EU HUMANITARIAN AID IN BURMA

UNCLAS RANGOON 000319 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EAP/MLS; PACOM FOR FPA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EAID PGOV PHUM PREF PREL BM NGO SUBJECT: EU HUMANITARIAN AID IN BURMA REF: A. RANGOON 272 ¶B. RANGOON 171 ¶C. 05 RANGOON 1423 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY: The European Union has established an EU Humanitarian Aid office in Rangoon to improve coordination of its 8 million euro aid projects in Burma. The new office supports humanitarian projects in health, water and sanitation, nutrition, and protection. The EU Humanitarian Aid office does not implement projects directly, but works through European INGOs and UN agencies. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (U) The European Union established an EU Humanitarian Aid (formerly called ECHO) office in Rangoon in late 2005 to improve coordination of its aid projects in Burma. In 2005 the EU increased its annual humanitarian assistance to Burma from 2 million to 8 million euros. Funding for 2006 remains at 8 million euros. ¶3. (SBU) EU Humanitarian Aid does not implement projects in Burma directly, but provides grants to nine Europe-based international NGOs that work in most of the country's ethnic states, the central dry zone, and communities near Rangoon. In addition to INGOs, the EU supports the work of UNHCR and ICRC in Burma. The EU supports multisectoral projects including health (malaria and primary health care); water and sanitation; supplemental feeding for children under five and mothers in Rakhine State; and humanitarian protection for children, refugees, and prisoners. ¶4. (SBU) Bernard Delpuech, head of the EU Humanitarian Aid office in Rangoon, recently told us the GOB's new restrictive operating guidelines for NGOs and UN agencies (ref B) was a growing concern, particularly rules on the employment of expatriate personnel. He fears these measures could cause serious delays in hiring consultants to work in Burma. ¶5. (SBU) The GOB's tighter restrictions have already caused one of the EU's INGO partners (Medicins Sans Frontieres - France) to cease its Burma activities and close its office in Rangoon since February (ref C). The ICRC's activities in Burma are also under pressure (ref A.) ICRC has already reduced its expatriate staff from 53 to around 45 and might make further cuts if it is unable to negotiate access to Burmese prisons soon. STOLTZ