Burma Groups Release Concerns and Recommendations on Peace Funds

Burma’s ethnic community and civil society organizations released a position paper today welcoming peace fund initiatives but expressing concerns and recommendations to encourage the funds to support the country’s nascent peace process.

“There are many elements that successful peace funds must include, namely inclusive consultations, engagement with full organizations rather than individuals, equitable natural resource management and land rights, and addressing anxiety over the return of refugees and internally displaced persons,” described Paul Sein Twa […]

Concerns and Recommendations Regarding Peace Funds

While peace funds are well intentioned, the governance of them has some shortcomings. Burma groups are concerned that they have the potential to undermine the agenda for a comprehensive peace process and engender more harm than the projected benefits.

This position paper outlines a collective message to the Peace Donor Support Group, especially to Norway and the World Bank given that they are moving ahead with their peace fund initiatives, as well as other proponents including the Burma government and its concerned agencies, the implementing NGOs, private firms and consultants […]

Karen Community Based Organisations’ Position on Peace Funds

The undersigned Karen community-based organisations working on relief, education, healthcare, women’s rights, human rights, youth development, environmental protection, community development, and sustainable livelihood, among other issues, are concerned about the current lack of transparency and community involvement in the Myanmar Peace Support Initiative […]

Burma Peace Funds Must Do No Harm

By Paul Sein Twa

In the past few months, various media reports have quoted some concerns and opinions of KESAN regarding the ongoing peace process in Burma. This statement clarifies and expands upon these issues.

Our perspective on the peace process and peace funds

Sustainable peace is the long-term vision of Karen people. That vision incorporates rule of law, the protection of human rights, democratic governance, security of livelihood and equitable access to natural resources and essential services. We are not there yet.

Peace funds can be an important tool for building a culture of peace in Burma. Well managed peace funds can serve as positive instruments to advance shared multi-ethnic and government agendas for peace. However, peace funds must contribute to addressing deep rooted and structural obstacles to realizing peace in the country and strengthen community decision making processes to identify the priorities of ethnic people. The effective management of peace funds includes maximum transparency, support for a shared framework for peace, inclusive and meaningful consultation with a wide-range of non-state actors, multi-party dialogues and clear monitoring and accountability mechanisms. What we have witnessed so far is that the current peace fund process falls short of these good practices – and standards […]