There are few fates worse than being an internally displaced person (IDP) in Burma. IDPs inside Burma are divided into two categories: those living under the strict control of the Burmese government in “relocation sites,” and those living in hiding in the jungle from the Burmese army. Both options present a high risk of human rights abuses, a lack of food, and limited or no access to healthcare and education. According to a recent report compiled by the Burma Border Consortium (BBC), more than 2,500 villages have been either destroyed, relocated, or abandoned, affecting 633,000 individuals over the last five years in eastern Burma. Since 1996, an estimated minimum of one million people living in the ethnic states that border Thailand have been displaced. This year has seen a marked increase in the frequency of counter- insurgency operations in ethnic minority areas, leading in turn to an increase in the level of internal displacement.

On a recent trip to the Thai-Burmese border, Refugees International (RI) interviewed new arrivals to Thailand and confirmed the Burmese army’s use of torture, rape, forced labor, extortion and summary executions in ethnic minority areas from northern Shan state to southern Tavoy. Three to four thousand Burmese seek asylum in Thailand each month, and the majority are from these areas. According to RI’s interviews, there is a lack of basic necessities such as food, appropriate shelter and medicines for those refugees hiding in the jungle, as well as for most who live in relocation sites. Because IDPs’ food stores are routinely destroyed or confiscated by the Burmese army, the additional threat of starvation and illness is especially common. High rates of malnutrition and deaths from preventable illness have been reported by those able to secretly access IDPs. The fact that 42% of IDPs in eastern Burma choose to live on the run and in hiding rather than move to government-run relocation sites adds credence to the fact that many relocation sites resemble concentration camps.

The Burmese army is notorious for its abuses against civilians. “They treated me like an animal, like a dog. They broke my head until blood streamed out. My jaw, cheeks and ribs were broken- the SPDC [State Peace and Development Council, the official name of the Burmese government] can do what they like-they can kill and rape. We are weaker than they,” one older man from the Mon ceasefire area told RI.

According to interviews conducted by RI, IDPs facing human rights abuses and threats to their survival usually seek refuge in Thailand as a last resort. Naw Paw Wah, a 29-year-old Karen mother of four, only fled her village when her husband was nearly killed by the Burmese army. Prior incidence of forced labor, beatings- including while she was four months pregnant-as well as the existence of rapes and extrajudicial killings in her village were not enough reason to brave the journey to Thailand. Only when a severe beating to her husband left him with permanent physical and mental disability did she decide she had no choice. “I was afraid they would torture me like that next.” Despite the fact that soldiers were beating her family members and recruiting them for forced labor routinely, another woman from the Karenni ethnic group told RI that she only left after a Burmese officer raped her sister and attempted to rape her.

The displaced endure abuses rather than seeking asylum because they know that coming to Thailand can be dangerous and that denial of entry at the border happens routinely. News has trickled back inside Burma that even if IDPs can find a secret route into Thailand, they may not be allowed into refugee camps. There are no guarantees that they will be protected from abuse by Thai authorities or receive humanitarian assistance. Thailand’s strict policy towards refugees is achieving its goal of deterrence, causing IDPs to stay in Burma at great risk to their security and well-being.

To qualify for refugee status in Thailand, Burmese must be able to prove that they are “fleeing fighting,” which is defined as literally being shot at within hours or, at most, a few days of reaching the border. Only a fraction of the three to four thousand people seeking asylum in Thailand each month qualify as refugees under this narrow definition. As a result, many refugees fleeing human rights abuses are rejected and left with few options for protection and assistance. To make matters worse, in a further effort to deter refugees from entering Thailand, the Thai authorities halted the entire refugee screening process for the past year, leaving no mechanism available for refugees to enter camps. The Royal Thai Government has so tightly circumscribed UNHCR’s role in protecting refugees that, in effect, the UN refugee agency is unable to carry out its core protection mandate along the border with Burma.

In summary, there are few options available for IDPs to find a safe haven. Knowing of the threats they could encounter on their journey to Thailand, the uncertainty of being allowed to cross the border, and the likelihood that they will be denied access to refugee camps, many prefer to live in hiding in the jungles or in government relocation sites, where on-going human rights abuses and threats to their survival are a day to day reality.

Refugees International therefore recommends that:

The Royal Thai Government:

· Allow those fleeing a well-founded fear of persecution entry into Thailand and access to humanitarian assistance.
· Allow UNHCR to carry out its refugee protection mandate.

US Government:

· Pressure the Royal Thai Government to allow those with a well- founded fear of persecution entry into Thailand and access to humanitarian assistance.
· Pressure the Burmese government to allow missions to assess humanitarian and human rights conditions in ethnic minority and border areas.
· Pressure the UN to conduct humanitarian and human rights assessment missions to ethnic minority and border areas.

UNHCR:

· Negotiate with the Royal Thai Government to allow UNHCR to carry out its mandate to ensure access to refugee camps for Burmese with a well-founded fear of persecution.

UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA):

· Take an active role in negotiating humanitarian assistance to IDPs.

Donor Governments:

· Confirm publicly the scope of Burma's IDP problem, advocate for humanitarian access to ethnic minority areas, and, if independent assistance is possible, provide emergency assistance to affected populations.

Refugees International Advocate Veronika Martin and human rights lawyer Betsy Apple recently completed an assessment mission to the Thai-Burmese border.