The Situation of IDPs and Refugees in Myanmar/Burma

The Myanmar UNHCR Displacement Overview from March 28, 2022 indicated there are now over a half a million people, 558,000, displaced inside the country and 33,600 displaced to neighboring countries since the military coup in February 2021. Factoring in displacement that existed prior to the military coup, there are now 980,000 refugees and asylum seekers from Myanmar/Burma in neighboring countries and 904,000 internally displaced.

According to UNHCR, as of March 28, 2022 there were 36,300 IDPs in Chin State and 33,600 Chin refugees in Mizoram State since the February 2021 coup . A reliable source in Mizoram informed CAM that the Mizoram government has been providing assistance to Chin refugees such as shelter and food. The number of Chin refugees in India has continued to increased.

CAM has learned from a reliable source that UN agencies in Myanmar/Burma, including UNHCR, are not allowed to travel to Hakha, Chin State to deliver humanitarian assistance to the IDPs.

On March 16, the Burmese military based in Hakha entered the village of Zokhua in Chin State and left on March 21 according to a local source familiar with the situation in Zokhua (identity not disclosed due to security reasons). The military stayed in Christian Churches including the Sang Fen Memorial Church which was built in memorial of the late Reverend Sang Fen who was one of the earliest Christian converts and preachers among Chin people under the American Baptist Mission in Chinland. The military also destroyed the church properties. CAM learned that the military were about 300 led by the Light Infantry Battalion 266 based in Hakha. All the villagers have been displaced.

On the morning of March 28, 2022, the Tatmadaw, led by Battalion 266, burned down nine homes and destroyed several others in Tinam Village. Civilians in the village have been displaced to surrounding villages, informed by a local source which is not disclosed due to security reasons.

Sang Fang Memorial Church, built in memorial of Rev. Sang Fen, one of the earliest Christian converts and preachers among Chin people under the American Baptist Mission in Chinland. The church was occupied by the Tatmadaw on March 16, 2022.
Photo by: Rev. Dr. Stephen Hre Kio

Displacement trends of IDPs (green) and internationally displaced (red) from Myanmar/Burma since the military coup of February 2021 as of March 28, 2022.
Source: UNHCR Myanmar Emergency Overview Map, March 28, 2022

Human Rights and Religious Freedom in Myanmar/Burma

The Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP) provides a daily report in regards to the coup. As of March 28, AAPP indicated there have been 1,714 killed, 12,989 arrested, and 1,974 arbitrarily detained since the military coup.

On March 27, 2022, Myanmar military’s top general Min Aung Hlaing vows to ‘annihilate’ resistance groups and to intensify action against militia groups fighting the military-run government. He spoke at a military parade marking Armed Forces Day. He also urged ethnic minorities not to support groups opposed to army rule and ruled out negotiations with them. Official translation of his speech states the Tatmadaw “will annihilate them [resistance groups] to the end.”

On March 15, 2022, President Biden signed the H.R. 2471 – Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2022, which includes providing $136,127,000 in assistance for Burma. The Bill is significant because it includes a commitment to “support peaceful efforts to establish… a federal union” in Burma. This is one of the first times the U.S. government has mentioned a “federal union” with regard to Burma in an official document. H.R. 2471 also makes funds available to the National Unity Government of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar (NUG), the National Unity Consultative Council (NUCC), the Committee Representing Pyidaungsu Hluttaw (CRPH), as well as the Ethnic Armed Organizations (EAOs) and the Civil Disobedience Movement (CDM), which indicates firmly support for the prodemocracy movement in Burma and is an important step in recognizing the NUG as the legitimate government.

On March 15, 2022, the European Parliament issued a Joint Motion for a Resolution on Myanmar. The resolution urged assistance to travel through cross-border channels to ensure it gets to civilians and demanded the military junta be brought to justice and accountability for their grave international crimes.

On March 17, 2022, Members of Myanmar Democratic Network in Perth, Western Australia met with Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison with the arrangement of Senator Dean Smith le Vince Connelly, MP. Mr. Ram Tin Thei who participated in the meeting informed CAM that the delegations requested for support including humanitarian assistance, refugees, and supporting the National Unity Government, and others. The delegations are thankful to the Prime Minister for his time and support.

On March 21, 2022, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken announced that the Biden Administration has determined the atrocities committed by the Burmese military committed genocide and crimes against humanity against Rohingya. The statement was made at the U.S. Holocaust Museum and is the eighth time the U.S. has made a declaration of genocide. He went on to state, “it’s also important to recognize that for decades the Burmese military has committed killings, rape, and other atrocities against members of other ethnic and religious minority groups. Reports of these abuses are widespread; they’re well documented.  They’ve occurred in states across Burma.  That history, and the determination we’re making today, are fundamental to understanding Burma’s current crisis.”

The U.S. Committee for International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) welcomed the State Department’s determination of genocide and the gravity of the crimes, but further called the U.S. to action that holds the Burmese military accountable, including through the international legal system.

A Southeast Asian peace envoy met Myanmar’s military rulers on March 21. Prak Sokhonn, special envoy for the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) met with junta chief Min Aung Hlaing. The visit was denounced by opposition groups as showing deference to the leaders of last year’s coup and disdain for the will of the people. Myanmar’s state-run MRTV in its nightly bulletin showed Prak Sokhonn and ASEAN’s secretary-general Lim Jock Hoi meeting the junta’s leader and later dining with its foreign minister, Wunna Maung Lwin.

UN High Commissioner for Human Rights from the Office for the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) issued a statement at the 49th Session of the Human Rights Council on March 21. The High Commissioner called for accountability as fundamental to ending the crisis and stated, “Human rights violations and crimes being committed today by Myanmar’s military forces are built upon the impunity with which they perpetrated the slaughter of the Rohingya four years ago – and other, similar, operations against ethnic minorities over many previous decades.” The High Commissioner also urged more efforts to bring results from the 5-point plan achieved by ASEAN, from which little progress has been achieved. Further calls for urgent action by the international community were made.

On March 28, 2022, the Prime Minister of Australia announced they will give $95.5 million of assistance to the people of Myanmar this financial year. He discussed doing more to support the camps on the Thai Burma border as well as the Burma India border. He stated, “Our assistance is focussed on healthcare, including COVID19 support, education, food and household economic support. Our assistance reaches communities across Myanmar, but I would say particularly with the Chin, Kachin, Kayah, the Shan, right across, right across the ethnic minorities that have suffered so much.”

On March 29, 2022, U.S. Ambassador to Bangladesh Peter Haas announced more than $152 million in additional humanitarian assistance for those in Bangladesh, Burma, and elsewhere in the region affected by “the Burmese military’s genocide, crimes against humanity, and ethnic cleansing against Rohingya.” This came at the launch of the 2022 Joint Response Plan for the Rohingya Humanitarian Crisis in Bangladesh. The additional funding brings the U.S. total assistance to help the plight of the Rohingya to more than $1.7 billion since August 2017, when over 740,000 Rohingya were forced to flee to safety in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh.

On March 29, 2022, President Biden welcomed Prime Minister Lee of Singapore to the White House. In a joint press conference they impressed their support of the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and Burma’s return to democracy. President Biden stated, “Singapore and the United States agree that the military regime must urgently implement the ASEAN Five-Point Consensus and return Burma to its path to democratic transition”.

Join CAM’s efforts in advocacy by writing a letter to your congressman/woman asking them to sponsor the Burma Act of 2021 as amended: 

Please support the BURMA Act of 2021 by becoming a co-sponsor to the bill. This would help restore the democratically elected government of Burma. It would establish an inclusive political dialogue in Burma, which would be a step toward establishing a federal democratic union.

Please also consider the following amendments to make the Burma Act of 2021 more relevant to the current situation on the ground in Burma:

1- Establish A Federal Democratic Union of Burma
It is important that the Act mention “federal democratic union,” not just democracy. The political crisis in the union of Burma is not only about promoting democracy or human rights. For over a half a century, the Burmese military regimes have been persecuting the ethnic nationalities and the religious minorities. Resolving the political crisis in Burma is about respecting minority rights and autonomy. That is what the ethnic armed organizations (EAOs) have been fighting for all these years. A “federal democratic union” would help ensure those rights are safeguarded. NUG’s duties include “establishing a federal democratic union” (see building a federal democratic union” under the Duties of NUG ( https://gov.nugmyanmar.org/about-nug/).

It is important that the bill restores civilian governance and ensures strong oversight over the military, but it should also mention the importance of establishing a federal democratic union that safeguards full autonomy for the internal administration of states or regions.

2- Abolish the 2008 Constitution
The Act should clearly mention abolishing the 2008 Constitution rather than reforming it (see NUG’s duties to abolish the 2008 Constitution). The ethnic political organizations and ethnic armed organizations have the same goal to abolish it.

3- Do Not Advocate for a Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement
The Act should also not advocate for the implementation of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA). It ceased being a just and viable instrument for maintaining peace when the military illegally took power on February 1, 2021. If included in the Act, many ethnic political organizations and ethnic armed organizations will strongly oppose it. The Act should instead advocate an inclusive peace process that would lead to establishing a federal democratic union.

4- Include engagement with Malaysia and India
Both Malaysia and India should be included in the bill because they both have a large stake in the return of refugees. According to UNHCR in Malaysia, there are 154,860 refugees from Burma, of which 102,990 are Rohingyas (https://www.unhcr.org/en-us/figures-at-a-glance-in-malaysia.html, CAM’s Report, September 2020: https://chinmd.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Chin-Refugees-Final-Oct-8-2020.pdf).  According to the Mizoram State government, since February 1, an estimated 20,000 Chins have fled to Mizoram seeking refuge. New Delhi has about 3,000 refugees. Besides hosting a large number of refugees Malaysia is an influential political and economic nation in the region. India likewise is very influential, as a Quad member, and the world’s largest democracy. Both countries can and should play a big role to put pressure on the military regime in Burma to change its behavior.

5- Provide Karenni State and Mon State with humanitarian assistance
The Act should provide Karenni State (also known as Kayah State) and Mon State  with access to humanitarian assistance from UN Agencies and the international community. After the February coup, Karennis have been severely targeted by the military, creating over 82,000 new internally displaced persons. Also, at least eight Catholic churches in Karenni State have been destroyed by the military.

To learn more ways to advocate with CAM, click here.

In 2020 and 2021, CAM produced three reports: After the 2021 Military Coup in Myanmar/Burma: Challenges for Internally Displaced Persons and Refugees; Unsafe: Chins Seeking Refuge in Malaysia; and New Delhi, India; and Unprotected: Chin IDPs in IDPs in Chin and Rakhine States, Myanmar/Burma. CAM continues to advocate that the crimes against the Chin people in Myanmar/Burma are crimes against humanity and should be brought to the IJC and the ICC.

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