House of Commons Committee Urges UK Government to Quadruple Aid to Burma 25/07/2007
The House of Commons International Development Committee will publish a report today urging the British Government to quadruple aid to Burma, fund cross-border humanitarian assistance to the internally displaced people (IDPs) and support pro-democracy initiatives.
In a hard-hitting report, the Committee criticises the UK’s Department for International Development (DFID) for failing to provide adequate aid to Burma. “This crisis-stricken country, which suffers from immense poverty and pernicious human rights abuses, receives the lowest aid of all Least Developed Countries,” the Committee argues. “We believe this level of assistance is unacceptable …. We believe that UK aid to Burma should be scaled up substantially.”
The current aid budget for Burma of £8.8 million “represents significant under-spending compared to countries with similar poverty levels and human rights records,” the Committee claims. DFID’s budget for Burma, for example, amounts to just a quarter of its budget for Zimbabwe. The report notes that in 2004, Burma received just US$2.40 of aid per head, “by far the lowest per capita aid level” for the world’s poorest countries. Neighbouring countries such as Cambodia and Laos receive 15-20 times the amount Burma receives. DFID should quadruple aid to Burma by 2013, the Committee recommends.
The Committee calls for specific funding for cross-border assistance, arguing that “it is the only way to reach very vulnerable IDPs”. Cross-border aid “can provide a cost-efficient and flexible way of delivering emergency relief”, the Committee argues. “Cross-border assistance to Burmese IDPs could be extended if more financial resources were available … We believe that, as a high priority, DFID should maximise relief to IDPs in eastern Burma,” the Committee recommends. It calls on DFID to “look at the options for starting to fund assistance over the Indian border” to the Chin people, and “scale up” support for aid on the China border, as well as providing aid to the IDPs across the Thai border.
The report also suggests that funding for Burmese human rights and pro-democracy groups working in exile, in particular women’s organisations and the exiled trade union movement, should be provided by DFID. “Rape is used as a weapon of war by the Burmese Army … DFID should fund women’s groups working on and across the border who document rape and other human rights abuses, and provide women’s health and education services.”
The report is the result of an inquiry carried out by the Committee, which included a visit to the Thai-Burmese border. Christian Solidarity Worldwide (CSW) provided written and oral evidence to the Committee, and briefed members of the Committee prior to their visit.
Benedict Rogers, CSW’s Advocacy Officer for Burma, gave evidence at the committee hearings. He said: “We are absolutely delighted with the recommendations of the House of Commons International Development Committee. We have been calling on the UK to provide cross-border aid to the IDPs and support for Burmese human rights groups for many years, and we are very pleased that this Committee has added its voice to these calls. We hope that the Department for International Development will now implement the Committee’s recommendations.”
For more information about CSW’s work in Burma, please visit http://www.csw.org.uk/Countries/index.php?id=7
To view the full parliamentary report, please visit http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm200607/cmselect/cmintdev/645/64502.htm
Notes to editors:
1.The report acknowledges the causes of Burma’s humanitarian crisis. In the Introduction, it states: “Behind Burma’s displacement crisis lies a political, human rights and humanitarian situation as grim as any in the world today. Millions of Burmese people are suffering from abuses caused by these three inter-related problems, and ethnic minorities in particular see their rights violated on a daily basis in a climate of impunity … The catalogue of human rights abuses perpetrated by the regime includes forced labour, political and religious persecution, conscription of child soldiers and forced displacement. These abuses are closely linked to poverty.”
2.Since 1996, over 3,000 villages in eastern Burma have been destroyed by the Burma Army.
3.Over a million people are internally displaced in Burma. In the past year, over 86,000 have been displaced in eastern Burma alone, including more than 27,000 in Karen State.
4.The Committee urges the UK Government “at the highest levels” to engage with India in regard to the situation of refugees and India’s policy towards Burma. “India’s uncritical relationship with the regime, and its appetite for arming and investing in the country, risks perpetuating Burma’s illegal and brutal regime,” the report states.
5.The Committee will carry out a review within 12 months to assess “the extent to which the Government has responded to and implemented our recommendations”.
6.The full text of the report can be found at www.parliament.uk/indcom