burma - FREE BURMA!

Our Accomplishments

The US Campaign for Burma is a human rights advocacy organization committed to producing concrete, measurable results for the people of Burma.

2009:

  • 442 Members of Parliament from governments around the world signed onto a Global MP letter that calls for President Obama to push for the establishment of the UN Security Council’s Commission of Inquiry into war crimes and crimes against humanity in Burma.
  • We partnered with U2 to honor Aung San Suu Kyi during the band’s 2009 U.S. tour, gaining 10,000 new members and raising the public profile of Burma.
  • We organized a letter signed by 112 former Prime Ministers and Presidents, including Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, Tony Blair, Mikhail Gorbachev, Vaclav Havel, and Fidel Ramos, calling for the release of Aung San Suu Kyi. We published it in the New York Times Sunday Editionand successfully used the letter to pressure UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon to travel to Burma.
  • Working with our 50,000 grassroots members in the United States, we led the effort to renew the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act in Congress with a record high co-sponsors in the House and in the Senate. This bill serves to cut off funding to Burma’s military junta and provides aid to Burmese refugees.
  • We partnered with Stand, a student-led division of the Genocide Intervention Network, at a conference/rally held in Washington, DC. It was attended by tens of thousands of people and we garnered over 10,000 new supporters to our movement.
  • We worked closely with Oscilloscope, a distribution company for the acclaimed film, Burma VJ,  which was shown in 16 cities across the United States. Now Burma VJ is shortlisted for the 2009 Oscars for best feature-documentary film.
  • We were invited to speak at various colleges, universities, and conferences on the topics about Burma’s human rights violations and prevailing political situation.

Over the years:

  • We successfully helped to convince UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to commit to traveling to Burma to seek the release of all political prisoners in Burma, including  Aung San Suu Kyi.  To do this, thousands of our members emailed  the Secretary General directly and we collected thousands of petition signatures to demand the release of all political.
  • We coordinated over 240 events to commemorate the first anniversary of the Saffron Revolution in September 2008
  • We led a successful effort to ban all imports of Burmese gems into the United States. The Tom Lantos Block Burmese JADE (Junta Anti-democratic Efforts) Act of 2008 was signed into law on July 29, 2008.  This trade previously brought the regime hundreds of millions of dollars per year.
  • Because of our advocacy efforts, the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act of 2003 was renewed for the 5th consecutive year.
  • We led a successful effort to keep Burma debated at the highest levels of the UN.  Because of us, Burma remains on the permanent agenda of the UN Security Council.
  • Our work has been covered in over 10,000 news articles over the past year, helping keep vital media attention on the crisis in Burma.
  • We raised over $260,000 for direct relief inside Burma when Cyclone Nargis struck in May, 2008.
  • For the first time, Hollywood is now speaking out about Burma.  35 leading celebrities recorded videos encouraging the people of Burma in their struggle for human rights and calling on Americans to join the U.S. Campaign for Burma.
  • Putting the world’s only imprisoned Nobel Peace Prize recipient Aung San Suu Kyi on the map. Our efforts to raise awareness about Aung San Suu Kyi have been covered in thousands of news articles around the world, as well as on NBC, CNN, and countless radio shows.
  • Recorded PSA about Burma on YouTube with actor Jim Carrey that was the #3 video on all of YouTube. Held a press conference outside the United Nations with Jim Carrey in which he called for countries to stop selling arms to Burma’s regime. We teamed up with the Human Rights Action Center on this.
  • Organized a letter to the United Nations Secretary General calling for the UN to do more on Burma — signed by 28 Hollywood celebrities including Anjelica Huston, Owen Wilson, Julie Benz, Dustin Hoffman, Jennifer Aniston, and more. We teamed up with the Human Rights Action Center on this.
  • In 2005-2007, led successful global campaign to place Burma on the permanent agenda of the United Nations Security Council, where it remains. We also led the global effort for the UN Secretary General to appoint an envoy to Burma to negotiate between the military regime and Aung San Suu Kyi.
  • Established 100 community and student chapters across the United States dedicated to working on Burma.
  • Brought Congressional staff to visit refugees and human rights activists on the Thailand-Burma border, where over 1,000,000 refugees have fled in fear. These Congressional staff subsequently ensured U.S. support for funding for refugee camps and internally displaced persons, the only government in the world to take such a step.
  • Exposed to the world the crisis in eastern Burma, where the country’s ruling military regime has destroyed over 3,200 ethnic minority villages. The campaign of terror by the ruling military regime has been called genocide by some and at a minimum constitutes ethnic cleansing.
  • Over a 10 year period, our staff worked to pressure over 100 companies to cut ties with Burma’s military regime, preventing billions of dollars from flowing to arms sales. The effort has been widely recognized as the most successful and effective boycott effort since the anti-apartheid struggle to end white-only rule in South Africa during the 1980s.
  • Working closely with the US Congress to support the landmark passage of the Burmese Freedom and Democracy Act, which forbids the United States from selling arms or giving money to Burma’s military regime. The legislation passed the Senate by a vote of 97-1 and the House by a vote of 418-2. Both Democrats and Republicans strongly supported the bi-partisan effort.
  • Raised over $50,000 in funds for Burmese victims of the 2005 Asian tsunami, who were denied assistance by both their own government and from neighboring governments. Through the US Campaign for Burma’s strong ties inside Burma, 100% of these funds were delivered directly to the people needing help.
  • Organized 25 trips of Americans to refugee camps along the Thailand Burma border and sent a film crew inside Burma to document the levels of poverty and abuse.
  • Produced For the Lady, a benefit CD with songs donated by Paul McCartney, Pearl Jam, U2, Damien Rice, Coldplay, Avril Lavigne, Ani DiFranco, and 22 other major musicians. We teamed up with the Human Rights Action Center on this.
  • Broadcast 3 songs from R.E.M.’s June 19, 2006 concert (Aung San Suu Kyi’s 60th birthday) into Burma with a special dedication from the stage from Michael Stipe. This was the first time that any concert has ever been broadcast inside the authoritarian country.
  • Brought Eric Szmanda from television show CSI and Walter Koenig from Star Trek to visit refugee camps on the Thailand-Burma border. As a result, hundreds of news outlets reported more on Burma and the trip.

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