Mizzima News
Aid groups should start preparing for the voluntary repatriation of
more than 100,000 Burmese refugees living along the Thai-Myanmar
border, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said
on Thursday.
James Lynch, the UNHCR's regional representative, said legal,
socio-political and logistical issues regarding repatriation should be
discussed, even though the return of refugees to Burma has yet to
begin, according to an article in The Bangkok Post.
“This is the first time for the refugees to think of the
possibility of returning home,” Lynch said.
Among key issues to be considered are landmines, adequate, temporary
shelter in Burma, and a lack of an effective cease-fire and peace
agreements among some of the region's many ethnic groups.
Lynch said he hoped the UNHCR would be able to outline repatriation
pre-requisites with the Thai and Burmese governments by next year.
He said the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which signed an agreement to
gather basic information about displaced people, would begin their
documentation later this year at Tham Hin camp in Ratchaburi, one of
nine temporary shelters.
He said the Tham Hin profiling could be completed by April or May,
and the information gathered will include a census of refugees'
origins, skills and education.
Burmese officials should also come to Thailand to speak to refugees
about their return, Lynch said, according to the Post.
He said Burma has set aside areas inside Kaya (opposite Mae Hong
Son), Kayin (opposite Tak), and Mon (opposite Kanchanaburi) states for
internally displaced persons as well as refugees.
Burmese authorities have also established garment factories to
provide employment opportunities, he said.
At present, there are 84,000 registered and 67,000 unregistered
refugees in nine Thai refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. Some
78,000 people have been resettled to a third country, mostly to the
United States, since the resettlement programme began in 2005.
The political process would need to ensure the safety and dignity of
the returnees, Lynch said.
Mizzima reported in September that a Thai National Security Council
official said the Burmese government had raised hopes that a
repatriation process will take place, although the exact date is
unknown.
One of the encouraging signs is that the Burmese government “is
clearing landmines along the borders, preparing to build shelters and
other infrastructure... to be ready within one year,” the NSC said
in a statement, citing its Secretary-General Wichean Potephosree.
Wichean, who visited Naypyitaw in September, discussed the issue with
Aung Min, a minister in the President's Office, who said the Burmese
government will provide training and jobs for the returning refugees.
The Thai-Burma Border Consortium, a nonprofit group that provides
shelter and food to around 120,000 Burmese refugees, recently visited
Burmese officials to discuss the prospects for establishing an office
in Burma, in preparation for a repatriation process at some future
date.
The Thai statement also said Burma wants the Thai business community
“to invest in building industrial estates” in Burma to employ the
tens of thousands of potential returnees.
Aid groups should start preparing for the voluntary repatriation of
more than 100,000 Burmese refugees living along the Thai-Myanmar
border, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said
on Thursday.
James Lynch, the UNHCR's regional representative, said legal,
socio-political and logistical issues regarding repatriation should be
discussed, even though the return of refugees to Burma has yet to
begin, according to an article in The Bangkok Post.
“This is the first time for the refugees to think of the
possibility of returning home,” Lynch said.
Among key issues to be considered are landmines, adequate, temporary
shelter in Burma, and a lack of an effective cease-fire and peace
agreements among some of the region's many ethnic groups.
Lynch said he hoped the UNHCR would be able to outline repatriation
pre-requisites with the Thai and Burmese governments by next year.
He said the Mae Fah Luang Foundation, which signed an agreement to
gather basic information about displaced people, would begin their
documentation later this year at Tham Hin camp in Ratchaburi, one of
nine temporary shelters.
He said the Tham Hin profiling could be completed by April or May,
and the information gathered will include a census of refugees'
origins, skills and education.
Burmese officials should also come to Thailand to speak to refugees
about their return, Lynch said, according to the Post.
He said Burma has set aside areas inside Kaya (opposite Mae Hong
Son), Kayin (opposite Tak), and Mon (opposite Kanchanaburi) states for
internally displaced persons as well as refugees.
Burmese authorities have also established garment factories to
provide employment opportunities, he said.
At present, there are 84,000 registered and 67,000 unregistered
refugees in nine Thai refugee camps along the Thai-Burma border. Some
78,000 people have been resettled to a third country, mostly to the
United States, since the resettlement programme began in 2005.
The political process would need to ensure the safety and dignity of
the returnees, Lynch said.
Mizzima reported in September that a Thai National Security Council
official said the Burmese government had raised hopes that a
repatriation process will take place, although the exact date is
unknown.
One of the encouraging signs is that the Burmese government “is
clearing landmines along the borders, preparing to build shelters and
other infrastructure... to be ready within one year,” the NSC said
in a statement, citing its Secretary-General Wichean Potephosree.
Wichean, who visited Naypyitaw in September, discussed the issue with
Aung Min, a minister in the President's Office, who said the Burmese
government will provide training and jobs for the returning refugees.
The Thai-Burma Border Consortium, a nonprofit group that provides
shelter and food to around 120,000 Burmese refugees, recently visited
Burmese officials to discuss the prospects for establishing an office
in Burma, in preparation for a repatriation process at some future
date.
The Thai statement also said Burma wants the Thai business community
“to invest in building industrial estates” in Burma to employ the
tens of thousands of potential returnees.
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