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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.