Erika Feller, the UN refugee agency's most senior protection official, recently paid a significant visit to Myanmar, where UNHCR has operations in Rakhine state in the west, and in the south-east of the country, where displacement along the Mynamar-Thai border is an issue. UNHCR estimates that northern Rakhine state hosts some 750,000 Muslim residents without citizenship. Independent observers have noticed important openings for humanitarian operations in Myanmar since the forming of a new government late last year.
Why did you go to Myanmar at this particular time ?
My trip to Myanmar was, in a sense, a follow on from a trip I made earlier in the year to Thailand. The focus of the Thailand trip was the border camps, which are hosting a large number of refugees from Myanmar. There's a growing sense that there are many opportunities that did not exist before to find, or more actively promote, solutions to this protracted refugee problem – solutions which should eventually enable the closure of the camps. We wouldn't have talked about this a year or so ago.
Where did you go and who did you meet on this visit ?
The trip took me to the south-east states of Myanmar to visit the villages where refugees now on the other side of the (Thai-Myanmar) border come from, and to see the sorts of programmes that we have been putting in place to help the residents as well as to create better opportunities for returnees. We visited a school, a government-supported vocational training project for women, and a hospital, where I saw how relatively small projects can qualitatively improve health care, education and livelihood possibilities. Most of our projects are of the quick impact sort, such as the provision of water purification pumps, but they do make a difference and they are appreciated.
Tell about your meeting with Aung San Suu Kyi We discussed the problems of northern Rakhine residents who are yet to achieve full citizenship, as well as obstacles to return (from Thailand) in south-east Myanmar. She placed a primacy on reconciliation actively being pursued as well as border insecurity being addressed and there being more investment in sustainable peace throughout the country. . She placed considerable emphasis as well on improving the welfare of the population broadly throughout Myanmar. .
What about your talks with government officials ? We had a more general discussion about the situation of people in northern Rakhine state who from our prospective should be viewed as actually or potentially stateless. Our goal is to work with the authorities to find a path for these people leading to full citizenship of the country. I