Humanitarian Disarmament in Myanmar
The landmine problem in Myanmar is the result of decades of post-independence struggles for autonomy by ethnic minorities.
MBT : not a state party.
CCM : not a state party.
All parties to the conflict, including the Myanmar armed forces and various non-state actors, have used landmines. The extent of contamination is not fully known, nor the total number of casualties. However, the contamination is assumed to be heavy and the casualty numbers are likely to be in the thousands.
Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) began its Humanitarian Disarmament engagement in Myanmar in 2012.
Although there are no official accident statistics available in Myanmar, in 2017, recent casualties are being reported mainly in the northern part of the country in Kachin and Northern Shan connected to the ongoing conflict there. There are also some incidents in other parts of the country. Access to conduct demining is intrinsically linked to the ongoing peace process.
NPA is currently discussing the possibility of implementing a humanitarian demining pilot project that would demonstrate how humanitarian demining can be used as a peace-building tool.
Donors:
The Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Approximately 500,000 people are internally displaced due to conflict in Northeast and eastern Myanmar, with an additional 140,000 refugees in camps in Thailand.
An additional 600,000 people have recently been displaced across the border in Bangladesh due to the ongoing situation in Rakhine.
NPA has been working in Myanmar since 2004 with long term development activities.
Myanmar, according the Landmine Monitor , is also affected by explosive remnants of war (ERW) , including mortars, grenades, artillery and ordnance dating back to World War II.
Norwegian People's Aid works to strengthen civil society by promoting the development of local organizations and to support their efforts to improve living conditions in the communities where they are active.