United Nations in Myanmar

The Sustainable Development Goals are a global call to action to end poverty, protect the earth’s environment and climate, and ensure that people everywhere can enjoy peace and prosperity. These are the goals the UN is working on in Myanmar:

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Press Release

24 June 2022

UNICEF statement on the death of two boys by a grenade round explosion in Magwe Region, Myanmar

The incident occurred on 19 June, when the two boys were playing with an unexploded grenade round they found in a jungle. Landmines and unexploded ordnance (UXO) continue to kill and maim many children in Myanmar. At least 115 children have been killed or injured by landmines and UXO since February 2021, including 47 casualties that occurred between January and April 2022 alone. In times of conflict, children are the most vulnerable, including from landmines and UXO. Since children are smaller than adults, they are more likely to take the full impact of the blast and are therefore more likely to suffer death or serious injury. In Myanmar, more than one third of the reported casualties from landmines and UXO are children. The safety and rights of children must be the primary consideration in all contexts. During the first five months of 2022, UNICEF and partners have reached 20,000 children across Myanmar with Explosive Ordnance Risk Education. UNICEF calls on all parties to facilitate access for assistance to victims; to stop laying mines and to clear existing mines and UXO.

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23 June 2022

Conflict, food insecurity and pandemic: A triangle of suffering in Myanmar

Thousands of Myanmar families share a typical plight of being stuck in a cycle of conflict, rising levels of food insecurity and protracted healthcare crisis, and many have experienced multiple displacements, leaving behind their homes, crops, and livestock. For the first time, the number of displaced men, women and children in Myanmar has exceeded one million, including 700,000 people displaced by the conflict and insecurity since the military takeover in February last year. Host communities who were already struggling to sustain their livelihoods are also supporting those that have been displaced. The Livelihoods and Food Security Fund (LIFT), a multi-donor fund managed by UNOPS delivers relief, livelihood and resilience programming to vulnerable communities across Myanmar aiming to sustainably improve household food security and community resilience to economic and climatic shocks and stresses. Below are several examples of how LIFT/UNOPS and its partners help support vulnerable communities and households through income generation and employment creation, strengthening of food systems and nutrition support, natural resource management, and community asset creation in a challenging environment Support for community-based health services LIFT and partners work with local health practitioners, volunteers and ethnic health service providers to strengthen the community-based health services by providing a wide range of integrated health, WASH and essential nutrition services to more than 300,000 people including internally displaced people, the elderly, people with disabilities, migrants, pregnant and breastfeeding women and their children, and adolescent girls. Cash-for-livelihoods support 38-year old Ma Toe Lwin (name changed) from Mawlamyinegyun has what’s called a ‘strong business intuition’. Knowing that a high fishing season is approaching, she launched a fishing net weaving and repairing business, with cash-for-livelihoods support from LIFT’s partners. Having been in the fishing business since her early 20s, Ma Toe Lwin is able to distinguish the quality of fishing nets but it was the lack of capital that didn’t allow her to stock nets for trading before the fishing season. With cash support from LIFT, Ma Toe Lwin mobilised a group of women to produce about 100 fishing nets, in time for the upcoming fishing season so they can be sold to the fishermen. During high seasons, Ma Toe Lwin’s enterprise can employ up to 75 women allowing for a faster production chain. Proceeds from their sales are shared between the group members while a portion of earnings is saved for future investments. Agriculture development support “We keep using traditional growing methods and our planting has faced a lot of problems like pest infection and plant diseases. We did not know very well about the proper usage of fertilizers and pesticides, which caused us low yields”, said U Saw. Having struggled for years, U Saw sought knowledge of advanced agricultural techniques that would help him to improve his farm production and support better access to healthy food for his family. When the LIFT-supported project reached the village, U Saw eagerly joined the training on agriculture to learn small-scale agri-business, good agricultural practices, and plant protection techniques. The practical sessions led him to explore natural composting methods, soil preparation methods and soil pH measurements. “In the past, I used to apply ready-made pesticides on my farm. So, it was costly and I also didn’t wear any protection while I was using chemical fertilizers and I often suffered from nausea and vomiting”. Saw was convinced of the health benefits of organically grown crops, and he upgraded his farm to an organic farm. “The project supported me with a capital fund and black bamboos which are necessary in cultivating tomatoes. Tomato is the main crop I grow and I had an acre for purely organic cultivation this year. I applied all the agricultural techniques I learned from the training and the capital support of the project also helped me step up my farm. The yield this year has really increased as I expected. I am really happy that my earnings are pretty well and I can even repay all my debts,” said U Saw with a big smile on his face. The traditional farmer who used the chemical fertilizers in the past is now stepping up as a leading farmer in the area who shares with his peers on Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) that he received from the training. “We need to protect our land and environment by reducing the usage of chemicals so we are introducing organic farming step by step”, a proud and dedicated farmer U Saw said. Support and assistance for internally displaced persons For Khine Mar, it has been a hard year. His family had to flee their home village to conflict and insecurity, leaving behind their rice fields and belongings. Khine Mar managed to secure a part-time job as a health assistant at the Camp Management Centre while also performing his parental duties such as helping his children with their studies and managing all the house chores with extreme devotion. But as the COVID-19 crisis deepened, Khine Mar lost all sources of income. “It has not been easy for us since the pandemic hit. Some organizations provided us with assistance such as food and essentials, but travel and access restrictions made such support irregular”, he said. So he sought domestic work around his neighbourhood but there was little demand. He thought he had left such uncertainty behind when he fled his home village. Khine Mar was among other residents of the camp to receive a cash transfer of 65,000 MMK, provided by LIFT through its partners as a means to help IDPs cover their most basic food needs or purchase other basic items and services to protect themselves from COVID-19 and its socio-economic impacts. “It’s the first time I receive such significant support and it was timely and helpful”, said Khine Mar of the cash transfer. He used part of the payment to buy food for his children and is cooking more nutritious meals for his children. By scaling up multi-purpose cash transfer assistance, food assistance in kind and vouchers, cash/food for work schemes, psychosocial support and counselling services for trauma and gender-based violence, LIFT and partners have reached over 131,000 vulnerable people with social protection programmes in 2021 alone. Supporting small-scale community enterprises “We all joined a dry fish (snakehead fish) production training and learned how to cut fish by removing skin and bones and preserve it without using chemicals. We sell our product locally and online, and then share the profit while keeping 5 per cent of earnings in our group’s saving fund,” said Daw Myint. It takes the group seven to ten days for a full production cycle - from purchasing raw fish to selling the ready product. Each member’s profit is sufficient to cover their household expenses such as food, education and healthcare while savings are planned for investing into other businesses. “Dried fish production is a seasonal business, and we are thinking of launching some farming enterprises too”, concluded Daw Myint. Relief & Resilience response across Myanmar, including people living with disabilities In 2021, 30 of LIFT’s partners from different thematics and geographic regions utilized $11.6 million USD for Relief & Resilience response to reach about 900,000 vulnerable people including internally displaced persons and people living with disabilities in different states and regions of Myanmar with multi-sectoral emergency aid. It is the hand-in-hand collaboration with partners that enabled LIFT-funded support to help restore and boost resilient livelihoods while strengthening the food security of vulnerable groups. Nutrition and WASH awareness In Kachin and Northern Shan, over 12,000 women from the most vulnerable households have been part of LIFT-funded nutrition-sensitive activities which included nutrition and WASH awareness, training in home gardening and in-kind support (food and WASH items). Improving working conditions for women garment factory workers Everyday, hundreds of unskilled women come from rural areas to cities to work in one of over 400 garment factories. Working in a garment factory is often the only possibility for young women from rural areas to earn money and become economically independent, and the income they generate is also used to support the families they’ve left behind. However, working in a garment factory also poses several challenges for these young women: while trying to navigate life in a new city without their family, friends and support network, the women also face harsh working conditions in the factory every day. In an effort to improve working conditions for women workers at garment factories, LIFT’s partners initiated a pilot to collaborate with a factory to upgrade its infrastructure by building or renovating canteens, toilets and healthcare facilities as well as installing cooling systems to provide some basic comfort and amenities as well as to create a space where the women are able to interact with each other. Though at its very early stage, the pilot has already proved success as workers appreciated improvements and it resulted in higher productivity and higher incomes.

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20 June 2022

Op-ed for World Refugee Day 2022

Every year on World Refugee Day, the international community comes together to celebrate the strength and resilience of those forced to flee their homes as well as the host communities who welcome them. For my colleagues and I at UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, it is an opportunity for us to reaffirm our commitment in supporting the people of Myanmar. Solidarity for Myanmar is needed now more than ever amid a growing humanitarian crisis. The realities are sobering. In addition to pre-existing conflict-affected populations, hundreds of thousands more have been displaced across the country in the past year. As conflict intensifies, the UN projects that the rate of displacement is likely to increase for the foreseeable future. While tens of thousands have sought safety in neighbouring countries like India and Thailand as refugees, the vast majority remain in Myanmar as internally displaced people (IDPs). The challenges faced by those displaced are numerous. Conditions have deteriorated while vulnerabilities have increased as instability has led to disruptions in health services, food assistance, livelihood opportunities, banking systems and telecommunications. Armed conflict has also impeded the ability of affected populations to seek safety and urgent lifesaving assistance. Yet, in the face of so much adversity lies the incredible strength of the human spirit. While the challenges and obstacles faced by the people of Myanmar are regularly reported, much less talked about are the stories of courage, solidarity and resilience displayed everyday by individuals. Acts of kindness and generosity are abound. Whenever my colleagues and I go into the field to distribute humanitarian supplies, IDPs often tell us that they will only take what they need and urge us to give the rest to those in greater need - a beautiful display of empathy and compassion despite many having lost their homes, travelling long distances and sometimes losing family members to conflict. The assistance UNHCR provides is part of a wider collective effort undertaken by the humanitarian community to support those forced to flee. Just as impressive as the acts by IDPs themselves, are the numerous examples of host communities and local organizations stepping up and acting as first responders. We are all touched by the hospitality offered by monasteries, churches, schools, community halls and even strangers’ homes, welcoming displaced people with open arms and hearts so that they can have shelter, food and safety. UNHCR continually emphasizes that our assistance merely complements what courageous individuals and caring communities are doing to help those displaced by conflict. As part of our commitment to stay and deliver, we continue to work round the clock to deliver lifesaving aid. In 2021 alone, core relief items, including kitchen sets, blankets, sleeping mats and solar lamps, among other items, reached 182,000 people, while 113,000 benefitted from shelter support. Furthermore, an additional 100,000 people were reached in the first six months of 2022. Despite these efforts, much work remains to be done. Humanitarian organisations face many constraints, including access limitations and insecurity, in the delivery of assistance and protection services to people in most need. Of particular challenge is reaching those located in rural and difficult-to-access areas where food, clean water, shelter and basic household items are in short supply. Every person has a right to seek safety. It is our collective responsibility to ensure that people have access to safety and their basic needs met. Together with our sister UN agencies, we continue advocacy efforts to facilitate safe and unimpeded humanitarian access to ensure that no one gets left behind. Our responsibility does not end there. Once out of harm’s way, we need to ensure that displaced people continue to feel safe and treated with respect and dignity. As the current crisis persists, affected communities are at-risk of finding themselves in a situation of prolonged displacement – a state of limbo exponentially increasing their vulnerability. As community support capacities weaken over time, the need to strengthen programming around resilience building becomes ever more critical. In this vein, UNHCR will endeavour to mitigate risks faced by IDPs, returnees and host communities by building their resilience in an inclusive manner, while facilitating critical life-saving assistance and protection services. We are here to stay and here to deliver together with partners, committing ourselves to protect those forced to flee and provide vital live-saving assistance to people in need across Myanmar. Hai Kyung Jun is the Representative of UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, in Myanmar.

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16 June 2022

International domestic workers day: hear the voices of women domestic workers

It is estimated that over a million Myanmar women work overseas, many as domestic workers. The experiences differ for each of the women so while some have positive experiences, many women migrant workers have stories that are heartbreaking and dangerous. But despite the uncertainties of their journeys, the women still brave their way into an unknown world because working abroad offers them the opportunity to be financially secure and allows them to support their families still in Myanmar. Nang Khin May Tun was 14 years old when she first went to work in Thailand. Now in her 30’s, she continues to work there to support her family but it was not always easy. “There were times I cried, but I also tried to continue working very hard. Now I’m happy because the employment in Thailand has made me financially secure for my life”, she said. Nang Khin May Tun was able to save enough money to support the migration costs for her brother and sister to also move to Thailand for work, and she also managed to save enough money to buy a plot of land and build a house in her hometown in Myanmar. 31-year-old Mary from Kayin State, who works in Singapore, shared that by working abroad, she gained self-confidence, language skills, become more broad-minded and better at communicating socially. However, it wasn’t a positive start. After overcoming apprehensions of moving to a new country where she didn’t speak the language, Mary spent two months preparing her travel documents and with the help of an agency, she was able to get a job as a babysitter in Singapore. Although the job was going well, Mary had to share the room with the baby and because she was sleeping directly under the flow of the air conditioner in the room, she began to experience aches and pains. Eight months later, she contacted the agent to seek other opportunities and while the agent assisted, he docked seven months’ worth of salary from her. Mary again had to pay him an additional two-month salary from her second job. Mary’s is not a lone case. For many young women from Myanmar who want to seek opportunities abroad, it is normally their first time leaving the country. This means coming to terms and navigating themselves in a new culture and a language they don’t yet speak, without any support system. With many employment agencies, it’s not always easy to discern who is a licensed agent and who isn’t, especially at township and village levels where the contacts are shared through word of mouth. This can cause exploitation resulting in scams or more serious crimes like trafficking. Migrant workers are sometimes afraid to report such incidents and there is a feeling of insecurity. Therefore, it should also be the responsibility of employers to try and provide a safe environment. U Ye Min, an employer of a domestic worker in Myanmar, believes that mutual respect and trust are critical in building a good relationship between the employer and the worker. “I provide timely health care support to my employees when they are unwell, and this also includes this period of the COVID-19 pandemic. I have also tried to cultivate a good and safe workplace for my employees according to their needs and age. As a result, we have built trust and respect between us”, he added. Ma Wine Wutyee Ye Tint, also an employer of a domestic worker, shared that it took about three months for her to introduce her employee into the job, including introducing her to the family and to their way of life. Ma Wine Wutyee Ye Tint’s advice is for both employers and employees to share the responsibilities. “Employers should explain the work carefully to the workers. Both employer and employees need to jointly set the house rules and regulations so that the workers can understand his/her duties and responsibilities and can become a trustful and reliable domestic worker for the house and employer”. ILO programmes and projects focus on providing information for workers considering migrating (including domestic workers) in locations across Myanmar in partnership with social partners, civil society organizations and others. This includes raising awareness about safe migration; providing information about available support services and migration policies; and providing information about the procedures of destination countries. Yu War Hlaing is a domestic worker who urges others like her to attend and participate in networking meetings and capacity building trainings, so they are better prepared. In 2019, she attended a training organized by Three Good Spoons, a Yangon-based cooking school operating as a not-for-profit social enterprise to promote decent work for domestic workers, with the support of her employer and in 2022, she even shared her knowledge and experiences of domestic workers and workers representation for the labour rights at Three Good Spoons organization as part of 2022 ILO Triangle in ASEAN programme. “After my training, I was able to better communicate with my employer and I dared to address problems with the employer. I also want to tell the employers to create a workplace without any discrimination towards domestic workers but rather respect and recognize domestic works with dignity”.

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08 June 2022

Responding to Myanmar’s growing food security crisis

Myanmar is facing a rapidly growing food security crisis where 13.2 million people are already food insecure. Ongoing violence, economic crisis, recurrent climate-induced shocks, population displacement and COVID-19, among other factors, are disrupting the entire national food system. Against this backdrop, protecting the livelihoods of smallholder farmers to enable them to produce their own food is a frontline humanitarian response. With the support of the Central Emergency Response Fund, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) provided emergency assistance to 4 700 vulnerable farming households across six townships in Mon State during April 2022. Each beneficiary, including landless and seasonal workers as well as female headed households, received a cash grant of MMK 170 000 (USD 95) to meet their immediate food needs and other basic expenses. Along with the cash grant, FAO trained 1 759 households in Chaungzon township on good agricultural practices and provided them with fertilizers, vegetable seeds and a nutrition guide. Additionally, to mitigate the risk of COVID-19, FAO provided information materials, hygiene items and face masks to all the beneficiary households. Daw Tin Tin Win, 52 years old, is a landless farmer from Daukyet Village and was one of the beneficiaries of the response. Daw Tin Tin Win is the main breadwinner of her household and her spouse is unable to work due to a life-threatening medical condition. Before receiving assistance from FAO, she used to sell vegetables —that she buys from wholesale producers—in the local market and earn a marginal profit to cover some of the daily household needs. With the support that she received from FAO, she is now able to produce her own food, feed her family and generate a more reliable income. “Now, I am growing water spinach in my backyard, which is enabling me to earn more profit than before, thanks to the seeds and assistance that I have received from FAO” said Daw Tin Tin Win. U Ohn Myint, 65 years old, is smallholder farmer from Kalawt Kanai village and one of the beneficiaries of the response. His village was not only impacted by severe floods and other climate-induced shocks, but also by an unprecedented economic turmoil. With the cash grant that he received, he bought medicines, a rice bag and cooking oil to address the immediate food needs of his family. In parallel, he was able to restore his livelihoods and a sense of hope. “With the vegetable seeds that I have received from FAO, I am growing pumpkins to reproduce seeds so that I can produce shoots and fruits in the upcoming season.” said U Ohn Myint. FAO is continuing to scale-up its emergency response, aiming to assist more than 180 000 people in Kayah, Kayin, Chin, Mandalay, Ayeyarwaddy, Mon, Rakhine, Shan and Yangon in 2022. The response includes a range of interventions to support crop, livestock and vegetable production, along with the rehabilitation of vital irrigation infrastructure and the implementation of cash-based interventions. Every delay in protecting and restoring agricultural livelihoods means that the food security crisis in Myanmar will inevitably deteriorate further. This article was originally published under the headline Myanmar food security crisis: FAO and the Central Emergency Response Fund are enabling vulnerable farmers to feed themselves and their communities on the FAO in Myanmar website on June 08, 2022, and can be found here.

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02 June 2022

Life in Limbo

50-year-old Begom is a Rohingya midwife at a camp for internally displaced people (IDP) in Myanmar’s western Rakhine State. She has lived there since 2012 when intercommunal clashes forced her family along with thousands of others to flee from home. Since then, over 130,000 Rohingya like her remain displaced. Despite not receiving any formal training, Begom takes her role seriously and has successfully helped deliver over 500 children in the camp, including twins. “Most pregnant women rely on me for help because it is difficult for them to get medical assistance outside,” she explained. Access to local hospitals is dependent on a cumbersome referral process which requires approvals from local administrators. Additional barriers including the need for male aides, curfews, high medical costs, and security checkpoints leave pregnant women little choice but to give birth inside camps. Discriminatory policies have, for decades, denied the Rohingya basic rights including citizenship, freedom of movement and equal access to healthcare. Rohingya births are typically unregistered. In Myanmar, only nurses or mid-wives assigned by the State are allowed to record births in the official register, the first step towards obtaining birth certificates. Following the intercommunal clashes of 2012, many Rohingya communities had to move into displacement camps with no access to state-assigned nurses and midwives. As a result, new births were effectively excluded from the official register. Consequently, none of the children Begom helped deliver were eligible for birth certificates, a constant worry for her. “No one can grow up to be successful without one,” she said. Birth certificates are one of several core documents required for a person in Myanmar to apply for citizenship documentation. Without this proof of legal identity, Rohingya children face an uncertain future. Many could miss out on their rights being protected and upheld. As they grow up, the children will be unable to acquire other important identity documents such as national registration cards, leaving them legally and administratively invisible. They will be unable to obtain higher education as well as enter the formal job market. With limited opportunities available, prospects for upward socioeconomic mobility are poor and trap the Rohingya in a cycle of poverty. Determined to help as best she can, Begom diligently records the date of birth of every child she brings to life. Her efforts are one of many resourceful strategies adopted by Rohingya communities to cope with administrative barriers and discrimination. While unofficial, such records are oftentimes helpful for camp-based community services offered by humanitarian organizations. “My wish is for these records to help children obtain identity documents one day,” she said. With a mandate to reduce and prevent statelessness, UNHCR regularly communicates with the Rohingya communities to understand their conditions of life and the challenges they face, and advocates for solutions for the Rohingya and other stateless people in Myanmar. Obtaining first-hand information from individuals like Begom enables UNHCR to craft strategies that aim to provide a clear pathway for them to access birth registration and other identity documents. This is as birth registration is often the first step required to prevent statelessness by granting a child a legal identity upon entering the world.

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Press Release

14 June 2022

ILO Myanmar calls for more action to end child labour

Yangon (ILO News) - In line with the Durban Call to Action  adopted last month, ILO Myanmar expresses its continued commitment to make decent work a reality for adults and youth above the minimum age for work.

Almost one in ten of Myanmar’s 12 million children between the age of 5 and 17 are engaged in child labour, often exposed to hazards and risks. The compounded impact of the military takeover and persistent armed conflicts on top of the COVID-19 pandemic had led to an estimated  1.6 million jobs lost in Myanmar in 2021, heightening the risk of families resorting to child labour.

According to a recent report  by the ILO, it is estimated that the incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict was 77 per cent higher than the global average, and the incidence of hazardous work was 50 per cent higher. This suggests that the current context in Myanmar will exacerbate child labour.

“The unstable political landscape and deteriorating economic situation in Myanmar have forced more and more families into poverty. In times of crisis, concerted efforts among all stakeholders are needed more than ever before to increase social protections to prevent and protect children from child labour in all forms,” said Mr Donglin Li, ILO Myanmar Liaison Officer/Representative. ILO action in Myanmar Drawing on this year’s World Day Against Child Labour theme, “Universal Social Protection to End Child Labour”, ILO Myanmar will engage with civil society, development partners and social partners in training and awareness-raising activities through its e-learning programme  and interventions.

Some of the actions include   panel discussions, community based events, awareness-raising videos, a drawing contest  and a photo exhibition “Burning Hands ”   (Institut Français de Birmanie), which will take place throughout June to August. More details will be announced via the ILO Myanmar Facebook page .

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Press Release

31 May 2022

ILO to launch Myanmar eLearning Programme on Child Labour to bolster social protection and community action

YANGON (ILO News) - On the back of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour, ILO Myanmar has announced the upcoming release of a Myanmar eLearning Programme on Child Labour to enable stakeholders to take action against child labour.

Delivered in Myanmar and English language, the nine-module interactive course is set to go live at the ILO’s digital learning platform  on June 12, the World Day Against Child Labour.

The course aims to equip civil society partners, social workers, employers and worker’s organizations to effectively assess and address cases of child labour within their communities. The modules consist of a live, instructor-led component and an ‘on-demand’ online component. It also provides participants with comprehensive information and tools to design interventions contributing to the elimination of child labour.

“Economic challenges and school closures due to the Covid 19 pandemic, political and security crisis in Myanmar are exacerbating child labour in Myanmar. With millions of children at risk, capacity building and collective and timely responses have become even more critical,” said Mr Donglin Li, ILO Myanmar Liaison Officer/Representative. The role of social protection in the elimination of Child Labour The ILO and UNICEF at Headquarters launched a new report  last week during the 5th Global Conference to Eliminate Child Labour that estimates that 60 million children – 1 in 10 worldwide – were in child labour at the beginning of 2020. Without effective action, that number could rise by 8.9 million by the end of 2022, due to higher poverty and increased vulnerability.

Children in conflict areas without proper access to social protection are even more likely to become involved in work and less likely to get an education. According to another report  launched last week by the ILO , the incidence of child labour in countries affected by armed conflict was 77 per cent higher than the global average, and the incidence of hazardous work was 50 per cent higher.

Delegates at the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour last week have already adopted the Durban Call to Action  which outlines commitments in six different areas to end child labour, including strengthening the prevention and elimination of child labour, including its worst forms, and achieving universal access to social protection.

If most countries put proper social protection measures in place, child labour can decline by 15 million by the end of 2022, thus allowing a significant improvement in sustainable development goals (SDG) 8.7.

The ILO is the only tripartite United Nations agency devoted to promoting rights at work, encourage decent employment opportunities, enhance social protection and strengthen dialogue on work-related issues. More information about the ILO’s work in Myanmar can be found at https://www.ilo.org/yangon .

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Press Release

28 May 2022

Statement on access to learning for millions of children in Myanmar: Learning opportunities for children

The learning of almost 12 million children and young people in Myanmar has been disrupted by COVID-19 and the current humanitarian crisis. All children in Myanmar have the right to education, as enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Myanmar Child Rights Law, and the National Education Law. To realize this right, access to quality learning options needs to be rapidly scaled up. To facilitate access to learning, the safety of children, their parents, and educators must be protected. These include teachers, volunteer teachers, learning facilitators and education officials. Safe, unimpeded access for the delivery of all humanitarian aid, including the delivery of learning materials, needs to be guaranteed. Guided by humanitarian principles, UNICEF is working with its partners to provide supplementary learning opportunities for children by distributing reading books, including in ethnic languages; supplementary learning materials; and essential learning package kits, coupled with follow-up support to children and their families. UNICEF is engaging with relevant stakeholders to help ensure that the most vulnerable children can benefit from safe learning, wherever they are. UNICEF in Myanmar operates within the UN system to protect and promote the rights of children enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child. UNICEF abides by the humanitarian principles of humanity, impartiality, neutrality and independence, as well as do no harm and universality in all of its work.

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Press Release

24 May 2022

UNHCR shocked at Rohingya deaths in boat tragedy off Myanmar coast

While details remain unclear, initial reports suggest the boat left Sittwe in Rakhine State, Myanmar on 19 May. It encountered bad weather in waters off Ayeyarwady Region, causing it to capsize near the coast of Pathein township on Saturday, 21 May. At least 17 people are feared dead, with distressing reports of bodies found on the shore and the local communities burying the dead. “The latest tragedy shows once again the sense of desperation being felt by Rohingya in Myanmar and in the region,’’ said Indrika Ratwatte, UNHCR’s Director for Asia and the Pacific. “It is shocking to see increasing numbers of children, women and men embarking on these dangerous journeys and eventually losing their lives.” In Myanmar, UNHCR is urgently seeking more information on survivors that have arrived on shore in order to assess their situation. Over the past decade, thousands of Rohingya have left by sea from the refugee camps in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh and Rakhine State in Myanmar. “The root causes of these deadly journeys need to be addressed. Additionally, all countries in the region must come together to ensure the rescue and disembarkation of all those in distress at sea,” UNHCR’s Ratwatte added. UNHCR reiterates its warning that collective failure to act will continue to lead to tragic and fatal consequences. It is imperative to take action against criminals, smugglers and traffickers who prey on the most vulnerable. UNHCR and partners continue to actively engage refugee and host communities, raising awareness about the risks of falling victim to criminals responsible for these deadly journeys. Some 630 Rohingya have attempted sea journeys across the Bay of Bengal from January to May 2022. Women and children made up 60 per cent of people undertaking these perilous maritime crossings. The risk of abuse at the hands of smugglers and the peril of the sea journey itself are both exacerbated during prolonged journeys, when a safe harbour for disembarkation cannot be found.

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