Humanitarian assistance, international standards and principles

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Websites/Multiple Documents

Description: The Charter sets out ... what people affected by disasters have a right to expect from humanitarian assistance ... based on the principles and provisions of international humanitarian, human rights and refugee law, and on the principles of the Red Cross and NGO Code of Conduct. It describes the core principles that govern humanitarian action and asserts the right of populations to protection and assistance. The Charter is followed by minimum standards in five core sectors - water supply and sanitation, nutrition, food aid, shelter and site planning, and health services.
Source/publisher: The Sphere Project, http://www.sphereproject.org
Date of entry/update: 2010-07-18
Grouping: Websites/Multiple Documents
Language: English
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Individual Documents

Description: "The President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Peter Maurer, visited Myanmar to meet with Commanderin-Chief of Defence Services Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, on 3rd June 2021. During the meeting, President Maurer emphasized that ICRC's humanitarian activities in Myanmar have significantly developed and diversified over the past years. "Caught between armed conflict, COVID-19 and the current situation, people in Myanmar are in need of urgent assistance and protection," said President Maurer. "This visit aimed to share ICRC's concerns on the current humanitarian situation and reinforce ongoing eorts to ensure space for neutral and impartial humanitarian action". Given the scope and the scale of current needs, President Maurer made a case for broader humanitarian access including in Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Shan and Rakhine States. He also expressed the importance for the ICRC to resume its purely humanitarian visits and activities in places of detention, which have been on hold since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. Such visits and activities are essential to secure humane treatment and conditions of detention for all detainees and to restore communication between detainees and their families. In the framework of ICRC's confidential dialogue with military and security forces in Myanmar, President Maurer also raised key humanitarian issues including the use of force during security operations. Finally, President Maurer reiterated ICRC's commitment to reinforce its support to the Myanmar Red Cross Society's humanitarian work, especially in the area of first aid, ambulance services, emergency response and COVID-19 prevention. This support is in close cooperation with other Red Cross Red Crescent Movement partners in Myanmar. The ICRC has been helping people aected by armed conflicts and violence in Myanmar for more than 30 years. Its exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance. The ICRC also endeavours to prevent suering by promoting and strengthening international humanitarian law (IHL) and universal humanitarian principles..."
Source/publisher: International Committee of the Red Cross (Geneva) via "Reliefweb" (New York)
2021-06-03
Date of entry/update: 2021-06-04
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 55.17 KB 556.79 KB
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Description: "At the launch of the 2021 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis, the United States announced nearly $155 million in new assistance to sustain critical efforts to support Rohingya refugees and host communities in Bangladesh and internally displaced Rohingya and other affected people in Burma. Our assistance will help meet the immediate needs of the nearly 900,000 refugees in Bangladesh who fled from horrific violence in Burma’s Rakhine State, including women and children. As the leading contributor of assistance in response to the Rohingya refugee crisis, the United States is helping to support the victims of atrocities and other vulnerable people in need. With this new funding, our total humanitarian aid for those affected by the crisis in Burma, Bangladesh, and elsewhere in the region since the brutal violence by the Burmese military in August 2017 is more than $1.3 billion, including more than $1.1 billion for programs inside Bangladesh. Given the tremendous funding needs for this crisis, we welcome the contributions that some member states have made to this humanitarian response in recent months. We encourage the broader international community to do more and urge other countries and stakeholders to contribute as well. The United States recognizes the cost and responsibility that the response has placed on host countries, especially Bangladesh. We will continue to support all countries in the region that prioritize protection of Rohingya refugees. In the aftermath of the February 1 military coup and the brutal military crackdown in Burma, we remain committed to addressing the Rohingya crisis, recognizing that the coup leaders are many of the same individuals responsible for previous human rights abuses, including atrocities against Rohingya. We continue to work with international partners to support justice and accountability for all those responsible for the coup and human rights abuses. We continue to advocate for the rights of Rohingya and urge their inclusion in discussions about their future. We also continue to underscore the need for unhindered humanitarian access to all people requiring assistance in Burma. We urge Bangladesh to take steps to protect refugees, particularly at this time of increased risk to them, and not create conditions that would force them to return to a country where they could face persecution and violence. The United States is committed to promoting peace, security, and respect for the human rights and human dignity of all people in Burma, including Rohingya..."
Source/publisher: United States Department of State
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-20
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Description: "In my capacity as the Union Minister of the Ministry of International Cooperation of the National Unity Government (NUG), I hereby announce Mr. Aphu Doe as the Department Director of the Department of Humanitarian Cooperation of the MOIC. The Dopartmont of Humanitarian Cooporation of the Ministry of International Cooperation (MOIC-HC) shall cooperate directly with the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs and Disaster Management, the Ministry of Health, other Ministries, the International Community and organizations to facilitate relief aid. supplies and humanitarian assistance to the citizens of Myanmar as needed. Aphu Doe is a pre-med graduate and active CDM. Gen-Z. and resistance leader among the brave people of Myanmar, and has been coordinating relief efforts across the nation to get food and basic necessities to CDM participants. IDPs. and refugees. He also served as a volunteer during the 2020 Covid response efforts in a number of Clinics and labs, and has a heart to help the people of Myanmar in any way he can. We are glad to welcome Aphu Doe to our team, and together with you. the brave people of Myanmar, we WILL win!..."
Source/publisher: Ministry of International Cooperation Myanmar
2021-05-18
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-18
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf pdf
Size: 32.21 KB 182.37 KB
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Description: "Today marks the 100th day our country comes under a military coup. The military council continues to commit human rights violations daily ignoring 100 days of demands from the people of Myanmar to return to democracy and ignoring international condemnation against the coup. Giving no respect to the people of Myanmar and disregarding the election results, taking the country's power by coup means an insult to human rights wherein "the people have the rights to the government of their choosing". Since the coup, the military shows nothing but disrespect to people's basic human rights by continuing to oppress violently, murdering innocent protesters and civilians, torturing the whole public, and use various forms of threats to quash the people's voices. The innocent civilians and peaceful protesters are not only met with extreme force but also are targeted and shot at even in their own homes by the military which uses arms and weapons with an intent to slain them.Worse is that some families are asked to pick up their loved ones who were arrested the previous day but they are picking up their loved ones' lifeless bodies and these dead bodies told the story of inhumane treatment and brute force that they endured during their detention. Moreover, there is verifiable news of women, girls, and persons of LGBTIQA+ being sexually assaulted and raped while under the military's detention. At the same time, the military continues to commit human rights abuses and violations against ethnic nationalities in ethnic areas. In addition to the enduring wreck of nearly a century-old civil wars, ethnic nationalities again become internally displaced people (IDPs) due to airstrikes carried out by the military. In several ethnic nationality areas, humanitarian aid is urgently needed now for children, women, and elderly people. All these violation and atrocity certainly are the crime against humanity by the international humanitarian and human rights standards. I would like to say I am very proud to see people's unwavering protests against the coup amid terrible oppressions and heroes of the Civil Disobedient Movement (CDM) and I am deeply humbled by all of these. I would like to express my gratitude to those supporters of our Spring Revolution from the international communities and those who voice their unity and solidarity to our movement even though they are in refugee and IDP camps after fleeing the military's brutal crackdown and offensive attacks. The military council is not only violating the basic human rights described in international human rights principles and standards but also committing crimes against humanity. The Ministry of Human Rights (MOHR) is determined to work our utmost best in bringing accountability to those who perpetrate these violations and atrocities by employing different ways and methods through diplomatic channels and the international legal system. Only by doing so, we will be able to transform our country and eliminate the longexisted culture of impunity and dictators who think they are above the law. However, we must warn that NOW is a time to stop abuses and violations of human rights, to stop terrorising the public, and to stop giving excuses that they are just following the order. All of us need to understand that no matter which role and capacity you are in, if you perpetrate human rights abuses and violations, you will be brought to justice and you will be held accountable for your actions and inactions, it is crucial time to answer the questions of would you be on the peoples' side or are prepared to appear before the international criminal court systems by continuing human rights abuses and violations. Our invitation is extended to the Army, Navy, Air Force personnel including those from Myanmar Police Force, that it is still a good time to side with justice and the people if you do not want to be charged and punished in the criminal justice system and if you do not want to be recorded in history as criminals..."
Source/publisher: National Unity Government of Myanmar
2021-05-12
Date of entry/update: 2021-05-12
Grouping: Individual Documents
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Format : pdf pdf
Size: 94.19 KB 865.04 KB
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Description: "The international community needs new ways of working together to respond to the violence deployed against protesters in Myanmar. Since the military seized power on 1 February 2021, over 600 people have been killed. As of 10 April, over 2800 are in detention, have outstanding charges or are evading arrest. Communities across the country continue to protest, despite increasingly lethal violence. The international community continues to make statements denouncing the use of violence against protestors. They encourage regional efforts to support peaceful resolution and a return to the democratic transition. But protesters don’t want a return to the previous situation — they are calling for fundamental political change. The Myanmar military (Tatmadaw) has entrenched its position. More lethal force and violence is expected. It is time for ASEAN and the UN to collaborate on developing a joint mechanism to coordinate regional and international diplomatic efforts, and provide humanitarian assistance to respond to the deteriorating situation. ASEAN is constrained by its consensus-based approach to decision-making and limited investment in regional institutional architecture. The divergence of opinion over the situation in Myanmar between member states is well documented. This limits ASEAN from acting collectively. But treating ASEAN as an enforcement mechanism in the ways that some in the international community have suggested misses the point. ASEAN has evolved as a forum for dialogue at the regional level. Its successes have been in initiating and contributing to the sustainable development of its member states, while engaging extra-regional players. The UN has several constraints working in Southeast Asia, the most prominent being that many countries in the region prefer a localised approach to peace and security. The UN has strengthened its position in the region by partnering with ASEAN in several key areas, notably in disaster management and emergency response. A greater focus on these successes is needed to develop an ASEAN–UN partnership. A joint mechanism would build on past successes. There have been notable developments since the signing of the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response in 2008, suggesting that a more coordinated approach is possible between global and regional organisations. In October 2016, the UN Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and the ASEAN Secretary-General met alongside the UN General Assembly and the annual ASEAN–UN Secretariat-to-Secretariat Dialogue. They agreed to capture and institutionalise practical, experience-based arrangements. This notably took shape in the response to the 2018 Sulawesi Earthquake in Indonesia. The Indonesian government mandated that the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) be the platform through which international partners and the private sector coordinate their humanitarian efforts. The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs worked in the AHA Emergency Operations Centre to facilitate coordination between ASEAN and the UN. The experience was commended and pointed to as a new way of working between the two entities. There remains a lack of significant investment in regional institutions, limiting both their mandate and their capacity. The ASEAN Charter remains the lynchpin for upholding the ASEAN community and provides the foundation for action. But it lacks triggers to initiate substantive responses and relies on the convening of an ASEAN Leaders Summit to address member states that fall foul of their commitments. And the ASEAN Secretariat only has a few hundred employees — limiting its ability to implement its broad-based mandate effectively. Forging an ASEAN–UN partnership could help coordinate diplomatic efforts and deliver humanitarian assistance to people in Myanmar. It could draw on the expertise of the 6600 ASEAN citizens currently staffing the United Nations system to create a joint mechanism anchored in the ‘ASEAN way’ that combines the trust of ASEAN with the capacity of the United Nations. In response to the devastating impact of Cyclone Nargis in 2008, ASEAN established the ASEAN Humanitarian Taskforce. The taskforce was made up of the ASEAN member states chaired by the ASEAN Secretary-General and an advisory group made up of Myanmar’s neighbouring countries, the UN, the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank. It facilitated engagement between parties and provided a model for an ASEAN–UN mechanism. A partnership between ASEAN and the United Nations will provide a more coordinated international response to the increasingly fraught situation in Myanmar. If ASEAN leadership fails, it will fall upon the wider international community and individual ASEAN members — undermining the organisation’s regional centrality. A path that does not engage ASEAN faces numerous hurdles and diverging interests. It is time to move beyond broad commitments to region-led approaches. Actors must find innovative ways of collaborating if regional and international efforts are to support people in Myanmar..."
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Source/publisher: "East Asia Forum" (Australia)
2021-04-14
Date of entry/update: 2021-04-16
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language:
Format : pdf
Size: 164.52 KB
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Description: "...Whether in hiding or living under military control, displaced villagers of Karen State and other areas of rural Burma have shown themselves to be innovative and courageous in responding to and resisting military abuse. They urgently need increased assistance but it is they who should determine the direction of any such intervention. This article, co-authored by two KHRG staff members, appears in issue number 30 of the journal Forced Migration Review (FMR), issued in April 2008 and is available on both the KHRG and FMR websites..."
Source/publisher: Karen Human Right Group Articles & Papers (KHRG #2008-W1)
2008-04-23
Date of entry/update: 2009-11-25
Grouping: Individual Documents
Language: English
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