• Burmese
Friday, June 20, 2025
No Result
View All Result
NEWSLETTER
The Irrawaddy
26 °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

UN Cannot Reach 25,000 Kachin Refugees

Seamus Martov by Seamus Martov
August 17, 2012
in Uncategorized
Reading Time: 3 mins read
0 0
A A
UN Cannot Reach 25

UN staff deliver food to Seng Mai Pa IDP camp near Mai Ja Yang on March 28. (Photo: WPN)

2.4k
VIEWS
Share on FacebookShare on Twitter

KACHIN STATE — Despite the best efforts of the United Nations and its various agencies in Burma, the world body’s relief operations are unable to reach more than one third of the estimated 65,000 internally displaced people (IDPs) uprooted in Kachin State.

Responding to a series of questions from The Irrawaddy, Aye Win, the UN’s chief information officer for Burma, revealed this week that his organization is very concerned about the plight of an estimated 25,000 IDPs in Kachin State who he says “have not been reached by regular UN supplies.”

Although reaching many of the temporary camps located in remote mountainous parts of the state’s east is logistically extremely difficult, local aid workers say that Burmese government hostility remains the primary reason why the UN is unable to access so many people in need.

RelatedPosts

Govt ‘Blacklist’ Practices Highlight Lack of Transparency

Govt ‘Blacklist’ Practices Highlight Lack of Transparency, Activists Say

August 4, 2016
4.5k
Advocacy Group Calls for Release of Arrested Arakan Activist

Advocacy Group Calls for Release of Arrested Arakan Activist

August 4, 2016
4.3k
Women Continue to Suffer Due to Land Grabs and Militarization

Women Continue to Suffer Due to Land Grabs and Militarization

August 3, 2016
13.2k

Upon the completion a four-day visit to Burma last week, John Ging, director of operations for the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), issued a public plea calling on the Burmese authorities to allow UN agencies greater access to IDPs in both Kachin and Arakan states.

In a statement released on Aug. 9, Ging contrasted the ongoing reforms which have taken place under President Thein Sein’s quasi-civilian government with the humanitarian and political crises which are currently taking place in Burma’s far north and far west.

“On the one hand, we see significant progress resulting from the democratization, peace building and economic development processes, while on the other hand, conflict and communal tensions have the potential to undermine stability and generate significant humanitarian needs,” he said .

Ging’s stated concern for the plight of displaced Kachin families has been welcomed by local aid workers operating in rebel-controlled territory who have repeatedly warned that the major humanitarian crisis in the area could deteriorate drastically if displaced people are denied assistance.

From late March to June, teams from the UN’s World Food Program, UNOCHA , UNICEF and the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNCHR) made a series of visits to IDP camps around Mai Ja Yang—the second largest town controlled by the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO).

Yet the UN has not been able to visit any of the camps located at Laiza, the de facto capital of the KIO, which is home to the largest number of IDPs in the state. A small UN team did visit Laiza late last year but promised follow-up visits have yet to take place because of government restrictions.

UN operations in parts of Kachin State not controlled by the government have been significantly reduced since mid-June when six aid workers for the world body were arrested while performing relief work in western Burma’s Arakan State.

In addition, eight local staff members from other NGOs were arrested under similar circumstances. At least five of these are believed to be from Medicins Sans Frontieres (MSF). All of those detained appear to be citizens of Burma.

Local Burmese staff working for the UN in Burma may not enjoy the same full diplomatic protection of their international colleagues yet should in theory still benefit from some security courtesy of various international treaties. During former junta chief Snr-Gen Than Shwe’s regime local UN staff were frequently detained under what were commonly accepted as trumped-up charges.

During a trip to Burma from July 30 to Aug. 4, UN Special Rapporteur for Human Rights in Burma Tomás Ojea Quintana met with the six jailed UN workers. According to a statement released after his visit, the six are being held in Buthidaung Prison in Arakan State and the notorious Insein Prison in Rangoon.

“I am of the view that the charges against them are unfounded and that their due process rights have been denied,” said Quintana.

While both the names and ethnic background of the various jailed workers remain unknown, their plight remains a glaring example of the continued difficulties faced by the UN and other international organizations operating in Burma.

The aid workers arrest and detention also stands in sharp contrast to the optimistic statements emanating from various NGOs that entered Burma in the years following Cyclone Nargis which describe the new operating space that has opened.

Your Thoughts …
Tags: More
Seamus Martov

Seamus Martov

...

Similar Picks:

ABSDF Report Finds Torture
Burma

ABSDF Report Finds Torture, Leaves Questions in Killing of Its Own

by Nyein Nyein
March 16, 2015
6.2k

A report into the killing of 35 members of the All Burma Students’ Democratic Front by its own leadership documents...

Read moreDetails
‘Twilight Over Burma’ Tells Tragic Tale of Austrian Shan Princess
Burma

‘Twilight Over Burma’ Tells Tragic Tale of Austrian Shan Princess

by Nyein Nyein
May 30, 2016
11.2k

Movie about Inge Sargent, an Austrian who became a Shan princess, is screened in Thailand, shedding light on human rights...

Read moreDetails
A Story of Modern Slavery in Thailand
Burma

A Story of Modern Slavery in Thailand

by Saw Yan Naing
August 21, 2015
6k

Hoping for a brighter future, Maung Htay left Burma when he was just a teenager. He is now 42, but...

Read moreDetails
Migrants’ Hopes and Fears in Little Burma
Asia

Migrants’ Hopes and Fears in Little Burma

by Nyein Nyein
July 16, 2016
10.3k

Known locally as Mahachai, and by foreigners as ‘Little Burma,’ Thailand’s Samut Sakhon hosts up to 400,000 Burmese migrants working...

Read moreDetails
Girl Who Accused Employer of Rape Faces Charges of Theft
Burma

Girl Who Accused Employer of Rape Faces Charges of Theft

by The Irrawaddy
February 26, 2013
13.1k

A 15-year-old girl who says her employer repeatedly raped her is taken into custody after the wife of her alleged...

Read moreDetails
Did a Golden Triangle Leader Fall for a UN Peace Prize Hoax?
Burma

Did a Golden Triangle Leader Fall for a UN Peace Prize Hoax?

by Patrick Boehler and Echo Hui
January 4, 2013
4.7k

Serious doubts have been raised about the awarding of a dubious United Nations peace prize to Kokang Chairman Pai Sou...

Read moreDetails
Load More
Next Post
Journalists Plan Protest against Media Restrictions

Journalists Plan Protest against Media Restrictions

Burma Rebuffs Asean Bid for Role in Arakan State

Burma Rebuffs Asean Bid for Role in Arakan State

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
  • Thai PM Faces Growing Calls to Quit in Cambodia Phone Row

    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.