• Burmese
Friday, June 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
32 °c
Yangon
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Junta Watch
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Books
  • Donation
No Result
View All Result
The Irrawaddy
No Result
View All Result
Home News Burma

Civil Society Groups Demand National Land Restitution Policy for Displaced Communities 

Tin Htet Paing by Tin Htet Paing
June 9, 2016
in Burma
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
Civil Society Groups Demand National Land Restitution Policy for Displaced Communities 

Umpiem Mai refugee camp near Mae Sot in western Thailand

4.6k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

RANGOON — Several of Burma’s civil society organizations (CSOs) and ethnic community leaders have called for the government to develop a national land restitution policy for communities displaced by conflict.

Their concerns were expressed at a public forum on Wednesday following a two-day workshop organized by The Border Consortium (TBC) and the Transnational Institute (TNI). CSOs and community leaders aimed to establish a national platform for displaced communities to be able to claim land and property rights, review international standards and increase joint advocacy.

Representatives came up with nine key principles and recommendations, emphasizing that all land-related policies, regulations and procedures must be in line with customary land use practices and tenure systems in ethnic areas. They also stressed that displaced communities and local people should be informed and involved in all levels of the decision-making process in relation to return and resettlement.

RelatedPosts

Bangladeshi Islamist Party Proposes Independent Rohingya State in Myanmar’s Rakhine

Bangladeshi Islamist Party Proposes Independent Rohingya State in Myanmar’s Rakhine

April 28, 2025
2.4k
Myanmar Refugees in Limbo, Thailand in Denial

Myanmar Refugees in Limbo, Thailand in Denial

March 22, 2025
2.7k
Bangladesh Arrests Notorious Rohingya Militant Leader

Bangladesh Arrests Notorious Rohingya Militant Leader

March 19, 2025
1.2k

“Displaced communities are entitled to restore their housing, land and property rights in their place of origin,” their statement said.

Representatives highlighted that IDPs and refugees have the right to return voluntarily, in safety and with dignity, adding that national reconciliation and the peace process are key to their sustainable return and resettlement.

Naw Blooming Night Zan, finance manager of the Karen Refugee Committee (KRC) said that security concerns remain the most critical consideration for IDPs and refugees, adding that military bases should be removed and landmines should be demarcated and immediately cleared in and around origin villages.

“Whenever we talk to [refugees and IDPs] about returning home, they ask me: Are there military troops? Are there any landmines?” said Naw Blooming Night Zan.

She told the Irrawaddy that there is a need for advocacy work in order to prompt the government to take steps toward implementing national land restitution policies.

Saw Alex from the Karen Environmental and Social Action Network (KESAN) told The Irrawaddy that these principles and recommendations are fundamental to initiating action.

“The government has to have a broad platform for all concerned parties, which means involving local people, refugees, IDPs, CSOs, community organizations, international society, all armed groups and the government army,” he explained.

He added that any future policies should be able to be systematically implemented nationwide for the benefit of all displaced communities.

Naw Blooming Night Zan made the point that “returning voluntarily with dignity” also applies to those who don’t want to return to the country.

“When we talk about returning and resettlement, some refugees who are probably not willing to return to Burma should also be accounted for,” she said. “We can’t force them to go back.”

Sai Nor Hseng of the Shan Youth Network said at the forum that land rights are very important to IDPs and refugees because they left their land—which used to be their “life”—due to armed conflict.

“Where is their place when they come back, and do they have the right to claim their original land?” he asked. “What if there is no place to live or no farm to work when they return?”

Although the representatives demanded a return of all arbitrarily confiscated land to the “original land owners,” they said that there needed to be an explicit definition of “original land owner” which retained respect for customary land use practices and tenure systems in ethnic areas.

A 2015 research report called “The Meaning Of Land In Myanmar” by the TNI stated that there is no internationally recognized human right to land, unlike water or food.

“While a right to property was established in Article 17 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, it was not codified in the subsequent legally binding international conventions,” the research said.

The report highlighted that the connection between land and human rights is a tangible part of the everyday experience of many small-scale farmers and other food producers around the world, citing the unique customary land use practices of Burmese farmers.

According to TBC, there are roughly 120,000 Burmese refugees in nine official camps on the Thai-Burma border, some of who have resided there for over two decades. The UN’s refugee agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimated in a report last year that there were about 500,000 conflict-affected IDPs in Burma, but accurate figures are difficult to assess due to limited access in the concerned areas.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: A_FactivaMoreRefugees
Tin Htet Paing

Tin Htet Paing

...

Similar Picks:

Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law
Burma

Myanmar Youth Exodus Feared in Wake of Junta’s Conscription Law

by The Irrawaddy
February 15, 2024
15.7k

Activists warn of increased labor rights violations in Thailand and human trafficking as young people flee to avoid mandatory military...

Read moreDetails
By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes
Analysis

By Almost Every Measure, Myanmar Junta Ranks Among World’s Worst Regimes

by Khin Nadi
February 2, 2024
10.8k

The Irrawaddy unpacks the regime’s three-year track record of violence and rights abuses, as assessed by leading global organizations and...

Read moreDetails
Karen Ethnic Army Launches Final Push to Capture Myawaddy on Thai Border
Burma

Karen Ethnic Army Launches Final Push to Capture Myawaddy on Thai Border

by The Irrawaddy
April 9, 2024
10.3k

The KNLA and PDF groups launched an attack on the last junta battalion defending Myawaddy on Tuesday afternoon and were...

Read moreDetails
Illegal Entry Arrests Surge in Thailand Amid Forced Military Conscription in Myanmar
Myanmar’s Crisis & the World

Illegal Entry Arrests Surge in Thailand Amid Forced Military Conscription in Myanmar

by Brian Wei
May 30, 2024
9.4k

More than half of the soaring number of people being detained at the border said they were fleeing conscription, a...

Read moreDetails
Clashes Resume on Thai-Myanmar Border
Burma

Clashes Resume on Thai-Myanmar Border

by AFP
April 20, 2024
7k

Myanmar junta troops near the Second Friendship Bridge to Thailand are holding out against anti-regime forces.

Read moreDetails
Myanmar Junta Causes Thailand Problems
Guest Column

Myanmar Junta Causes Thailand Problems

by Paul Greening
March 7, 2024
6.8k

The multiple crises on Thailand’s border sparked by the Myanmar junta’s failed coup could present opportunities for Bangkok, but so...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation Looks to Join YSX in August       

Myanmar Agribusiness Public Corporation Looks to Join YSX in August       

YCDC Welcomes New Members to Executive Board      

YCDC Welcomes New Members to Executive Board      

No Result
View All Result

Recommended

Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

Myanmar Tourism Sector Mocks Junta’s Russia Tourist Drive

7 days ago
1.8k
Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

Untested Commander Takes Charge as Myanmar Military Faces Toughest Challenge in Decades

7 days ago
1.8k

Most Read

  • Myanmar’s Aging Leaders Continue to Suffer in Junta Jails

    Myanmar’s Aging Leaders Continue to Suffer in Junta Jails

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Mon Groups Vow to Boost Attacks on Myanmar junta

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Trade and Traffic from Thai Border Region Dwindle as Checkpoints Multiply

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • The Lady Myanmar’s Generals Can’t Defeat

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Thailand’s ‘Yellow Shirts’ Return to Streets to Demand PM Quit

    shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0

Newsletter

Get The Irrawaddy’s latest news, analyses and opinion pieces on Myanmar in your inbox.

Subscribe here for daily updates.

Contents

  • News
  • Politics
  • War Against the Junta
  • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
  • Conflicts In Numbers
  • Junta Crony
  • Ethnic Issues
  • Asia
  • World
  • Business
  • Economy
  • Election 2020
  • Elections in History
  • Cartoons
  • Features
  • Opinion
  • Editorial
  • Commentary
  • Guest Column
  • Analysis
  • Letters
  • In Person
  • Interview
  • Profile
  • Dateline
  • Specials
  • Myanmar Diary
  • Women & Gender
  • Places in History
  • On This Day
  • From the Archive
  • Myanmar & COVID-19
  • Intelligence
  • Myanmar-China Watch
  • Lifestyle
  • Travel
  • Food
  • Fashion & Design
  • Videos
  • Photos
  • Photo Essay
  • Donation

About The Irrawaddy

Founded in 1993 by a group of Myanmar journalists living in exile in Thailand, The Irrawaddy is a leading source of reliable news, information, and analysis on Burma/Myanmar and the Southeast Asian region. From its inception, The Irrawaddy has been an independent news media group, unaffiliated with any political party, organization or government. We believe that media must be free and independent and we strive to preserve press freedom.

  • Copyright
  • Code of Ethics
  • Privacy Policy
  • Team
  • About Us
  • Careers
  • Contact
  • Burmese

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

Welcome Back!

Login to your account below

Forgotten Password?

Retrieve your password

Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

Log In
No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
    • Burma
    • Politics
    • World
    • Asia
    • Myanmar’s Crisis & the World
    • Ethnic Issues
    • War Against the Junta
    • Junta Cronies
    • Conflicts In Numbers
    • Junta Watch
    • Fact Check
    • Investigation
    • Myanmar-China Watch
    • Obituaries
  • Politics
  • Opinion
    • Commentary
    • Guest Column
    • Analysis
    • Editorial
    • Stories That Shaped Us
    • Letters
  • Ethnic Issues
  • War Against the Junta
  • In Person
    • Interview
    • Profile
  • Business
    • Economy
    • Business Roundup
  • Books
  • Donation

© 2023 Irrawaddy Publishing Group. All Rights Reserved

This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.