Rights Groups Urge US to Update Burma Blacklist

8 November 2013

Human Rights Watch (HRW) and 36 other organizations have urged the US government to revise its list of Burmese individuals and companies barred from having financial or business ties to the United States. In a joint letter to US President Barack Obama, the rights groups said the Treasury Department should both add names of rights abusers to the list and set clear and public criteria for removal from the list. “As American and other investors move into Burma, they need up-to-date information so they won’t risk becoming partners with people tainted by serious human rights abuses and corruption,” said HRW’s senior business and human rights researcher, Lisa Misol.