Myanmar

Displacement Situation

Humanitarian needs in Myanmar are characterised by a complex situation of vulnerability to protection risks, food insecurity, armed conflict, intercommunal tensions, ethnic discrimination, effects of climate change, natural disasters, displacement, restrictions on freedom of movement, and Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) risks. Underlying and deeply rooted causes include entrenched ethnic discrimination and systemic rights violations, widespread unemployment, struggles for resources, as well as weak governance and rule of law, and political instability.

As of 2021, more than 370,000 people in Myanmar are internally displaced (UNHCR). The majority are in situations of protracted displacement in Rakhine, Kachin and Shan states due to intense fighting between ethnic armed groups, militias and the Myanmar military. UNHCR estimates that more than 206,000 people have been internally displaced since the military seizure of power on 1 February 2021.

Decades of conflict compounded by new instability and crisis in the wake of military seizing power has exacerbated humanitarian needs, leading to a paralysis of the economy due to the lack of trade, ongoing violence, and severe limitations on banking systems. The economic impact has significant implications on the food security and income of crisis-affected households who were already strained by Covid-19. During 2021, political developments and renewed instability have substantially deteriorated the human rights and protection landscape in Myanmar. Conflict between armed forces continue to escalate and erupt across the country, with the population experiencing a growing presence of armed actors reducing the protective environment for civilians.

The pursuit of durable solutions requires participatory political processes within Myanmar and in Bangladesh where more than one million Rohingya are hosted as refugees after they fled campaigns in 2017 by the Myanmar military. Rohingya remaining in Rakhine continue to face severe deprivation of their rights and confinement into congested camps. In 2019, the escalation of conflict between the Arakan Army and Myanmar military and continuous intense levels of conflicts into 2020 and 2021 led to high levels of displacement.

DRC Response

The work of DRC is anchored in a solid operation and presence that offers support across communities in both urban, rural and isolated communities in Myanmar’s Rakhine, Kachin and northern Shan states. DRC continues to operate into 2021, building on existing frameworks for remote management developed in response to pre-existing access constraints, and COVID-19 restrictions.

Focus is on responding to the immediate needs of IDPs and the communities hosting them, as well as building their resilience to shocks and stresses in the longer term. Over the course of 2020 alone, DRC and local partners reached over 125,000 displacement-affected men, women and children impacted by COVID-19 through humanitarian assistance and a range of life-saving interventions. The pandemic has exacerbated humanitarian needs for support with over one million persons identified as in need of urgent assistance (OCHA, HRP 2021). This figure is rapidly increasing due to the economic impact of events following military seizure of power and subsequent unrest since February 2021. In the first half of 2021 alone, DRC has reached over 175,000 displacement-affected men, women and children through humanitarian assistance and a variety of life-saving interventions.

DRC in Myanmar supports conflict- and displacement-affected communities through sectoral interventions:

• Protection
• Economic Recovery
• Shelter and Settlements
• Camp Coordination and Camp Management
• Humanitarian Disarmament & Peacebuilding
• Water, Sanitation and Hygiene (WASH)

Funding

DRC is grateful to all donors for generous support and continued commitment to our work in Myanmar:
Australian Government · Danida · ECHO · EU DEVCO · GIZ · MHF ·  SDC · SIDA · UNFPA · UNHCR · UNICEF · USAID-BHA