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Treaty Status | Management & Coordination | Impact (contamination & casualties) | Addressing the Impact (land release, risk education, victim assistance)

Country summary

The Republic of the Union of Myanmar[1] is heavily mine-affected as a result of conflicts between the Tatmadaw (government forces) and numerous non-state armed groups (NSAGs) affiliated with ethnic minorities. Armed conflict in border regions has persisted since Myanmar’s independence in 1948. Mined areas are located adjacent to borders with Bangladesh, China, India and Thailand. New mines continue to be laid by both the Tatmadaw and NSAGs. The full extent of contamination in Myanmar is unknown, but includes improvised landmines, and mines produced in state-owned factories. Contamination impedes the return of refugees and internally displaced persons (IDPs). A trend of increasing mine casualties in recent years has been reported by national stakeholders.

In February 2020, a national level meeting was held in Naypyidaw to discuss the formation of a national mine action authority and a national mine action center, which would be established under the oversight of the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement (MoSWRR). The military has undertaken some mine clearance, but operations are not systematic or recorded. Humanitarian mine action operators began arriving in Myanmar from 2012, but are not permitted to clear mines.

Risk education is coordinated by the Mine Risk Working Group (MRWG), led by the Department of Rehabilitation and co-chaired with the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It comprises four state level coordination agencies in Kachin, Kayah, Kayin and Shan states, while in 2019 an agreement was reached to establish a coordination agency in Rakhine state. Risk education focuses on conflict-affected communities in ethnic territories, and particularly targets IDPs and refugees.

For a decade, from 1999–2009, assistance to mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors and persons with disabilities in Myanmar was marginal due to many years of neglect of healthcare services by the governing authorities. Myanmar’s authorities did have a national victim assistance program or strategy. Awareness of the need for victim assistance has increased significantly since around 2012, initially as a result of activities by non-governmental organizations (NGOs). In 2013, under an agreement with the government, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) started to support government-run rehabilitation centers, which had been operating without external support since 2007.

Since 2014, the number of victim assistance service providers has increased significantly. More than a dozen organizations, including government departments, the United Nations (UN), international and local NGOs, and community-based organizations are involved in efforts. Specific victim assistance centers were developed and prosthetic services built and improved, including through enhanced mobile services. Localized availability of community-based rehabilitation and vocational training also increased. Coordination improved with the introduction of the National Victim Assistance Technical Group (NVATG) as a sub-working group under the MRWG. Yet overall, essential services remain scarce, particularly for many people in remote rural areas.

Treaty status

Myanmar is not party to the Mine Ban Treaty, the Convention on Cluster Munitions, nor the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Management and coordination

Mine action management and coordination

Mine action coordination overview

Coordination and management

Myanmar’s former military government created a Mine Action Center under the former Myanmar Peace Center in 2013, but it was never fully staffed. Concluding a national ceasefire agreement with NSAGs was a government precondition for proceeding to survey and clearance.[2] With the change of government after the 2016 election, the Mine Action Center was dissolved. The new government made peace negotiations a priority, at which several participants emphasized the threat of mines and the need for clearance.[3] A national youth conference in May 2016 had also called on the Tatmadaw and NSAGs to remove landmines.[4] Several civil society groups have also called for mine clearance in recent years (see Myanmar Mine Ban Policy profile).

In October 2019, Myanmar hosted an international workshop attended by the Geneva International Centre for Humanitarian Demining (GICHD) and the Norwegian Presidency to the Mine Ban Treaty to discuss the establishment of a national mine action authority to lead and manage a mine action program in Myanmar.[5]

In February 2020, a national level meeting was held in Naypyidaw to discuss the formation of a national mine action authority, and a mine action center which would be established under the Ministry of Social Welfare, Relief and Resettlement. The meeting also discussed the Ministry of Defence establishing state and regional level mine clearing groups.[6]

Strategic planning

As of September 2019, the government had not announced a clear strategy on mine action. In January 2018, the Union Joint Monitoring Committee (JMU-C) Secretary, Colonel Wunna Aung, had stated that mine clearance could not begin prior to the building of mutual trust between the government and NSAGs.[7] In May 2017, Colonel Aung stated that the Tatmadaw would take the lead on landmine clearance but that international technological and material support would be accepted.[8]

In August 2017, Myanmar’s Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, Senior General Min Aung Hlaing, held talks with New Zealand’s ambassador regarding assistance between the two states’ militaries and mine clearance operations.[9] The embassy of New Zealand has since funded a mine action coordinator whose primary role is to improve the effectiveness of the sector until a national mine action authority is established. The initiative is reported to be successful in providing a focus for developing procedures.[10]

Legislation and standards

In October 2019, Myanmar stated that it is in the process of finalizing its National Mine Action Standard for the conduct of systematic mine clearance. Myanmar is working with countries in the region through the ASEAN Defence Ministers Meeting (ADMM)-Plus Expert Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action under the ASEAN Regional Mine Action Centre (ARMAC).[11]

Since Myanmar does not currently have national mine action legislation or standards, demining organizations have followed IMAS and their own standard operating procedures.

Operators

International demining organizations started to arrive in Myanmar in 2012, but operations were not started until later. In 2018 and early 2019, six international demining organizations had offices in Yangon and some in provincial locations: DanChurchAid (DCA), the Danish Demining Group (DDG), The HALO Trust, Humanity & Inclusion (HI), Mines Advisory Group (MAG), and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA). These international NGOs conducted risk education and community liaison activities, and community mapping of hazardous areas in some locations.

In 2020, Myanmar has seen a decrease in the number of organizations undertaking mine action. In August 2019, 16 organizations reported 21 mine action projects taking place in 85 townships. Six months later, in February 2020, this had decreased to 13 organizations reporting 13 mine action projects in 77 townships.[12]

Information management

Currently all mine action actors retain their own survey results in the absence of a neutral national entity to store hazardous area data, which remains sensitive in view of continuing conflict.

Risk education management and coordination

Risk education coordination overview

Coordination

The Department of Rehabilitation in the MoSWRR, leads the MRWG, co-chaired with UNICEF, which is comprised of 10 ministries, 41 international and national organizations, and four state-level coordination agencies (in Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, and Shan states).[13] The group met quarterly in 2019 in Naypyidaw and at state-level. It focuses on risk education with a sub-working group on victim assistance. Topics include humanitarian needs, victim data, recent trends and development, coordination among mine action organizations, and other updates within the humanitarian mine action sector. Data on risk education session delivery is also shared.

In 2019, the MoSWRR endorsed a decision to open a new state-level MRWG in Rakhine state, including a Victim Assistance Technical Group.[14]

Strategies

An MRWG Strategic Workplan for 2020–2021 is being developed, including objectives for victim assistance.[15]

Information management

There is no comprehensive information management system in Myanmar. The MRWG provides mine/ERW incident data every quarter. The data is collected through UNICEF and the MoSWRR networks, mine action operators’ databases and from the general administration department and the police.[16] However, the data is far from complete and it is recognized that many mine accidents remain unreported because there is no national accident surveillance system in place and limited healthcare facilities in some remote areas.[17] UNHCR, as the lead for mine action, also keeps a database which all mine action organizations in Myanmar contribute to.[18]

A workshop held in Naypyidaw in 2019 initiated a discussion on victim data and management to continue advocacy efforts towards a national standardized system.[19]

National standards and guidelines

There are currently no risk education standards, but the mine action sector has been invited to help the government draft standards.[20]

Victim assistance management and coordination

Victim assistance coordination overview[21]

Note: CRPD= Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.

Laws and policies

In June 2015, Myanmar enacted the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Law.[22] In July 2018, the MoSWRR released the publication of the rules and regulations for the 2015 law.[23]

In 2014, Myanmar launched a National Social Protection Strategic Plan through the MoSWRR to provide an allowance to all persons certified with a disability.[24] In 2017, and again in 2019, the government announced to the media that it would be disbursing a monthly allowance to persons with disabilities in nine townships across four states as a pilot program with a view to eventual nationwide coverage.[25] In February 2020, a national level meeting was held in Naypyidaw to discuss the formation of a national mine action authority. The report of the meeting stated that the MoSWRR would provide K200,000 (US$137) and prosthetic limbs for each victim of landmine explosions.[26] Between September 2019 and August 2020, the fund was budgeted for 600 victims.[27]

Military veterans with disabilities received benefits on a priority basis, usually a civil service job at equivalent pay. Official assistance to non-military persons with disabilities in principle included two-thirds of pay for up to one year for a temporary disability and a tax free stipend for permanent disability. The amount of additional medical pension for veterans with permanent disabilities is determined by an injury severity scale used by the Ministry of Defense. There are believed to be dozens of army-built community settlements where disabled veterans and their families receive free housing. However, ordinary soldiers with disabilities are often located in remote areas and lack job opportunities or ways of finding extra income.[28]

A disability certification and registration process is now being rolled out by the MoSWRR, and is being piloted in two states under the Department of Rehabilitation. People with disabilities will be registered through a nationwide system and will receive a disability card, including classification based on the severity of the disability. It is anticipated that this will create an opportunity for better identification of people with disabilities, greater advocacy for their rights, and the possibility of the provision of social protection funds in the future.[29]

In 2019, the ICRC, together with the World Health Organization (WHO), worked with the Ministry of Health to develop a draft strategic plan aimed at strengthening the national rehabilitation sector and making preparations for setting up a steering committee to guide this work.[30]

Standards

A decision was made to develop national victim assistance standards, translated to Burmese from the IMAS victim assistance standards.[31]

Impact

Contamination

Contamination overview

Note: ERW=Explosive Remnants of War.

Mine Contamination

Some 90 townships (out of a total of 325), in 10 states and regions, are believed to suffer from some degree of mine contamination; primarily antipersonnel landmines. During the past year, contamination has increased in Rakhine state, and in the north. Shan and Kachin states are considered heavily contaminated. Previously, Kayin state and the Bago region were among those with the heaviest mine contamination and highest number of recorded victims.[32]

A UN Fact-Finding Mission reported in September 2018 that “despite the signing of the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement (NCA) in October 2015, which committed all signatories to end the use of landmines and cooperate on mine-clearance operations, new landmines continue to be laid.”[33] It cited credible reports that the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed groups had laid landmines and observed that “Tatmadaw soldiers lay landmines in villages they have attacked or after civilians have fled, or on roads frequently used by civilians.”[34]

New contamination was recorded in 2018 and 2019 in central Rakhine state in several townships previously unknown to suffer contamination by landmines. Other accounts of new contamination due to continuing use by the Tatmadaw and NSAGs in Myanmar were reported throughout 2018 and the first half of 2019. (See Myanmar Mine Ban Policy profile).

No formal estimate exists of the extent of landmine contamination in Myanmar but credible reports of mine contamination, casualties or suspected hazardous areas (SHAs) have been reported in the following states and townships.

Mine contamination per township

Some contamination is from mines produced by state owned factories. Ka Pa Sa (Defense Products Industries of Myanmar) produce at least five types of antipersonnel landmines, including domestic versions of PMN, POMZ and M-14 type mines. (See Myanmar Mine Ban Policy profile).

Landmine contamination in Myanmar is frequently cited as a barrier to the return of refugees and internally displaced people. In Kachin state in 2018, IDPs identified landmines as one of the three top obstacles to return to their areas of origin.[35] In November 2019, the government launched a “National Strategy on Resettlement of Internally Displaced Persons and Closure of IDP Camps.” While the draft document made no mention of the need to clear landmines,[36] at the fourth Mine Ban Treaty review conference in Oslo in November 2019, Myanmar stated that it aimed to start humanitarian demining operations in non-conflict areas as part of the camp closure strategy, and acknowledged that mine action is a precondition for the safe return and resettlement of IDPs.[37]

In January 2019, the Tatmadaw removed landmines from Nam San Yang village in Kachin state, to allow the return of people displaced by previous armed conflict.[38]

ERW Contamination

Myanmar is also affected by ERW, including mortars, grenades, artillery, and air-dropped bombs. Periodic reports appear of ordnance dating to World War II.[39] New ERW contamination has been reported in relation to armed conflict in late 2018 and early 2019 in Kachin state.[40]

Casualties

Casualties overview*

* Unless noted otherwise, the Monitor casualty data is from a combined dataset of published and unpublished sources.

Casualties in 2019

In 2019, there were at least 358 mine/ERW casualties in Myanmar based on information provided by NGOs, UN agencies, the ICRC and other organizations, as well as by state and independent media reports. Although this marked an overall decrease from the annual casualty total for 2018, the number of fatalities was recorded as having increased to 89 in 2019 from 79 the previous year.

The majority of casualties in 2019 (149) were recorded in Shan state, followed by Rakhine state (119), and Kachin state (51).

Despite the presence of a number of mine action actors and although coverage of victim assistance programs increased, no national systematic collection of casualty data occurred. Due to the lack of an official data collection mechanism, the absence of any basic reporting format or means of sharing data, and the varying sources of annual data available to the Monitor, reporting is believed not to reflect the full extent of mine/ERW incidents and casualties in the country.

Media reporting indicates a trend of increasing casualty numbers in recent years. In August 2019, the Department of Rehabilitation in the MoSWRR stated that the number of landmine casualties in Myanmar is increasing yearly: “According to the records of [ARMAC] member countries, social media, and concerned organizations in rural areas, the number of mine casualties has increased yearly. Also, we’ve seen that the rate of disability is increasing.”[41] On 4 April 2019, Myanmar media stated that although many incidents still go unreported, the MRWG reported mine/ERW casualties had increased from 176 in 2017 to 276 in 2018.[42] Differences in the total annual casualty figures given by the MRWG and the Monitor are attributable to the fact that the MRWG seeks to have a general figure available in a shorter timeframe to inform its activities. The Monitor compiles its data over a longer period and its estimates can be considered an amended figure when released at the end of the following calendar year. Neither tally can be considered comprehensive, but each provides the best-known estimates from public sources in light of the lack of any official data.

A study in 2018 found that many IDPs with disabilities in NSAG-controlled areas appeared to have impairments due to mines and conflict-related violence. However, in government-controlled areas, “most” of the persons with disabilities reported that their disabilities were congenital or due to accidents. The study proposed that this may be due to “perceptions that stepping on a landmine can incur charges for ‘destruction of government property’, adding further problems for [persons with disabilities]. This acts as an incentive for landmine victims to blame traffic or other accidents for their disabilities, potentially distorting numbers.”[43]

The number of Tatmadaw and other combatant casualties remains unknown, but is believed to be substantial. A Ministry of Defense official told the Monitor that landmines were the chief cause of death and injury for Tatmadaw troops over any other cause, yet added that if he revealed the figure “it would give a psychological weapon to our enemies.”[44] Past Monitor reporting indicates that there are a significant number of military casualties, but military records remain unavailable to the public.[45]

The total number of casualties in Myanmar is unknown. The Monitor has recorded annual casualty figures of 4,981 mine/ERW casualties (705 killed; 4,158 injured; 118 unknown) between 2000 and the end of 2019.

Addressing the impact

Mine Action

Operators and service providers

Clearance operators

Clearance

The Tatmadaw conducted some mine clearance but operations currently use unknown standards. The amount of land cleared in 2019, and the number of antipersonnel mines destroyed, is not reported.

Myanmar is part of the ADMM-Plus Expert Working Group on Humanitarian Mine Action under the ARMAC. No mine clearance is permitted by NGOs, while limited non-technical survey has been permitted since 2016.

Land release

Survey

In July 2020, the Landmine Monitor and the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU) produced a country map of townships with SHAs and an infographic on the impact of mine use in Myanmar.[46]

Some international mine action actors were authorized to conduct non-technical survey in some locations beginning in 2016. Non-technical survey by MAG, DDG, DCA and The HALO Trust continued in 2018 and 2019. They have so far been unable to carry out surveys across an entire state, which would enable them to determine a baseline level of contamination.

In January 2020, the mine action sector gained permission to deploy technical teams to commence marking and fencing operations in accordance with IMAS.[47] The Department of Rehabilitation has asked the mine action sector to prioritize technical survey, marking and fencing of areas identified for returns and resettlement of IDPs in Kachin state.[48]

The HALO Trust reported undertaking non-technical survey in Tahndaunggyi and Hlaingbwe townships in Kayin state, and in Lashio, Muse, Kutkai and Kyaukme townships in Shan state. Forty-nine SHAs were identified in 2019, and a further nine up to March 2020. The HALO Trust also marked 16 SHAs with danger signs, while a further seven SHAs were marked in the period up to March 2020.[49]

In 2019, MAG undertook non-technical survey in 36 townships and village tracts.[50] MAG had not commenced marking operations in Myanmar but planned in 2020 to commence such activities when COVID-19 restrictions had been lifted and additional funding sourced.

In June 2020, MAG, working under the auspices of the Durable Peace Program, conducted a baseline survey of 59 village resettlement sites in Kachin state. Of the villages surveyed, 70% reported direct evidence of contamination and a further 20% reported indirect evidence. The target villages were selected because they were identified by the Myanmar government and/or by local humanitarian actors as potential sites for IDP return and resettlement.[51]

HI did not conduct non-technical survey in 2019 or in early 2020, although planned to start survey from September 2020.[52]

Clearance

In July 2019, a representative of the Ministry of Defense stated to the Landmine Monitor that the Tatmadaw is clearing mines because it is their duty. He stated that military personnel are sent to the frontlines for five to six months, and are sent to military schools, where among other things, they learn to clear mines. He added, “We clear mines around the villages, and the villagers thank us for saving them from the mines planted by the Ethnic Armed Organizations.” In 2018 there was little conflict and the Tatmadaw could move freely due to the ceasefire and carry out more demining activities.[53]

In October 2018, Myanmar stated that the military together with several NSAG signatories of the NCA, had engaged in humanitarian demining in Kayin state, and that since 2011 more than 36,000 landmines and ERW were cleared.[54] State media report military clearance during armed conflict periodically.[55]

In January 2019, the military announced localized mine clearance in advance of resettlement of some families in Nam San Yang village, Wiangmaw township, Kachin State.[56] Landmine Monitor previously reported that mines had been laid in this area by the Tatmadaw in September 2018. A November 2019 assessment in Nam San Yang by a Kachin-based NGO found that the “Tatmadaw has provided some demining services by clearing household compounds with a bulldozer, this service has been provided only to those who have household registration certificates… landmines is a major risk for people returning to Nam San Yang and has resulted on large areas of the surrounding farmland being designated as restricted areas.”[57] However, since resettlement of the initial families, some mine casualties have occurred in Nam San Yang.[58]

In March 2020, villagers in Nam San Yang complained that landmines remain a prominent threat in the area where they now live.[59] In July 2020, the Tatmadaw returned to the area and removed mines from 100 acres of farmland.[60] In August 2020, Tatmadaw spokesperson Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun told a journalist in Myanmar that the Nam San Yang return had been a success and that the military planned to expand its IDP return activities and would assist with transportation and landmine clearance operations.[61] In May 2018, in Kachin state, people in IDP camps identified landmines as one of the three top obstacles to return to their areas of origin, according to the Durable Peace Programme Consortium report.[62]

In a high-level meeting to discuss border security issues in January 2020, Bangladesh again raised its concerns regarding mines laid and the resulting casualties on the Myanmar side of their shared border. Bangladeshi officials requested Myanmar’s authorities to remove all mines to prevent any further casualties. At the conclusion of the meeting, Brigadier General Myoe Than of the Myanmar Police Force, who led the eight-member delegation from Myanmar, alleged, “There are a number of insurgent groups along the shared border. The IEDs might be planted by those groups, not by the Myanmar troops.’’ Director General Major General Md Shafeenul Islam, who headed the 14-member Bangladeshi delegation, stated that IEDs or landmines are dangerous for the border troops of both countries. He added that border roads will be constructed along the Bangladesh-Myanmar border and said that the ‘‘Myanmar representative team has assured that the IEDs will be removed before the construction of the roads.’’[63]

In January 2020, the Tatmadaw closed an IDP camp in Myebon township, Rakhine state, to clear landmines in the area. A statement reportedly issued by the Office of the Commander-in-Chief of Defence Services, stated that the military had asked camp residents to leave to prevent them from being injured by landmines, and that they had already deactivated a mine 20 meters from the camp. Camp officials stated that Tatmadaw soldiers then torched temporary shelters at the camp, causing about 400 of the 500 people living there to flee in fear. The camp administrator said the soldiers “told us they didn’t want to see us there the next morning, and not to blame them if something happened to us.”[64] It is not known if any further mine clearance occurred near the site.

Humanitarian mine action organizations have not been permitted to conduct clearance by either the government or ethnic minority authorities, and this remains the case as of April 2020.

In December 2019, the Free Burma Rangers (FBR), who provide medical assistance to people in war-affected communities, graduated 99 new recruits with Relief Team Training, which includes, among other skills, emergency mine removal at their training camp in Kayin state.[65] The FBR provide medical and food assistance to people fleeing or injured by armed conflict, including mine victims, and provided such assistance in Rakhine state in December 2019 after fighting between the Tatmadaw and the Arakan Army.[66] Eight of their relief teams reported encountering landmines while undertaking their activities in Kayin, Shan, Kachin, Chin and Rakhine states.

Deminer safety

An incident that occurred during military training in landmine safety, in May 2019, resulted in 11 casualties. It was reported that the incident took place during a training session organized to teach police officers in the Mandalay region about landmine safety, detection and the different types of mines. A media report stated that as a part of the training, a police sergeant was supposed to step on a sample M14 plastic landmine while other trainees disarmed the landmine and save him. Brigadier-General Zaw Min Tun, spokesperson of the Tatmadaw’s True News Information Team, stated that the training was conducted by a technician from the military, explaining “We heard that the trainer mistakenly brought a real landmine with the training sample landmines and that a trainee stepped on it and it exploded.’’ He said, ‘‘normally, real landmines and samples are differentiated by color, however there can be mistakes. We are doing further investigations on this incident.”[67]

In January 2020, the battalion commander of Tatmadaw Light Infantry Battalion 708 was killed while attempting to remove an antivehicle mine laid by the Karen National Liberation Army (KNLA) in Hpapun township, Kayin state.[68]

Risk Education

Operators and service providers

Risk education operators[69]

Beneficiary numbers

In 2019, it was reported that 280,000 people in affected areas received mine risk education.[70] UNICEF trained 889 teachers, 67 social workers and 107 NGO staff in providing risk education.

Implementation

As of August 2019, at least nine organizations implemented 13 risk education projects in Chin, Kachin, Kayah, Kayin, Mon, and Shan states, and also in the eastern Bago and Tanintharyi regions. In addition, UNICEF supported risk education in Shan, Mon, Kayin and Kachin states, and in the Bago region. UNHCR supported risk education in Kayin state and in the Tanintharyi region.

A UNICEF factsheet shows the states which received the most risk education coverage from 2016–March 2020 (quarter 1) were Kachin, Kayin, Shan, Kayah and Rakhine.[71]

In 2019, the majority of operators delivered risk education in rural areas and particularly to IDPs in camps and host communities. MAG, The HALO Trust, and the ICRC reported delivering safety briefings to NGOs, government officials and teachers. UNICEF provided risk education training to teachers, social workers and NGO staff. MAG and the ICRC reported delivering risk education in schools in 2019. While schoolteachers have received risk education training in some areas, risk education is not integrated into the national curriculum.

In 2016, a common mine risk education toolkit was field tested and approved by the government. DCA and UNICEF also developed an app in 2017 as part of the toolkit jointly developed by DCA, UNICEF and the MRWG with support of the MoSWRR.[72]

The types of ordnance covered in risk education included antipersonnel mines and antivehicle mines, improvised mines and other ERW. There are emerging reports of the use of antivehicle mines in Rakhine and southern Chin states, where the Tatmadaw is fighting the Arakan Army.[73]

Face-to-face sessions remain the primary means for delivering risk education, although teams from The Halo Trust carry a PA system, and in northern Myanmar MAG teams deliver safety messages through radio as a complimentary measure.[74] Risk education is delivered as a standalone activity in Myanmar due to the lack of permission to conduct landmine clearance, although it is sometimes integrated with non-technical survey. MAG plans to integrate risk education with technical survey once it begins operations.

MAG is contracted by the Durable Peace Programme (DPP), funded by the European Union (EU), in Kachin and northern Shan states to deliver ‘training of trainers’ programs and capacity support to help 14 NGOs integrate mine risk education into their ongoing humanitarian interventions. The partner agencies co-design risk education activities based on their capacity, with MAG providing training, support with planning and materials, and quality assurance.[75]

Target groups

IDPs and returnees are a key target group for risk education in Myanmar. While displaced in camps or host communities, they also return to their villages of origin to check on livestock, property and farmland, and even to farm. HI reported that both women and men, with and without disabilities, sought income and livelihood activities outside of IDP camps in areas controlled by NSAGs in Kachin state.[76]

There is a lack of information on safe and unsafe areas due to a lack of warning signs and limited local knowledge of newly contaminated areas.[77]

Adult males often hunt and forage for food in forests far from their homes and where they may be unaware of the risks. This results in a disproportionately high number of adult male casualties who take risks largely out of desperation or economic necessity.

While adult males are considered the most at-risk group due to their roles in livelihood activities, UNICEF data shows they have received less risk education. Data for 2016–March 2020 shows that of the 1,050,725 people reached, 81% were women and children.[78]

MAG reports that it targets men for risk education due to their higher exposure to mine risk as a result of livelihood activities. Given that men are often working outside of the village during the day when risk education sessions are delivered, MAG is providing risk education at night and at weekends to better reach them.[79]

Displaced children are at heightened risk because they live close to conflict-affected areas and play in unsafe environments. HI reported that in IDP camps, there are not enough school teachers to support the provision of risk education, particularly in remote areas. Most risk education for children takes place out of school.[80] In December 2018, MAG collaborated with Clowns without Borders and its national chapter ‘Clown Me In’ to deliver fun, interactive risk education sessions for children.

Reaching remote areas and some ethnic minority groups is difficult due to restrictions in access. International NGOs work with local partners to better reach remote communities, although access to politically sensitive areas is not always granted.

Varied languages and dialects also pose challenges for the provision of risk education and the development of appropriate risk education materials.[81]

Major developments in 2019

In 2019, a mine risk education app for Myanmar was developed by MAG with the MRWG. It can be used on smartphones and computers and provides key risk education messages for different age groups, with games, lessons, and questions and answers to increase knowledge.[82] As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, DDG adapted its risk education by developing online risk education sessions that can be implemented in IDP camps and in communities. The sessions can be run on online platforms commonly used in Myanmar, such as Viber, Facebook, Messenger and Skype.[83]

Risk education material is being developed by HI to be inclusive of persons and children with disabilities, including the use of plain and simple language, radio broadcasting, and the use of accessible fonts and colors.[84]

ICRC provided emergency risk education through community volunteers and village leaders in Pha Kant township in Kachin state in 2019.[85] The HALO Trust delivered emergency risk education to IDPs in August 2019 following an outbreak of conflict in northern Shan state.[86]

In 2020, HI plans to conduct community risk education through a local partner in IDP camps in both government-controlled and NSAG-controlled areas of Kachin state. HI also plans to initiate a ‘training of trainers’ program for school teachers in five IDP camps, and also support ‘education in emergency’ partners working with teachers to provide risk education in the school curriculum.

In January 2020, The HALO Trust provided training to staff of the Rakhine Ethnic Congress in risk education and first aid, so that they could pass on their knowledge to communities in Rakhine that have been affected by conflict between the Tatmadaw and Arakan Army.

Marking

The Tatmadaw has created its own warning signs and fenced some known mined areas, however it is not known how systematic such activities are.[87]

Victim Assistance

Victim assistance providers and activities

Major Developments in 2019

Medical care and rehabilitation

Traumatic injuries are the main cause of illness and the third-highest cause of death in Myanmar. There are few physicians trained in emergency medicine, and they are generally not located in rural areas, which also lack a nationwide ambulance service able to care for patients on the way to a medical facility. Medical facilities in Myanmar’s three major cities lack emergency response capacity: Yangon, Mandalay, and Naypyidaw have only one emergency room each.[88]

Access to rehabilitation services is often not available to persons with disabilities in Myanmar, especially those living in rural areas. Existing physical rehabilitation centers cover only 10% of the country’s needs. Most centers are in the larger cities and travel expenses are prohibitive.[89]

Since 2017, HI has led a partnership with the Karen Department of Health and Welfare (KDHW) and provides support in both government-controlled and NSAG-controlled areas of Kachin state.[90] The KDHW, which is the health department of the Karen National Union (KNU), reported that a training course was provided to health workers, but more trained medics were needed to provide healthcare services in KNU-controlled areas.[91] In 2019, HI increased support to medical care using a social fund.[92]

In Kachin, Rakhine and Shan states, the ICRC supported health centers and satellite posts, including facilities in areas controlled by NSAGs.[93] Hospitals and other health facilities in Rakhine state, including mobile health units, provided healthcare for IDPs and other violence-affected people with ICRC support.[94] The ICRC continued supporting five physical rehabilitation centers and included physical rehabilitation in its Rakhine humanitarian response.[95] In 2019, the ICRC was unable to support a sixth center in Mandalay.[96] The ICRC trained national Red Cross volunteers to use the Service Users Referral System program for rehabilitation, and provided training for rehabilitation professionals and managers.[97]

As of March 2020, the Prosthetic Department of the Mao Tao Clinic (MTC), in Mae Sot—a Thai town on the border with Myanmar—which had previously provided prosthetics solely to people from Myanmar, ceased operation. It shifted its remaining equipment to a KDHW-run clinic in Klo Yaw Lay village, in Hpapun township, Kayin state. In 2019, the MTC delivered 76 prosthetics to patients from Myanmar.[98]

Socio-economic and psychosocial inclusion

Most mine/ERW survivors have had to abandon their traditional professions, making vocational training and other alternative livelihood solutions necessary.[99] DRC-DDG provided livelihood interventions to assist communities affected by conflict and mines/ERW, and provided mine/ERW victims with skills-development training in business, as well as agriculture-oriented support.[100]

The Association for Aid and Relief-Japan (AAR-Japan), continued to provide vocational training for persons with disabilities at its center in Yangon.[101] The Myanmar Center for Responsible Business and AAR-Japan held a multi-stakeholder meeting with the support of the Department of Rehabilitation in the MoSWRR to obtain feedback on a draft handbook on employment of persons with disabilities.[102]

HI ran the United States-funded Humanitarian Mine Action in Burma: Inclusive Socio-economic Development and Human Security for All project in three townships in Kayin state and the east Bago region, in partnership with the Myanmar Physically Handicapped Association (MPHA).[103] HI continued to build the project management skills of the MPHA in order to sustain survivor assistance throughout the region.[104]

The ICRC and/or the National Society provided material assistance for people affected by conflict and other violence in Kachin, Rakhine, and Shan states. The ICRC faced restrictions in providing cash income support to violence-affected households in northern Rakhine state and adjusted by distributing household essentials and agricultural input.[105] In 2019, the ICRC organized the second Wheelchair Basketball Workshop in Myanmar, and referred people with mobility impairment to sports activities, microeconomic initiatives, and vocational training.[106]

World Education supported self-help groups across Bago region and Kayah state. It compiled, translated, printed, and distributed service provider directories in Kayah and Mon states.[107]

According to UNICEF reporting, 87% of children with disabilities did not visit a doctor and 20% said they were bullied at school.[108]

Needs assessment

No new needs assessment activities were reported.