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  Questions in Westminster on Burma's IDP Situations

Martyn Jones (Clwyd South MP, Labour) asked the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what assessment he has made of the number of internally displaced persons in Burma; and if he will make a statement.

Ian Pearson (Minister of State (Trade), Foreign & Commonwealth Office) replied, “It is estimated that there are at least 540,000 internally displaced persons in Burma, though detailed information is hard to obtain. We are aware of renewed large-scale displacements in northern Karen State. In addition to this, there are approximately 500,000 refugees in neighbouring countries. We continue to monitor the situation closely.

John Bercow (Buckingham MP, Conservative) asked about a debate on the Floor of the House, in Government time, on the egregious abuse of human rights in Burma.

Geoff Hoon (Lord Privy Seal, House of Commons) replied, “I cannot promise an early debate, but I can say that my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary keeps the very disturbing situation in Burma under constant review. It is an important subject for the Foreign Office, and the British Government use their influence to try to improve what is, as I say, a very disturbing situation.

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David Jones (Clwyd West MP, Conservative) asked about estimated number of internally displaced people in Burma.

Richard Benyon (Newbury MP, Conservative) asked about the effectiveness of British aid to Burma.

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “The overwhelming majority of internally displaced people are found among ethnic groups in eastern Burma. The Thai-Burma Border Consortium has estimated the number of IDPs in eastern Burma as being at least 540,000 people. Despite the extremely difficult operating environment, a recent review of our programme in Burma concluded that the projects we had initiated were making good progress against their initial objectives.”

David Jones (Clwyd West MP, Conservative) asked, “As the Minister says, eastern Burma is a frighteningly difficult area for aid workers to operate in, and only a few days ago there was news that a relief worker had been killed by a land mine that had been planted by the Burmese authorities to prevent escapees from returning to Burma at a later date. It is nevertheless essential that aid get through to the terrified people who are hiding in the Burmese jungle. What precise measures is the Minister taking with overseas Governments to ensure that that aid gets through?”

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) answered, “I am sure that the whole House will join the hon. Gentleman in his implicit recognition of the courage of the aid workers working with internally displaced people in eastern Burma. I certainly do. We currently provide some £500,000 a year to the International Committee of the Red Cross to work with people who have lost their homes, and often their families, as a result of the human rights abuses and fighting taking place in Burma. In addition, we support the Thai-Burma Border Consortium which provides help to people who have left Burma because of the fighting.”

Richard Benyon (Newbury MP, Conservative) asked, “The regime running Burma is clearly unfit to receive aid. What measures can the Government take to support the hard-pressed people of Burma, without propping up the murderous thugs who run the country?”

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “I agree with the hon. Gentleman's characterisation of the regime in Burma, and that is one of the reasons why we do not provide aid through devices such as that Government's budget. Our programme in Burma is worth £8 million, and it works with other organisations such as the ICRC, international non-governmental organisations and various UN bodies on programmes to do with health, education and rural livelihoods. We want to make a difference for people who have been displaced by the fighting, and for those living on less than $1 a day.”

Sally Keeble (Northampton North MP, Labour) enquired, “My hon. Friend the Minister will be aware that many people, including many Karen, have been living in camps on Thailand's border with Burma for generations. What is his Department doing to ease the circumstances in those camps to make it easier for those people to survive and get back into Burma at some stage?”

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “My hon. Friend is right to describe the very difficult situation facing many people who have left Burma and who are living in refugee camps in Thailand. One way that we can help directly is through our work with the Thai-Burma Border Consortium, and we have committed some £1.8 million to that work over the next three years. We also make representations to the Thai Government to make it easier for those refugees to seek work and move around freely in Thailand.”

Tony Lloyd (Manchester Central MP, Labour) made the point, “Does my hon. Friend accept that the activities of the Burmese Government against people such as the Karen amounts to genocide, as defined by the convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide, since they destroy people and their way of life? He is right that we do not have much leverage on the Burmese Government, but will he at least begin to speak seriously to Governments with influence over the country, such as the Chinese Government, to make sure that they are aware of our great concern about what is taking place in Burma?”

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “I agree with my hon. Friend that it is clear that systematic human rights abuse is taking place on a very large scale in Burma. He is right that we in the UK do not have the substantial leverage needed to make an immediate difference. We work with our EU neighbours and through the UN to highlight the continuing human rights abuses. Successive UN resolutions have highlighted and condemned the human rights violations in Burma, and we have played a leading role in bringing the matter to the UN General Assembly in the past. We continue to press for it to be discussed in the UN Security Council, but it is true that a number of full members of that council do not yet agree that it should be placed on its formal agenda. We continue to work for a reversal of that situation.

Jeffrey M Donaldson (Lagan Valley MP, Democratic Unionist) asked, “The Minister will be aware that religious persecution is one reason why people in Burma, and especially the Christian minority among some of the country's tribes, suffer displacement. Will he give the House details of the representations that his Department is making to the Burmese Government to protect the rights of religious minorities in Burma?”

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “The hon. Gentleman is right that one element of the human rights abuse in Burma arises out of religious differences. The Christian minority suffers, as do members of the Muslim community and various other ethnic groups. We are working through our ambassador, the EU and the UN to try to highlight those human rights abuses. We continue to hope that the pressure will lead to a change by the Burmese Government.”

Andrew Mitchell (Sutton Coldfield MP, Conservative) asked, “With further internal repression and killing reported from Burma and serious difficulties for up to 1 million internally displaced people in a country with close ties to Britain in the past, will the Minister reconsider his Department's decision not to give humanitarian aid to those displaced, in view of the decision by the Americans and the Canadians, as well as other European countries, that they will help? Will he at least consult the Governments of those countries to find out how they are helping and the level of monitoring and accountability they have secured?”

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “I do not accept the suggestion that we are not providing humanitarian aid; the vast bulk of our programme to Burma is humanitarian assistance. The specific issue to which I think the hon. Gentleman refers is support for cross-border work in the Karen state. As I have indicated, we already provide substantial assistance: £500,000 to the International Committee of the Red Cross annually for its work in Burma, which helps internally displaced people, and the £1.8 million that we give for Burmese refugees based in Thailand. There are difficult issues involved in monitoring assistance work across borders, but we keep that under close review. We talk to other donors and balance the understandable demands for further assistance to meet the needs of internally displaced people with the need to provide assistance to other vulnerable members of the Burmese population.”

David Drew (Stroud MP, Labour) asked the Secretary of State for International Development what funding she is making available to assist the humanitarian effort for internally displaced people in (a) Burma and (b) the Karen State; and what funds she has given to non-governmental organisations to monitor these aid efforts.

Gareth Thomas (Parliamentary Under-Secretary, Department for International Development) replied, “Within DFID's programme in Burma, £500,000 has provisionally been allocated in this financial year to the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), of which approximately 80 per cent. is attributable to work with conflict-affected populations. In addition, several other projects funded by DFID which provide assistance through local non-governmental organisations (NGOs) (for example, to reduce the incidence of communicable diseases, or to enhance food security) include internally displaced people among their recipients.

All of the funding allocated to NGOs implementing projects on behalf of DFID includes an element for monitoring and evaluation. Various projects (including those of the ICRC and those working to reduce the incidence of communicable diseases or to enhance food security) include Karen State within their coverage, but as their funding is not disaggregated by state, it is not possible to provide specific figures for Karen State.”

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(courtesy of Neill Staurland)

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