BRI Meets with State Department, Urges Action on Persecuted Christians in Burma

ELLICOTT CITY, MD –– On Wednesday, March 25, 2026, the Burma Research Institute (BRI) delegates met with Principal Advisor Mark Walker for Global Religious Freedom, at the U.S. State Department in Washington, DC. BRI is deeply grateful for his time and close attention to our January 2026 report: Burma: Severe Violations of Religious Freedom Against Christians. Among our ten recommendations, BRI urged the Trump Administration (a) to determine that atrocities committed by the Burmese military against Christians constitute crimes against humanity and war crimes; (b) to redesignate Burma as a Country of Particular Concern, publicly condemn the military’s persecution of Christians, and press them to stop the persecution; and (c) to demand the military’s immediate release of all religious and political prisoners, including Christians, State Counsellor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, President U Win Myint, and others unjustly detained.

BRI also presented a letter to be given to Secretary of State Marco Rubio — signed by Christian, interfaith, and community organizations — urging action consistent with the BRI report’s recommendations. “Please urge Secretary Rubio to act on our letter,” said Reverend Dr. Robin Stoops, BRI Board Chairman and former Associate General Secretary of American Baptist Churches USA. The meeting addressed the military junta’s plan to put a sham civilian government in place in Burma in early April 2026. “The U.S. should not recognize or engage with this military regime — they are not civilians, they are the same brutal military,” said Moe Zaw Oo, Counselor to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, National Unity Government of Myanmar.

Burma has been designated a Country of Particular Concern for 24 consecutive years under the 1998 International Religious Freedom Act, yet meaningful U.S. action remains absent. “We wrote this report to urge meaningful action to stop the persecution of Christians in Burma,” said Zo Tum Hmung, President & CEO of BRI. “Principal Advisor Mark Walker listened deeply and engaged seriously with us. I am hopeful he will give serious consideration to our recommendations to protect persecuted Christians in Burma.”