THE
INTERNALLY DISPLACEMENT MONITORING CENTRE REPORTS:
The situation of internal displacement in Burma continues to worsen despite increased pressure on the military government to end its blatant human rights abuses and to allow humanitarian access to conflict-affected populations. The largest concentration of internally displaced people (IDPs) is found among the Karen, Karenni, Shan and Mon ethnic groups in eastern Burma. As of October 2006, it was estimated that at least 500,000 people were internally displaced in eastern Burma, either living in temporary sites in ceasefire areas, in hiding close to their villages or in relocation sites. However, this is a conservative estimate as no information exists for several areas. The displacement crisis is currently most acute in the Karen state of Burma where thousands of civilians are being displaced by the Burmese army which has launched a major offensive against insurgent groups. In other parts of Burma, no estimate exists of the number of people who have fled due to forced labour and other coercive government policies. Displacement due to large-scale development projects is on the increase, one current example being the forced relocation of dozens of villages along the Salween River. In addition, hundreds of thousands more have been displaced in schemes to resettle the urban poor.
The human rights situation in Burma has been on the UN Security Council agenda several times during the last year, but in January 2007, China and Russia vetoed a US sponsored resolution addressing the situation in the country. International and regional actors should take every opportunity to raise the need for humanitarian access with the military regime and should develop a common policy vis-ŕ-vis the government in order to improve protection and assistance to Burma’s internally displaced.
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