Myanmar “Needs Urgently to Get Back on Track”

GENEVA (25 February 2015) – UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein today warned that Myanmar “seems headed in the wrong direction and needs urgently to get back on track” in a crucial year for the country’s democratic transition and long-term reconciliation […]

What Refugees Say…

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Between March‐April this year, focus group discussions were held with temporary returnees to SE Burma/ Myanmar from all 9 refugee camps along the Thailand‐Burma/ Myanmar border. The aim was to gain a snapshot of individual perspectives and concerns on current conditions on the ground, rather than conducting a formal survey representational of the whole refugee caseload.

The consultations focused on the conditions in the areas they returned to, the changes they and residents in those areas had detected since recent political and military shifts in the country, and their perceived current barriers to return.

The participants were identified by Section Leaders, with criteria that they must have returned to SE Burma/ Myanmar since the ceasefires were brokered, be adults, and that there should be some gender equity amongst them. In total, 85 temporary returnees participated in the consultations, with 35% being female. Over 100 others, comprising senior community leaders and CBO staff were also engaged through the process, although the main findings in this report only reflect the perspectives of those who had recently returned to their country of origin […]

Health Crisis in Arakan after Aid Groups Forced Out

KYEIN NI PYIN CAMP, Arakan State — As three-month-old Asoma Khatu approached her final, labored breaths, her neighbor Elia, a 50-year-old former farmer, dug through the strongbox holding some of the last medicines in this camp for Burma’s displaced Rohingya […]

MSF Concerned about the Fate of Thousands of Patients in Myanmar after Being Ordered to Cease Activities

AMSTERDAM – Médecins Sans Frontières Holland (MSF) has been ordered by the Union Government of Myanmar to cease all activities in the country. MSF is deeply shocked by this unilateral decision and extremely concerned about the fate of tens of thousands of patients currently under our care across the country […]

Myanmar: Hardships Abound in Violence-Stricken Rakhine State

Sporadic intercommunal violence and continuing tensions mean essential services are out of reach for many in Rakhine state. The ICRC and the Myanmar Red Cross Society are helping the local authorities to rebuild livelihoods for people affected on both sides of the communal divide […]

Building Trust and Peace by Working through Ethnic Health Networks Towards a Federal Union

We, the members of the Health Convergence Core Group (HCCG), welcome the prospect of future political dialogue between the government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar and the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC) to establish a genuine federal union […]

Briefing Regarding Myanmar Peace Team’s Meetings with Mae Tao Clinic Team

This briefing paper provides details about the recent meetings with the Myanmar Government Peace Team led by Minister U Aung Min. The paper clarifies Mae Tao Clinic’s position on continuing to provide crucial health services on the Thai-Burma border and identifies three key areas that the government must prioritize in order to begin addressing Burma’s current underfunded and highly centralized health system […]

Mae Tao Clinic Issues Clarification of Position and Recent Meetings with the Myanmar Peace Team

The Mae Tao Clinic has released a briefing paper today that provides further details about the recent meetings with the Myanmar Government Peace Team led by Minister U Aung Min. The paper clarifies Mae Tao Clinic’s position on continuing to provide crucial health services on the Thai-Burma border and identifies three key areas that the government must prioritize in order to begin addressing Burma’s current underfunded and highly centralized health system […]

AAPP has grave concerns for NLD member denied urgent medical treatment

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) has grave concerns for political prisoner, Ko Min Aung, after learning he has been denied urgent medical care for the past 11 months despite suffering from heart disease […]