WORLD BRIDGE BLOG

Earlier today the Senate Foreign Relations Subcommittee on East Asia and the Pacific held a hearing on US policy towards Burma. The hearing was held in the interest of exploring options for dialogue and engagement with the government of Burma, and was long-overdue in a Washington policy context that has been dominated by debate over sanctions. Today’s hearing will be followed up next week by a similar hearing in the House Foreign Affairs Committee, and also echoes the recently-released State Department Burma policy review which makes engagement the policy of the day. 

Refugees International strongly welcomes these new approaches to Burma, and in particular the commitment to providing increased humanitarian assistance to Burmese citizens. This point is especially important as the people of Burma are facing ongoing economic decline, making it  increasingly difficult to make ends meet. The US will also be joining Europe, the UK, Australia and others in making sure that we help to provide basic healthcare, education, food support, and other necessities at a time when they are sorely needed.

There is also discussion in the latest policy review of working with Burma to address problems of regional concern such as drug smuggling, human trafficking and health issues.  The glaring omission in this list of regional problems, of course, is the long-standing refugee problem that exists in every country that neighbors Burma and stretches throughout southeast Asia. Not only should the refugee issue be on the table, but the international community should begin to recognize that it has no unified policy towards Burmese refugees, who receive vastly different treatment depending on what country they happen to find safety in. Similarly, the international community needs to look at developing long-term durable solutions for Burmese refugees throughout the region, many of whom left Burma decades ago and still live in camps, or worse, in the shadows of society as undocumented migrants.

Refugees International recently completed a mission to Thailand to look at new waves of Burmese refugees coming in to the county. We were struck by two things:  the continued generosity of the Thai government in receiving new refugees and giving them shelter; and the dim prospects for anything outside of life in a refugee camp for them, based on the lack of progress Thailand has made in finding long-term solutions for refugees who remain in Thailand.

As the US looks at points for engaging Burma, it should actively work to put the refugee issue on the table and make sure that all nations are providing all of the Burmese people with the possibility of a better future. If the US is looking to do that for Burmese inside the country, as it should, how can it not do the same for refugees throughout the region?