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1999 Global Appeal : Repatriation a
Subject: 1999 Global Appeal : Repatriation and Reintegration in Myanmar and Assistance to Refugees in Bangladesh
1999 Global Appeal : Repatriation and Reintegration in Myanmar and
Assistance to Refugees in Bangladesh
http://www.unhcr.ch/fdrs/ga99/mmr.htm
----------------------
<<Basic Facts >>
<<What we do >>
Conduct community-based assistance and monitoring programmes
in
areas hosting returnees in northern Rakhine State (Myanmar) to
support
returnee reintegration; assist in the voluntary repatriation
of refugees who
wish to return to Myanmar; provide shelter, water, sanitation,
health care
and informal education for refugees in camps; and promote
solutions for
the refugees remaining in camps in Bangladesh.
Whom we help
Some 230,000 refugees who have been repatriated from
Bangladesh
since September 1992, as well as local residents of
communities
hosting these returnees; and some 21,000 refugees from the
Rakhine
State who are accommodated in two refugee camps in Bangladesh.
<Our requirements
US$ 19,651,486
<Our offices
Myanmar:
Yangon, Maungdaw.
Bangladesh:
Dhaka, Cox?s Bazaar
<Our partners
Myanmar:
Department of Immigration and National Registration, Ministry
of
Immigration and Population (IND), WFP, FAO, UNOPS, Myanmar Red
Cross Society (MRCS), Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), Myanmar
Maternal Child
Welfare Association (MMCWA), Groupe de Recherche et d?Echange
Technique (GRET), Community and Family Support International
(CFSI),
Action Contre la Faim (ACF).
Bangladesh:
Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR), CONCERN
Bangladesh, Médecins sans Frontières - Holland (MSF-H).
<<Background>>
Some 250,000 Muslim residents of the Rakhine State in Myanmar
fled to
Bangladesh during 1991 and 1992 due to a number of political,
social,
and economic factors. Following discussions between the
Governments
of Bangladesh and Myanmar, a bilateral repatriation programme
began
in September 1992. In April 1994, UNHCR established an
operational
presence in Myanmar to assist in the voluntary return of
refugees; by April
1997, some 230,000 refugees had been repatriated.
Because the Government of Myanmar enforced a 15 August 1997
deadline for the completion of the repatriation process,
voluntary
repatriation of refugees was suspended in mid-1997.
Repatriation was
also hindered by militant refugees in the camps in Bangladesh
who
intimidated others to prevent them from returning to Myanmar.
The
Government of Myanmar has approved a further list of 7,000
refugees
who wish to return from Bangladesh, but no schedule has been
set for
the resumption of voluntary repatriation. As a result, UNHCR
will not be
able to phase out its assistance programme for refugees in
Bangladesh
in 1998.
<<Objectives>>
In Bangladesh
UNHCR?s primary objective in Bangladesh is to promote
solutions for the
refugee population of 21,000 persons remaining in two camps.
In
addition to supporting the voluntary repatriation of those
willing and able
to return to Myanmar, UNHCR explores other solutions with the
Bangladesh authorities, including temporary residence and
self-reliance
for the remaining refugees. Until such durable solutions are
in place,
UNHCR will continue to provide international protection and
some care
and maintenance assistance for refugees in the camps.
<<In Myanmar>>
In Myanmar, UNHCR supports community-based assistance and
monitoring programmes in areas hosting returnees in northern
Rakhine
State. The agency is also working to help design and implement
a United
Nations integrated development plan for the region which will
allow for
the withdrawal of UNHCR assistance at the end of the year
2000.
Protection
Muslims in the northern Rakhine State area are considered to
be foreign
residents and do not enjoy full citizenship rights. As a
result, their
movements are restricted and they are denied professional and
educational opportunities. UNHCR monitors returnees and the
Muslim
population, in general, in this area. UNHCR staff travel
freely throughout
the area and have unrestricted access to all returnees,
including those in
detention. Where necessary, UNHCR intervenes in individual
cases; and
intervention with the authorities often results in corrective
action. The
Office encourages the authorities to improve the legal status
of returnees
and the local Muslim population and works to lift restrictions
on their
movement, ease trade, and allow for the employment of Muslims
in
areas such as health and education which are normally reserved
for
Myanmar citizens. The agency also encourages the Government to
grant
citizenship to this population. The practice of compulsory
labour remains
an issue of grave concern. UNHCR works to persuade the
Government to
end the practice since it violates basic human rights and is a
cause of
refugee outflows. These efforts have resulted in some
improvements in
Rakhine State, but cases of arbitrary demands for donations,
re-location
and land confiscation are still reported.
In Bangladesh, UNHCR will continue to monitor and ensure the
voluntary
nature of return, and provide assistance to refugees in camps.
UNHCR
will promote the establishment of a refugee status
determination
mechanism along the Bangladesh border with Myanmar to ensure
that
those with a well-founded fear of persecution will be assured
protection
in Bangladesh.
<<Assistance in Myanmar>>
The assistance programme in Myanmar supports reintegration by
reinforcing communities hosting returnees. Water supply,
sanitation and
community services will be upgraded. Health services will be
improved
by training medical staff, providing medical equipment,
improving
immunization services and supporting regional and national
health care
services. Education assistance will also be provided. Training
and
income-generating opportunities will be offered to extremely
vulnerable
individuals, female-headed households and land-less families
dependent on casual labour. Economic self-sufficiency will be
fostered by
increasing self-employment opportunities and access to
financial
resources for micro-businesses.
In 1999, UNHCR will promote food security for extremely poor
families
through food-for-work activities, assistance to particularly
vulnerable
families, supplementary feeding for school girls, and
food-for-training
programmes. Special efforts will be made to increase the
acreage used
for rice production, encourage double cropping and support
livestock
development and agro-forestry. High-yielding seeds,
fertilizers, and
pesticides will be provided, temporary dams will be
constructed and
technical assistance and agricultural equipment will be
offered. Financial
mechanisms, such as investment funds and micro-credit schemes,
will
be set up to sustain increased agricultural activities.
Community and social services will promote literacy for women
and girls
and develop the traditional skills of rural Muslim women.
<<Assistance in Bangladesh>>
The assistance provided supports repatriation, ensures basic
care and
maintenance and fosters self-reliance. Before repatriation,
each refugee
is provided with a household kit containing basic items and a
food ration
to enable them to start independent lives in Myanmar. Once in
Myanmar,
they will receive a repatriation grant, a transportation
grant, and an
allowance for housing repair and building materials in
addition to two
months? worth of food rations.
To help prevent environmental degradation, UNHCR will continue
to
provide refugee families with compressed rice husk and
kerosene for
cooking fuel through 1999. Therapeutic and Supplementary
Feeding
Programmes will also continue. Counselling activities will
focus on
identifying and providing support to vulnerable groups,
particularly
female-headed households, children, the elderly, and the
seriously or
chronically ill. Nearly all refugee shelters will have to be
extensively
repaired during 1999, as basic shelter maintenance and repair
work was
postponed because of a breakdown of law and order in the camps
during
1998.
UNHCR will support non-formal primary education, particularly
for
refugee girls and will provide school supplies to refugee
students and
teaching kits to refugee teachers. It is anticipated that
refugees will be
allowed to register in government and non-government schools
in the
area at the start of the academic year in July 1999. Funds
will also be
made available for local initiatives which benefit both
refugees and local
residents in areas in which refugees have resided for several
years.
<<Coordination>>
In Bangladesh, the programme is implemented under the joint
supervision of UNHCR and the Government of Bangladesh. The
Ministry
of Disaster Management and Relief (MDMR) is UNHCR?s main
implementing partner and coordinates with the relevant
technical
ministries and departments of the Government. CONCERN
Bangladesh
and Médecins sans Frontières - Holland (MSF-H) are responsible
for
sanitation and health/nutrition for women and children.
In Myanmar, UNHCR cooperates with the Ministry of Immigration
and
Population. Its Department of Immigration and National
Registration
(IND) provides logistical support to the operation. Other
implementing
partners include: Myanmar Red Cross Society (MRCS), for
assistance to
extremely vulnerable individuals; World Food Programme (WFP),
for relief
and food-for-work projects; Bridge Asia Japan (BAJ), for
maintenance
services to vehicles, boats, generators and facilities, skills
training and
community-based construction training programmes; Myanmar
Maternal
Child Welfare Association (MMCWA), for reproductive health and
family
planning programmes; Groupe de Recherche et d?Echange
Technique
(GRET), for assistance with crop production, livestock and
agro-forestry;
the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), for agriculture
and natural
resources management; Community and Family Support
International
(CFSI), for assistance activities in the area of community
services,
including the continuation and expansion of UNHCR-Magsaysay
centres
for women; UNOPS, for projects in the health, education and
income-generation sectors, and Action contre la faim (ACF),
for
assistance in water and sanitation services and food security.
-----------------
Budget US$
The budget includes costs in Myanmar, Bangladesh and at Headquarters.
Activities
Special
Programmes
Food
1,825,548
Transport/Logistics
2,072,781
Domestic Needs/Household Support
275,036
Sanitation
923,597
Health/Nutrition
1,644,437
Shelter/Other Infrastructures
115,864
Community Services
492,720
Education
243,301
Crop Production
1,590,462
Livestock/Animal Husbandry
30,000
Fisheries
4,500
Income-Generation
1,895,062
Legal Assistance/Protection
83,475
Agency Operational Support
3,607,433
Programme Delivery Costs*
3,418,164
SUB-TOTAL
18,222,380
Administrative Support Costs
1,429,106
TOTAL
19,651,486
* Includes costs for protection, monitoring and coordination.