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1999 programme (Global Appeal): Tha
Subject: 1999 programme (Global Appeal): Thailand / Myanmar Border Operation
http://www.unhcr.ch/fdrs/ga99/tha.htm
1999 programme (Global Appeal): Thailand / Myanmar Border Operation
<<Basic Facts>>
<What we do
Provide protection and relief assistance to asylum-seekers and
refugees
from Myanmar in refugee camps along the Myanmar border in
Thailand,
in the Maneeloy Burmese Centre (MBC) in Ratchaburi province,
and in
the Bangkok Refugee Centre.
<Whom we help
101,600 refugees from Myanmar, of which 100,400 are
accommodated in
camps on the Thai/Myanmar border, 1,000 in the Maneeloy
Burmese
Centre, and up to 200 live dispersed in Bangkok.
<Our requirements
US$ 3,351,700
<Our offices
Bangkok, Mae Sot, Mae Hong Son, Kanchanaburi.
- - - map - - -
<Our partners
Operations Centre for Displaced Persons (OCDP)/ Ministry of
Interior,
Ministry of Defense, Burmese Border Consortium (BBC),
International
Rescue Committee (IRC).
<<Background>>
Refugees have been fleeing Myanmar for some four decades,
prompted
by repeated clashes between ethnic minorities and the
Government of
Myanmar and due to restrictive human rights practices,
including reported
forced relocations, limitations on movement and compulsory
labour, in
areas of origin. In June 1998 the Government of Thailand
formally
requested UNHCR?s assistance in caring for some 101,600 ethnic
Karen
and Karenni refugees from Myanmar accommodated in 13 camps
scattered along the border between the two countries. UNHCR
acceded
to this request and, through a subsequent assessment of the
situation,
concluded that the agency?s role should focus primarily on
protection
monitoring.
Protection
UNHCR field-based protection staff will advise the Government
of
Thailand in establishing criteria for refugee status
determination
procedures to ensure that groups of asylum-seekers fleeing
conflict, or
the effects of conflict, will be permitted temporary
protection in camps in
Thailand. UNHCR will provide assistance, as required, to
relocate camps
at risk of incursion further away from the border, and, in
collaboration with
the Government, will conduct comprehensive and verifiable
registration
exercises and monitor the civilian character of the camps.
Registration of
residents in all refugee camps along the Thai/Myanmar border
will
continue into 1999. Protection staff based in recently
established field
offices in Tak, Mae Hong Son and Kanchanaburi will visit the
camps
regularly.
<<Protection Outside the Camps>>
In Bangkok, UNHCR will determine the refugee status of, and
provide
material assistance to, asylum-seekers from Myanmar who have
compelling reasons not to reside in the border camps. This
assistance
will be provided pending their admission to the Maneeloy
Burmese
Centre in Ratchaburi.
The Regional Office in Bangkok will consider resettlement
options for
compelling cases. Meanwhile, individual refugees may approach
embassies which have specific resettlement programmes for this
group.
UNHCR will conduct orientation seminars and training workshops
for
provincial and district officials through 1999 to explain the
agency?s role
on the border and disseminate information about the agency?s
work.
The UNHCR programme, while primarily focused on access to
asylum,
protection monitoring, and camp security, may require
expansion if
conditions in the country of origin become conducive to the
refugees? safe
return.
Assistance
The Burmese Border Consortium estimates that the total border
population of 100,395, as of the end of September 1998, was
composed
of 86,896 Karen refugees accommodated in nine camps and 13,499
Karenni refugees accommodated in four camps. Comprehensive
camp
population data, including age, gender, place of origin, and
vocational
profiles, will be further developed through joint
Government/UNHCR
registration exercises.
UNHCR?s assistance to camp populations will complement that
provided
by the Government and NGOs. Most camps are in remote areas and
are
difficult to reach during the rainy season. The agency will
support local
authorities in improving access roads to the camps and in
relocating
camps to safer sites away from the border. UNHCR will
contribute to the
cost of relocating the refugees, their belongings and
removable camp
infrastructure. Assistance in reconstructing relocated camps,
including
building refugee shelters and essential community buildings,
water and
sanitation systems and electrical grids, will also be
provided. Alternative
cooking fuel will be provided in an effort to minimize damage
to local
forests.
<<Community-Based Assistance>>
A modest level of community-based assistance will be provided
in Thai
villages affected by refugee populations. The three provinces
will be
asked to submit proposals for environmental rehabilitation and
the
reinforcement of community-support structures to redress the
negative
effects of refugee settlements.
Support to the Maneeloy Burmese Centre
UNHCR provides protection support, accommodation, food, health
care,
counselling services, and education assistance for up to 1,000
Burmese
refugees who will reside in the Maneeloy Burmese Centre (MBC),
Ratchaburi Province, during 1999. An allowance of US$ 21 per
month is
given to MBC residents to help them cover the cost of
toiletries, clothes
and incidental items. UNHCR also helps maintain the refugee
shelters,
safe drinking water network, access roads, drainage and
sanitation
systems and the electrical grid. Vector control systems are
also
maintained to prevent insect and rodent-borne disease within
the MBC.
The International Rescue Committee (IRC) provides basic health
services in the centre. A qualified nurse will be employed
full-time to treat
minor medical problems and to refer patients to the local
hospital as
required.
<<Assisting Refugees in Bangkok>>
Some 200 refugees from Myanmar live in dispersed accommodation
in
Bangkok. Monthly allowances to cover food and accommodation
are
provided to these refugees pending their admittance to the
MBC. There is
also limited assistance to allow student refugees from Myanmar
to attend
vocational-training courses.
Coordination
The Operations Centre for Displaced Persons (OCDP), of the
Ministry of
Interior, and the Ministry of Defense are responsible for the
construction
and maintenance of camp infrastructure. They also administer
the camps
and provide utilities and security.
The NGO, Burmese Border Consortium (BBC), provides
multi-sectoral
assistance to the refugee camps on the Thai/Myanmar Border,
including
food rations, cooking fuel, and shelter and infrastructure
support. UNHCR
contributes to the BBC?s basic food distributions. Health
care, water and
sanitation services, and limited education programmes in the
camps are
supported by several NGOs including: Aide Medical
Internationale (AMI),
American Refugee Committee (ARC), Church of Christ in Thailand
(CCT),
Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugee (COERR),
Handicap
International (HI), International Rescue Committee (IRC),
Malteser
Germany (MHD), Médecins sans frontières - France (MSF-F),
Norwegian
Church Aid (NCA), Taipei Overseas Peace Service (TOPS), and
ZOA
Refugee Care Netherlands (ZOA).
Budget US$
The budget includes costs in Thailand, Myanmar and at Headquarters.
Activities Special
Programmes
Food
579,563
Transport/Logistics
84,833
Domestic Needs/Household Support
558,226
Water Supply
54,843
Sanitation
27,344
Health/ Nutrition
42,008
Shelter/Other Infrastructures
243,059
Community Services
40,000
Education
12,360
Forestry
105,141
Legal Assistance/Protection
136,206
Agency Operational Support
173,717
Programme Delivery Costs*
1,053,900
Sub-TOTAL
3,111,200
UNHCR Administrative Support
240,500
TOTAL
3,351,700
* Includes costs for protection, monitoring and coordination.