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UNHCR Preparations for Burmese Refugee Returns Prompt Joint Letter of Concern from RI and the USCR
03/11/2004
Refugees International and the U.S. Committee for Refugees have written a joint letter to the High Commissioner for Refugees, the Honorable Ruud Lubbers, expressing concern about UNHCR’s recently announced agreement with the Burmese government to begin preparations for repatriation of Burmese ethnic minority refugees from Thailand. RI and USCR urge the High Commissioner to initiate no activities in eastern Burma until UNHCR is able to verify directly and report publicly that conditions are conducive to return, particularly in remote areas and to base any work in eastern Myanmar on agreements with the Burmese government to respect human rights.
Based on the findings of its extensive assessment missions to the Thai-Burma border conducted in September 2002 and May 2003, RI feels strongly that UNHCR’s agreement with the Burmese government is premature. Interviews with recent arrivals in Thailand indicated that the Burmese government is violating the human rights of ethnic minority peoples on a massive scale, including forced relocations and the widespread use of rape as a weapon of war, while preventing any independent access of humanitarian and human rights organizations to the affected areas in eastern Burma. Preparing for repatriation in this context sends the wrong message to the Burmese government and to the refugees.
The text of the joint letter from RI President Ken Bacon and USCR Executive Director Lavinia Limon follows below:
| March 8, 2004 The Honorable Ruud Lubbers High Commissioner for Refugees Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Geneva, Switzerland FAX #: (41-22) 739 7315 Dear Mr. Lubbers: The U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) and Refugees International (RI) are writing this joint letter to express our grave concern regarding UNHCR’s decision to initiate activities in the eastern region of Myanmar to “create conditions conducive for the repatriation of refugees or IDPs.” In the “Bullet point summary of the strategic presentation on UNHCR’s operations in Asia and the Pacific,” prepared for the 29th meeting of the Standing Committee, UNHCR announced that it has entered into an agreement with the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) to work with locally active NGOs to prepare for returns. In light of the persistent human rights abuses and violence the Myanmar government has perpetrated against people in the eastern part of the country, any preparation for repatriation is premature and unwise. For decades, the army of Myanmar has committed gross violations of human rights in eastern Myanmar. Close to one million people are internally displaced, and hundreds of thousands of refugees have fled to neighboring Thailand. Every month, at least 2,500 people flee into Thailand, frequently escaping violence and persecution. The government’s war against ethnic minority peoples in Myanmar continues unabated. According to The U.S. State Department’s Annual Human Rights Report, during 2003 “the Government’s extremely poor human rights record worsened.” Abuses include forced labor, forced relocation, rape, torture, and summary executions. Last year, the SPDC cracked down on Myanmar’s democratically elected leader, placing Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest again. Less than two weeks ago, USCR Policy Analyst Veronika Martin accompanied a U.S. Congressional delegation to the Thailand-Myanmar border and heard first-hand reports of continued human rights violations by the Myanmarese government against its citizens. The congressional staff members interviewed eyewitnesses to actual attacks—including the use of machine-guns and rocket-propelled grenades—against unarmed civilians. SPDC has never granted OCHA, NGOs, and human rights monitors access to these villages in the eastern regions of Burma where there has been active conflict. RI has documented the continued use of rape as a weapon of war by the Myanmarese army in the eastern regions, raising serious concerns that women would not be able to return to these areas in safety and dignity. Villages in Myanmar are heavily mined; returnee areas do not meet minimum conditions for return; and most importantly, the legal system does not protect the physical safety or political rights of ethnic peoples. In May 2003, RI conducted a mission to Bangladesh and received reports that UNHCR had limited access to provide protection in remote villages of western Myanmar where persecution of Muslims persists. For its part, UNHCR has largely refused to share its monitoring data, making independent assessment of conditions in Arakhan state impossible. UNHCR’s limited ability to conduct protection activities and intervene effectively with authorities in western Myanmar is an indication of the challenges it will face in the east. We question UNHCR’s ability to monitor repatriations to eastern Myanmar. Further, the actual behavior of the government of Myanmar clearly indicates that it is not interested in facilitating meaningful protection for ethnic minority peoples. We therefore have two recommendations for UNHCR:
By initiating activities in eastern Myanmar before conditions improve, UNHCR will send a message that repatriation is a safe and legitimate option. Such an endorsement of return will jeopardize the safety of the thousands of ethnic minority Myanmarese who have sought refuge in Thailand. Protecting these refugees, not making premature arrangements for their repatriation, should be the paramount concern of UNHCR in Thailand and Myanmar. Sincerely,
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ViewBurundi 2004- Children at the Nyabitare center
At the Nyabitare center there were many children who wandered around, looking tired and hungry. The children probably got the corn from adults or their parents and had gathered around the fire to prepare their corn.
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