Burma: Background, U.S. Relationship and Human Rights Abuses

Major changes in Burma's political situation since 2016 have raised questions concerning the appropriateness of U.S. policy toward Burma (Myanmar) in general, and the current restrictions on relations with Burma in particular. Various developments in Burma between 2010 and 2016 led the Obama Administration and others to perceive positive developments toward the restoration of a democratically elected civilian government in that nation after nearly five decades of military rule. Based on that perception, the Obama Administration waived most of the sanctions on Burma, particularly after Aung San Suu Kyi and the National League for Democracy won the 2015 parliamentary elections and a new NLD-controlled Union Parliament took office in April 2016. Certain events since 2016, however, have led some to call for the reinstatement of some of the waived sanctions and/or the imposition of new restrictions on relations with Burma.