Burma: Need for Aid Trumps Political Goals
Friday, June 13, 2008
After the destruction wreaked in Burma by Cyclone Nargis, the United States made the wise decision to set aside its political disagreements with the government of Burma to make every effort to ensure that humanitarian assistance reached those in need. As a result of this decision, the U.S. has been remarkably generous, donating almost $38 million to the relief effort, while playing an instrumental role in transporting goods into Burma, now having flown over 150 flights with emergency goods into the country on U.S. planes.
The U.S. has also backed diplomatic efforts to engage the Burmese government on humanitarian issues, and supports the Tripartite Core Group (the cyclone response group comprised of representatives from the government of Burma, the United Nations, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The TCG, as it is known, has provided unprecedented opportunities for international engagement with Burmese officials. It is also carrying out a comprehensive, village-by-village assessment of the cyclone damage – the first study of its kind in Burma for decades (the regime dislikes statistical surveys and studies that could highlight the impact of their mismanagement). These steps represent real progress – not just for those Burmese who need assistance – but in the ability to establish a substantive dialogue between the reclusive government of Burma and the rest of the world.
Of course, news on the humanitarian front is not all good – for each step forward, there are complications. International staff are now allowed into the worst-affected areas of the delta, but can only stay for 72 hours. New restrictive guidelines have been issued to NGOs, but there are real questions as to how strictly they will be implemented. A similar move to issue guidelines to NGOs in 2006 was never fully implemented, allowing agencies to work under acceptable conditions. More aid is reaching cyclone victims every day, but everyone agrees that the response is still a shadow of what is really needed.
In the past week, Refugees International has begun to receive indications from U.S. government officials that their patience with the slow progress on humanitarian issues in Burma is beginning to wear thin, begging the question of how much longer the U.S. will be willing to accept the isolation of humanitarian issues from their concerns about political oppression. At a Refugees International-sponsored briefing on Thursday, a House Foreign Affairs staff member asked a panel of agencies that are operational in Burma if the renewal of US sanctions against Burma in July would hamper their operations. After receiving a unanimous yes from the panelists, he expressed concern over this impact, but also indicated that the bill would have to go forward anyway.
Similarly, discussions with administration officials in the past week have revealed frustration that the humanitarian agenda is “overshadowing U.S. political goals” in Burma. When discussing the overall humanitarian response, an official said that the pendulum had swung as far towards the humanitarian agenda as it was going to go; he indicated that we would see more of a return to pre-cyclone Burma policies in the upcoming months.
What does all of this mean for the humanitarian community working on Burma? Clearly, there is a growing need for the community to be much more proactive in describing its successes so that political actors continue to see the value in the relief effort. There also needs to be a unified presentation of the setbacks and difficulties, so that the U.S., working with the Tripartite Core Group, can press the Burmese government on issues of concern to the humanitarian community.
After pushing so hard over the past month to gain concessions from the Burmese government, which has resulted in improvements in humanitarian access, now is not the time to abandon this approach. There are more agencies providing more assistance inside the country now than at any time in the past decade. As long as these programs are reaching vulnerable cyclone survivors, the U.S. should stay the humanitarian course, while working with its allies around the world to press the Burmese government on the issues of political freedoms and human rights that are a global concern.
--Joel Charny
Visit our website to learn more about our work in Burma.
The U.S. has also backed diplomatic efforts to engage the Burmese government on humanitarian issues, and supports the Tripartite Core Group (the cyclone response group comprised of representatives from the government of Burma, the United Nations, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations). The TCG, as it is known, has provided unprecedented opportunities for international engagement with Burmese officials. It is also carrying out a comprehensive, village-by-village assessment of the cyclone damage – the first study of its kind in Burma for decades (the regime dislikes statistical surveys and studies that could highlight the impact of their mismanagement). These steps represent real progress – not just for those Burmese who need assistance – but in the ability to establish a substantive dialogue between the reclusive government of Burma and the rest of the world.
Of course, news on the humanitarian front is not all good – for each step forward, there are complications. International staff are now allowed into the worst-affected areas of the delta, but can only stay for 72 hours. New restrictive guidelines have been issued to NGOs, but there are real questions as to how strictly they will be implemented. A similar move to issue guidelines to NGOs in 2006 was never fully implemented, allowing agencies to work under acceptable conditions. More aid is reaching cyclone victims every day, but everyone agrees that the response is still a shadow of what is really needed.
In the past week, Refugees International has begun to receive indications from U.S. government officials that their patience with the slow progress on humanitarian issues in Burma is beginning to wear thin, begging the question of how much longer the U.S. will be willing to accept the isolation of humanitarian issues from their concerns about political oppression. At a Refugees International-sponsored briefing on Thursday, a House Foreign Affairs staff member asked a panel of agencies that are operational in Burma if the renewal of US sanctions against Burma in July would hamper their operations. After receiving a unanimous yes from the panelists, he expressed concern over this impact, but also indicated that the bill would have to go forward anyway.
Similarly, discussions with administration officials in the past week have revealed frustration that the humanitarian agenda is “overshadowing U.S. political goals” in Burma. When discussing the overall humanitarian response, an official said that the pendulum had swung as far towards the humanitarian agenda as it was going to go; he indicated that we would see more of a return to pre-cyclone Burma policies in the upcoming months.
What does all of this mean for the humanitarian community working on Burma? Clearly, there is a growing need for the community to be much more proactive in describing its successes so that political actors continue to see the value in the relief effort. There also needs to be a unified presentation of the setbacks and difficulties, so that the U.S., working with the Tripartite Core Group, can press the Burmese government on issues of concern to the humanitarian community.
After pushing so hard over the past month to gain concessions from the Burmese government, which has resulted in improvements in humanitarian access, now is not the time to abandon this approach. There are more agencies providing more assistance inside the country now than at any time in the past decade. As long as these programs are reaching vulnerable cyclone survivors, the U.S. should stay the humanitarian course, while working with its allies around the world to press the Burmese government on the issues of political freedoms and human rights that are a global concern.
--Joel Charny
Visit our website to learn more about our work in Burma.
Labels: Burma
1 Comments:
I really wonder what "political goals" the US has in Burma that would overshadow humanitarian concerns there. The US has never paid much attention to Burma except as a whipping boy on human rights issues, which as far as I can see has done nothing to help the Burmese people from either a poltical or a humanitarian perspective. It is time for the US to stop posturing and deal with Burma on its own terms. At this point that should mean doing everthing possible to support humanitarian efforts to assist the Burmese people in addressing the aftereffects of the cyclone. Any other approach cannot be justified on other than purely cynical grounds.
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