Jonas Jensen-Dharmaratne

In #SoutheastAsia, counterterrorism agendas too often undercut grassroots #peacebuilding efforts and fail to address drivers of #politicalviolence. Great analysis by Marc Batac and Tuan Nyugen-M on #civilsociety, #counterterrorism, and #humanrights in the region from partners Initiatives for International Dialogue. https://lnkd.in/eVvmhr8g

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[NEW RESEARCH] Western governments must acknowledge #Myanmar’s fragmented state and work to support vulnerable communities liberated from the military junta’s rule, a new Lowy Institute Analysis argues. The report by Morten Pedersen shows Myanmar’s civil war is likely to continue for years, despite armed resistance groups winning important victories to reclaim parts of the country. Resistance groups are now providing governance and public services to vulnerable communities in liberated areas, but binding these regions together as a single democratic state will be difficult. Dr Pedersen argues Western countries need to give greater non-military support to the patchwork of political authorities and community organisations that are emerging and may eventually serve as the foundations for a reconstructed Myanmar. 👇 Read the full report at the Lowy Institute website. https://lnkd.in/gaveuETX

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In Mali, the Malian Red Cross, with the support of the Danish Red Cross, is implementing an early action programme since 2017. In 2020, with funding from Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark, the Malian Red Cross designed its first Early Action Protocol on river flooding. The main aim of the EAP was to save lives in the event of flooding. In Mali, river flooding is a life-threatening emergency, causing drowning, injury and even death. These floods also destroy community infrastructure, shelters, goods and livelihoods (plantations, livestock, etc.). If not anticipated, this situation leads to massive population displacements, creating humanitarian crises and situations of vulnerability for the people and communities affected. In 2022, the Malian Red Cross, with the support of the Danish Red Cross and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - IFRC, activated its first EAP in Mopti, locality of Sofara. By taking anticipatory measures such as building dikes, monitoring the level of the Niger river, setting up relocation sites, drawing up evacuation plans, raising community awareness, broadcasting radio messages, implementing sanitation measures and preventing water-borne diseases, the Malian Red Cross was able to save the lives and livelihoods of more than 3,000 people. To better understand the work of the Malian Red Cross in anticipatory actions related to river flooding in a context of security crisis, please see the publication below. Danish Red Cross International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies - IFRC Red Cross Red Crescent Climate Centre Anticipation Hub Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark

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The recent activation of an existing conscription law in Myanmar by the ruling military junta seeks to draft young people into serving in the military in a situation of worsening civil conflict in the country. This significant development was in response to increased gains by rebel forces and demonstrates the shaky position of the junta.   Read more in RSIS Commentary “Conscription in Myanmar: Is the Military Junta Losing Control?” by Research Fellow Sandeep Singh.

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🌐 𝗨𝗡𝗗𝗣 𝗦𝗽𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱𝘀 𝗧𝗿𝗮𝗻𝘀𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝘁𝗼 𝗖𝗼𝗺𝗯𝗮𝘁 𝗩𝗶𝗼𝗹𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗝𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗶𝗰𝗲 𝗦𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺 🌐 In a joint effort to address systemic violence, UNDP Thailand, in partnership with the Nitivajra Institute and Thailand Institute of Justice, supported by the U.S. Department of State, the Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs (INL), recently concluded the 𝘋𝘦𝘴𝘪𝘨𝘯 𝘚𝘺𝘴𝘵𝘦𝘮 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘌𝘯𝘥𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘝𝘪𝘰𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘤𝘦 workshop. As part of the #JINASEAN project, this initiative marks a significant step in our commitment to enhancing judicial excellence and protecting vulnerable groups. 🔍 𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗛𝗶𝗴𝗵𝗹𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁𝘀: ✅Introduction to violence issues within the justice system and exploration of Systems, Design, and Futures Thinking methodologies. ✅Application of Systems Thinking to analyze and understand violence dynamics. ✅Utilization of Design Thinking to develop user-centered solutions. 📈 𝗢𝘂𝘁𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗲𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗜𝗺𝗽𝗮𝗰𝘁: The workshop enabled participants from various sectors to develop innovative, actionable strategies to create a more transparent justice system. Proposals generated include enhancing private sector engagement and establishing comprehensive support systems for justice practitioners. 🌍 𝗟𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗔𝗵𝗲𝗮𝗱: UNDP is committed to continuing this momentum with additional training sessions planned for mid-2024. These sessions aim further to strengthen the problem-solving capabilities of justice system personnel. Follow us as we continue our journey towards more equitable justice systems. Read the article 🔗https://bit.ly/3Q7Pgzr #JusticeReform #UNDP #InnovationInLaw #EndViolence #JudicialIntegrity

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🚨 NEW on our website: The military's crackdown on the media in Myanmar has led to the arrest of more than 200 journalists, with more tortured or killed. With the formal press cornered, citizen journalists, often untrained, have emerged as pivotal figures in the ongoing struggle for truth. A new project by our Journalist Fellow Thu Thu Aung looks at the rise of these figures, who often operate under constant threat. Why this matters. The work of citizen journalists is often the only glimpse the outside world gets into Myanmar. Despite this critical role, they often work without adequate compensation, legal protection, or access to funding. Many rely on sporadic and insufficient payments that do not reflect the risks they undertake. To better understand their role, Thu Thu interviewed 35 citizen and traditional journalists, editors, media experts and newsroom leaders. A key quote: "A new generation of people committed to ensuring reporting of information has emerged under the exiled media landscape in Myanmar. These citizen journalists are a constituency characterised by bravery and duty, and they urgently need increased support in terms of capacity building and sustainable remuneration." https://lnkd.in/eGd3MkrZ

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Civilians must be protected. In this #ICRC blog, experts stress that #EWIPA's Declaration success depends on turning political will into concrete actions, such as better military training, and sharing best practices to uphold IHL, among others. 👉 Read more: https://lnkd.in/eYWCp2uk

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Last week we discussed the adaptation of the flexible GiveDirectly approach to #AnticipatoryAction flood-response programming in Bangladesh. The riverine #preparedness is of critical importance in the areas around Myanmar's three main rivers: Irrawaddy, Salween and Chindwin. The Emergency Preparedness team is looking at ways to scale up anticipatory and early action with the use of available technology, such as #geotargeting. 💡 #Innovation United Nations OCHA

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🚨 DYK: 95 percent of casualties from terrorism occur in countries already facing conflict. 🔍 #Terrorism and conflict are often intertwined, so examining the activity and presence of terrorist groups through a conflict analysis lens can effectively address them. 🇺🇳 However, current efforts at the #UN to prevent violence operate in separate spheres. This siloed approach makes #prevention efforts less effective and has widened the gap between human rights and development frameworks. 💡 Learn more in our 🆕 #PolicyBrief with Global Center on Cooperative Security and Institute for Security Studies ➕ https://lnkd.in/egAcTkRY #PactForTheFuture #SummitForTheFuture #Counterterrorism

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" In a resolution adopted without a vote, the #HumanRightsCouncil strongly condemned all violations and abuses of human rights in #Myanmar, particularly following the military coup in February 2021. It called upon Myanmar “to end immediately all violence and violations of international law in the country, to ensure full protection of the human rights and fundamental freedoms of all persons in Myanmar, including #Rohingya Muslims and other minorities”. It also called for addressing the root causes of the crisis and forging a viable, lasting and durable solution, as well as eliminating statelessness and institutionalized discrimination against members of ethnic and religious minorities, particularly the Rohingya. Despite provisional measures ordered by the International Court of Justice (ICJ) in January 2020, Rohingya in Myanmar, including women and children, continue to suffer from targeted killings and indiscriminate violence, including by airstrikes, shelling, burning, landmines and unexploded ordnance. The 47-member Human Rights Council (HRC)...also highlighted the need international, independent, fair and transparent investigations for allegations of sexual and gender-based violence and abuses against women and children and alleged war crimes. It reiterated the importance of holding accountable all those responsible for brutal acts and crimes against all persons to deliver justice to victims using all appropriate legal instruments and judicial mechanisms, including the ICJ and the International Criminal Court (ICC), as applicable. The Geneva-based Council further raised alarm over the cross-border spillover effect of the conflict in Myanmar, which has reportedly caused death and damage to property in Bangladesh and other bordering countries. It underscored the need for immediate cessation of fighting and hostilities and the targeting of civilians. The HRC called on Myanmar to combat incitement to hatred and hate speech against Rohingya and other minorities, online and offline, including by enacting necessary anti-hate speech and crime laws. It also expressesed grave concern at the forcible conscription of Rohingya Muslims by the Myanmar Armed Forces and other armed actors, and urges all warring parties to immediately put an end to such forcible conscription and allow already conscripted Rohingya to return home in safety and with dignity. It also urged the country to lift the shutdown of Internet and telecommunications services fully in all areas, including in Rakhine state, and to avoid further cutting of Internet and telecommunications access and stifling freedom of opinion and expression." Read the full resolution here: https://lnkd.in/gMRmV_7Z https://lnkd.in/gzxEWpFS

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War in Western #Myanmar: Avoiding a #Rakhine-#Rohingya Conflict. The Arakan Army has greatly expanded the territory it controls in Rakhine State, on #Myanmar’s border with #Bangladesh, seizing many areas inhabited by #Rohingya Muslims. With the regime keen to foment inter-communal strife, Rakhine and #Rohingya leaders should act swiftly to calm tensions. https://lnkd.in/gzsENCua

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Evidence from local actors in Myanmar demonstrates that, while established with good intentions, international agencies’ frameworks and requirements can have unintended negative consequences, causing harm for local systems and actors: they can impede funding flows for essential aid delivery; they are often unfeasible in complex and unstable contexts; they can undermine and divert essential resources from emergency responses; they can increase security risks for local aid workers and vulnerable communities; they can preclude local procurement and responses that strengthen local economies; they can erode trust in aid partnerships; and they can push local actors toward ‘unethical’ practices.

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Since its independence in 1948, Myanmar has suffered deep political contestation, internal conflict and instability. Over the years, there have been numerous clashes, subsequent ceasefires and attempts at the creation of autonomous areas for self-administration, yet the lack of consensus among the parties has resulted in continuing conflict. The military takeover on 1 February 2021 exacerbated existing conflict in Rakhine State and the south-east and led to new conflict in the north-west and north-east, regions that had not been subject to recent conflict. As of Feburary 2024, the United Nations reported that more than 2.6 million people within Myanmar had been internally displaced and needed humanitarian assistance to meet their basic needs. Persons with disabilities, in particular, were disproportionately impacted. According to the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, the concept of disability includes those with long term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments, which in interaction with various attitudinal and environmental barriers hinder their full participation in society on an equal basis with others. While persons with disabilities may face discrimination and marginalization, women and girls with disabilities may also face multiple forms of gender-based discrimination, which significantly increase their vulnerability and likelihood of exposure to violence, sexual abuse, neglect, maltreatment and exploitation. Forced displacement places additional barriers and challenges on persons with disabilities. Disrupted support 1. WHO Factsheet on Disability, 7 March 2023. networks, discrimination, limited resources and scant access to basic services, among others, all contribute to heightened vulnerability. Today, an estimated 1.3 billion people, or 16% of the world’s population, experience disability.1 Some of these are refugees from Myanmar, largely of Rohingya ethnicity, and who constitute one of the world’s largest displaced population groups. This factsheet examines available disability data, focusing on forcibly displaced populations from Myanmar, and sheds light on gender gaps in disability prevalence, related care provision and protection needs. Myanmar is second only to Afghanistan among countries in Asia and the Pacific countries in the number of refugees by country of origin, and it is sixth in the world. An estimated 1.3 million refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar live in Asia and the Pacific. Of these, 1.2 million are registered by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) alone, or jointly with national governments. Refugees from Myanmar reside predominantly in Bangladesh. Of the total 1.5 million refugees and asylum-seekers registered by UNHCR in Asia and the Pacific, only 2% (32,000 people) experience disabilities. Among registered Myanmar refugees and asylum seekers, 1% (13,941 people) have one or more disabilities recorded.

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🌡️ Migrant Workers Face Rising Heatwave Risks in Thailand . The extreme heatwave in Thailand highlights the urgent need for comprehensive labor protection laws to safeguard vulnerable migrant workers. Many face life-threatening conditions without adequate shelter or health support, exacerbating their risks during intense heat. . Policy makers must act to ensure safe working environments, integrating heat stress considerations into regulations to protect these essential yet overlooked workers. Let's prioritize health and productivity for all laborers. Read more: Migrant Workers Face Heatwave Risks https://lnkd.in/gtnHQqvW

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Latest IOM - UN Migration #Moldova - Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Report. 📊 "Republic of Moldova — Ukrainian Nationals Crossing Back to Ukraine (January - March 2024)” ✅ 87% of Ukrainian respondents planned to go for a short visit, 7% intended to stay in Ukraine (prospective returnees), while 6% were not sure about their intentions. ✅ The majority (69%) been residing in the Republic of Moldova, 9% in Romania, 5% in Germany. The remaining 17% stayed in other countries. ✅ 83% were going back to their Oblast of origin, while 17% were going back to a different Oblast. ✅ 43% had been displaced between January and June 2022. ✅ 67% crossed back to Ukraine twice or more since 2022. 10% crossed more than 10 times. ✅ 79% of prospective returnees and 91% of short-term visitors reported having received assistance since their displacement. ✅ Main priority needs that were cited by respondents include financial support (43%), medicine and health services (27%) and personal safety and security (22%). 📖 Read the Report https://lnkd.in/dR-5aFwh

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'The Palgrave Handbook of Political Norms in Southeast Asia', an #OA book sheds light on intersecting political and social transformations and their consequences from the vantage point of political norms.

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Humanitarian Response and Funding Snapshot for Ukraine  Important Update on Humanitarian Response in Ukraine 📢 The latest report on the humanitarian response and funding for Ukraine from January to May 2024 has been released, highlighting the critical support and resources provided to those affected by the ongoing crisis. The report covers key aspects such as the scale of humanitarian needs, the response efforts, and the financial contributions received to support these initiatives. Key Highlights: The report details the extensive humanitarian aid delivered to various regions of Ukraine, focusing on essential services like food security, health care, and shelter. Significant financial contributions from international donors and organizations have been instrumental in sustaining these efforts. The ongoing conflict continues to exacerbate the humanitarian situation, emphasizing the need for continued support and intervention. At AI PSY HELP, we are committed to contributing to these efforts by providing accessible and timely psychological support to those in need. Our AI-driven platform offers 24/7 mental health assistance, helping individuals cope with the stress and trauma caused by the crisis. 🔗 Read the full report on ReliefWeb: Ukraine Humanitarian Response and Funding Snapshot, January-May 2024 - https://lnkd.in/ewWUCijX Together, we can make a difference. Let's continue to support and stand with Ukraine. #Ukraine #HumanitarianAid #AIMentalHealth #Support #AIHelp #HumanitarianResponse #AIPSYHELP #PSYHELPUA #funding

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