Burma

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Introduction Development Challenge Other Donors FY 2002 Program Activity Data Sheets Summary Tables Program Summary Strategic Objective Summary USAID Search: Burma Previous Years' Activities 2001 Last updated: 52     Introduction Since 1962, Burma has been ruled by a military junta, the State Peace and Development Council (SPDC), that has brutally suppressed any form of dissent and has presided over a significant deterioration of the country's economic and social performance. Since the late 1980s, the regime has carried out aggressive military campaigns against ethnic populations, primarily located along the Thai-Burma border. These campaigns, along with the severe suppression of dissent and the deteriorating economy within Burma, have led to a growing population of economic and political refugees, both within Burma and in surrounding countries. Of the population that fled Burma, approximately 155,000 live in refugee camps in Thailand and Bangladesh. Another estimated 1,000,000 Burmese live in countries surrounding Burma (approximately 700,000 live in Thailand), but outside formal refugee camps. The regime's war against the ethnic populations along the Thai-Burma border has displaced another estimated 800,000 civilians inside Burma, some of whom have been forcibly relocated to camps near military outposts, while the remainder are hiding from the regime's army in the mountainous jungle. Beginning in FY 1996, Congress earmarked funds for humanitarian and democracy programs related to the crisis in Burma and along Burma's border with Thailand. In FYs 1996 and 1997, the funds were primarily for activities designed to strengthen and support nascent democratic efforts inside and outside Burma. Those funds were managed by the Department of State's Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor. In FY 1998, $5 million was appropriated for Burma, of which $1.5 million was allocated to support humanitarian assistance to refugees located along the Thai-Burma border. Those funds complemented activities already being funded under the Department of State's Population, Refugees and Migration program. USAID contributed $1.5 million in Development Assistance funds to those efforts and began that year to manage the humanitarian activities under the earmark. In FYs 1999, 2000, and 2001, the earmark was increased to $6.5 million, including $3 million for humanitarian activities and $3.5 million for democracy activities. USAID has continued to fund and manage the humanitarian component and is taking a greater role in managing the democracy component of the earmark. Development Challenge The United States is challenged with how to effectively support and influence an eventual peaceful transition to a democratically elected government in Burma, while helping provide critical assistance to the growing number of refugees and displaced people living inside Burma and along Burma's borders. The U.S. Government maintains a continued interest in the transition of Burma from a rogue state to a member of the world community. Until this transition occurs, the U.S. Government is committed to help alleviate the suffering of displaced Burmese. Other Donors The activities being funded under the earmark operate independently of the Burmese regime, but are coordinated with major donors supporting democracy and humanitarian assistance in Burma. The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development ranked the United States fourth among donors assisting Burma between 1993-1997, behind Japan, France, and Germany. Bilateral donor programs that focus on humanitarian assistance in Burma include Australia and the United Kingdom. Multilateral donors with activities in Burma include the United Nations Children's Fund, the United Nations Development Program, the World Food Program, and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. FY 2002 Program Assistance will continue to focus on three interrelated programmatic objectives that: Develop the capacity of the Burmese people to manage the eventual transition to a democratic society in a participatory, transparent, and accountable manner; Maintain and/or increase pressure on the SPDC to improve its human rights record; and Maintain and/or increase pressure on the SPDC to engage in meaningful dialogue with the democratic opposition and ethnic minorities leading toward a peaceful transition to a democratically elected government. Activity Data Sheets 482-002  Democracy and Humanitarian Assistance Country Background Information Resources     CIA Factbook   Library of Congress National Geographic Country Maps   State Dept. Country Information

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