This is the first time the [him] moderator has seen in print what many in Rangoon know: there is a racial quota on the number of nonAsians accepted as heads of UN system organisations by the junta.
And the rest of the assessment is sanguine.
[him] moderator
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Burma: Key facts on the working environment for international agencies
Refugees International
26 Mar 2008
The U.S. government should re-evaluate policies that prohibit humanitarian assistance to Burma, and join the U.K. and Europe in increasing support for independent work inside the country. In calling for increased assistance, it is important to recognize the difficult working environment facing United Nations agencies and international non-governmental organizations. Burmese leadership is suspicious of foreign involvement in the country, especially from liberal democratic countries. Nonetheless, patient work has resulted in expanded access by international organizations.
- The geographic scope of international aid organizations in Burma has increased significantly in recent years. There are now internationally supported activities in 300 of Burma's 325 townships. Areas with continuous presence by international organizations include such sensitive locations as Northern Rakhine, Kachin, Kayin, Kayah and Mon States.
- The scale of the programs of individual organizations is impressive. Population Services International (PSI), working through the private sector, markets condoms and conducts AIDS awareness activities throughout the country. PSI also treats 10,000 tuberculosis patients and 40,000 children with pneumonia. Save the Children has 37 offices, 500 local staff, and supports pre-schools in 200 communities. Médecins Sans Frontières-Holland provides anti-retroviral treatment to 10,000 HIV/AIDS sufferers.
- Access to areas affected by conflict remains problematic, especially in southeastern townships bordering Thailand. A proposed joint UN assessment of conditions in Kayin and Mon States is presently on hold. The International Committee of the Red Cross has reduced its staff from 55 expatriates to five since December 2005 due to restrictions on its ability to work independently in conflict areas and to conduct prison visits.
- The Burmese government's policy towards international organizations is restrictive on paper, and slightly less so in practice. The government issued Burmese and English versions of operating guidelines in 2006, with the former being more restrictive. When Burmese staff of international organizations were convoked to Naypidaw in January 2008 the government presented them with guidelines that proved to be a Burmese translation of the less restrictive English version – a significant victory for operational agencies. International organizations have also succeeded in getting the government to withdraw proposals to hire local staff from government rosters and to have project funds go through government accounts.
- Requirements for program work include signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the organization and the relevant technical ministry; review and oversight by inter-governmental committees from national to state to township levels; advance travel permission for international staff and travel accompanied by government officials. In practice, agencies routinely continue working without signed MOUs, and reach local agreements to assure independent access and oversight of projects. Contrary to reports that circulated abroad after the January 2008 meeting in Naypidaw, the government has not carried out proposals to restrict the travel of local staff of international organizations.
- The Burmese senior leadership responded to the September 2007 protests with a tightening of control over the international community based in Rangoon. The government suspended the granting of visas for international staff, especially from Western countries, and only within the past two months has the process begun to move again. As of the end of February about 50 staff from the UN and international non-governmental organizations were waiting for visa extensions. No visa extensions have been denied to date, however. Further, the government has made it clear to UN organizations that it would prefer that their representatives be from Asia rather than from Europe or the United States; with the UN Resident Coordinator and UNHCR representative positions presently vacant, this policy, if enforced, will pose new challenges to the international leadership in the country.
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http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/ASIN-7D4MEE?OpenDocument
