Myanmar

Working environment

• Myanmar witnessed a number of important political events in 2015, including the signing of a national ceasefire agreement in October and the general election in November, in which the National League for Democracy won a majority, leading to renewed hope for improvements in the situation for people of concern to UNHCR.
• Despite these promising political developments, the cessation of temporary identification cards in March represented another significant deterioration in the legal status of stateless people.
• In July, Myanmar was hit by a cyclone and as a result, severe flooding affected large areas of the country, including IDP camps in Rakhine. 
• UNHCR continued to lead the shelter, non-food items (NFI) and camp coordination and camp management (CCCM) cluster, as well as the protection sector, as part of the inter-agency response in Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan states.
• In the south-east of Myanmar, UNHCR continued to work with all stakeholders to prepare the groundwork for an eventual safe and dignified return of refugees in Thailand and other neighbouring countries.

Population trends

• The IDP camp population decreased by 25,000 in Rakhine state due to returns and relocations facilitated by the Rakhine state Government. 
• National census data released in 2015 suggests that over 1 million people in Myanmar are stateless.

Achievements and impact 

• 178,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) benefitted from CCCM support in Rakhine and Kachin.
• 260,000 people of concern were reached through protection monitoring in Kachin, northern Shan and Rakhine.
• 80 return assessments were conducted in the south-east of Myanmar.
• 37 advocacy interventions and events on behalf of the stateless population were carried out in order to garner political attention and support.
• 149 government officials received training on citizenship and birth registration standards and good practices.
• Over 200 stateless boat survivors were reunited with their families without facing legal repercussions.

Unmet needs

• Owing to funding shortages, UNHCR was not able to cover all needs for shelter construction and repair, including for the renovation of temporary shelters built in 2013.

Working environment

Fresh displacement was witnessed in 2014 with continued clashes between the Myanmar national army and non-state groups in Kachin and northern Shan States.

UNHCR is part of the inter-agency response to internal displacement in Kachin State and northern Shan State, as well as Rakhine State, addressing the needs of more than 240,000 internally displaced people (IDPs).

In Kachin State, the Government limits humanitarian agencies’ access to IDP sites and aid organizations must seek permission to access areas not under government control.

In Rakhine State, the ability of humanitarian agencies to deliver assistance has been severely limited by the political context, while conditions for IDPs deteriorate. More than 800,000 individuals in Rakhine State lack citizenship, in addition to other groups potentially at risk in other parts of Myanmar.

UNHCR is assisting 230,000 IDPs living in protracted displacement situations in selected communities in the south-east of Myanmar.

In the south-east of the country, UNHCR is also monitoring small-scale refugee returns from temporary camps along the Thai border, where some 120,000 refugees from Myanmar are hosted, and is preparing for larger return movements. With cease­ re negotiations underway in 2014, return prospects may increase, though conditions for return remain challenging.

Needs and strategies

Signi­ficant numbers of IDPs in Kachin and Rakhine States continue to live in camp settings. UNHCR is the sector lead for protection. As part of the inter-agency response, it also leads the shelter, camp coordination and camp management (CCCM), as well as non-food item (NFI) cluster.

In Rakhine State, humanitarian space is severely limited and undertaking basic relief activities has met severe challenges. The situation for most IDPs deteriorated in 2014, particularly health coverage and NFI distributions. The premises and warehouses of the United Nations and most international NGOs were attacked and ransacked in early 2014.

The inter-agency response in Rakhine State has repeatedly emphasized the need for durable solutions for IDPs. At present, there is a continued policy by the Government to physically separate the conflicting communities, which limits reconciliation efforts or space for supporting coexistence. More than 100,000 IDPs live in Kachin and northern Shan State. Continued clashes between the Myanmar national army and non-state actors in Kachin and northern Shan States in 2014 led to more displacement and a need for an emergency response. The inter-agency response relies on permission from the Myanmar Government to access IDPs in areas under the control of the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO). As a result, only ad hoc missions are undertaken to these areas, limiting the response.

UNHCR will pursue its protection activities and support shelter, CCCM activities, and NFI needs for both Kachin and Rakhine State in 2015. The extent of support offered will rely on developments in the operational areas, particularly levels of access.

In the south-east of Myanmar, UNHCR continues to perform return monitoring to identify the destination of refugees settling back in Myanmar. The aim is to build a profi­le of areas where interventions can be planned if the scale of returns increases, enabling the Of­fice to respond once spontaneous returns increase. Planning for return is ongoing, including consultations with Myanmar refugees on the Thai border.