In a statement released on Thursday February 7 the UN's Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Burma, Ashok Nigam called on the Thein Sein government to speed up UN access to internally displaced people (IDPs) throughout Kachin state. “Measures for humanitarian assistance to Kachin IDPs must be expedited”, Nigam said.
Nigam welcomed a report in Burma's state-owned media this week announcing that the government was committed to allowing humanitarian assistance to reach those people in need in Kachin state. This report followed up on earlier statements from the President's office indicating that UN aid shipments would soon be resuming to IDP camps in KIO territory.
“Ongoing discussions as to the details on security and logistics must be expedited. Moreover, all parties in the conflict must commit to safe passage of humanitarian workers for the assistance and ensure that sustained humanitarian aid can be delivered to all areas in Kachin state,” Nigam said.
It remains to be seen however when exactly the UN and other international NGOs will be allowed to proceed with the aid shipments to IDPs camps located in KIO territory. The UN was allowed to make such shipments to camps in and around the KIO-controlled town of Mai Ja Yang from April to early July of last year but the aid shipments were halted shortly after several UN staff were arrested in Arakan (Rakhine) state.
The 19 months of fighting between Burma's army and troops from the Kachin Independence Organization (KIO) has displaced more than 100,000 people since June 2011 when a 17-year ceasefire between both sides ended. The overwhelming majority of the refugees are believed to be living in camps located in KIO controlled territory.
