Myanmar or Burma is a country located in Southeast Asia, where it is surrounded by other countries including India, Bangladesh, China, Laos, and Thailand. Since the 1st millennium CE, the land that encompasses Burma today has served as a trade route between China and India, whose merchants utilized Burma’s coasts and river valleys as a gateway to mainland Southeast Asia. Tibeto-Burman speakers known as the Pyu created city-kingdoms in Myanmar between the 1st century BCE and the 9th century CE and ruled more than 18 kingdoms. By the mid-11th century, much of what is known today as Myanmar was united into one kingdom centered around the city of Pagan. After the rise and fall of many dynasties, British forces colonized Burma from 1885 to 1948 after taking over northern Myanmar’s capital, Mandalay, in the third Anglo-Burmese War. As a result of British colonization, Myanmar’s monarchy was eliminated and the British removed religious affairs from the government. After World War II ended, Burmese leaders attempted to rebel against British rule, which led to a peaceful transfer of power in 1947 in London and independence from Britain in 1948. It was ruled by the armed forces from 1962 until 2011, when a new government returned to civilian rule. Myanmar has suffered economic hardship and military control since gaining independence. Increased control by armed forces has led to more corruption in the country, including widespread human rights violations against the Rohingya population in Myanmar.

In terms of access to education, Myanmar faces a stark drop-off when it comes to urban vs. rural areas, as the number of children in primary school are the same, but the number of people who pursue higher education is especially low. Because of the limited access to higher education, the cost of attending these institutions has increased to compensate for lower attendance, which serves as a financial barrier to poorer residents who want to pursue higher education.

Approximately 87% of the poor population reside in rural areas, in which access to basic healthcare services and comprehensive healthcare is severely limited. Most rural areas lack access to clean drinking water, established sanitation facilities, and face great barriers in accessing electricity from the public grid due to financial constraints as well as logistical issues. The main source of income for the large majority of the population — 64% of all household incomes — is agricultural activities in which they work for a wage as opposed to being self-employed. However, lack of access to proper technology yields low productivity as well as low yields, making returns on their work and the wages received severely limited. Similarly, those in rural areas and those with an overall lower level of well-being are less likely to have access to financial services and institutions to protect their wealth, leaving them extremely vulnerable to financial volatility.

Refugees are largely agricultural workers with no formal education, who face significant barriers when displaced in terms of access to proper healthcare, financial security and building wealth, as well as job security. Women who are displaced are much less likely to be employed or receive a proper compensation for their wage. This leads to less participation of women in the labor force of the region that they are displaced into.

Myanmar is located in the western portion of Southeast Asia. It is bordered by five different countries: with Bangladesh to the west, India to the northwest, China to the northeast, and Laos and Thailand to the east. Myanmar is also bordered by the Indian Ocean to the south and southeast, with 1200 miles of continuous coastline. The whole country spans the latitudes from 10 degrees above the equator to the Tropic of Cancer, making it subject to tropical climates as well as monsoon seasons. With heavy rain and humidity in the summer to fall, and light rain and dry air in the winter to spring, weather is predictable and agriculture is a dependable part of the economy. Around 48% of land is forest and around 19% is used for agriculture. As such, important economic sectors in Myanmar are the fishing, forestry, and agricultural areas. The Rakhine Mountains create a rain shadow, preventing precipitation from reaching central Myanmar, creating a dry and arid region. The Irrawaddy River runs through the center of Myanmar and is Myanmar’s principal commercial waterway. As a result, most of the population is concentrated in the southeast portion of Myanmar, along the coast and along the Irrawaddy River.

Bangladesh: Provided a refugee camp on the coast of Bangladesh in the city of Cox’s Bazar. However, the conditions at the settlement are questionable as overcrowding has caused fatal landslides, flooding, and occasional rampaging by elephants. With the overcrowding of refugees, Bangladesh claimed their new relocation to the island of Bhasan Char. However, current residents are struggling with the same problems they have endured from their original point.

UK, US, EU: Hosted virtual conference with the UN refugee agency to target $1 billion funding for 2020 EU: Humanitarian assistance for refugees and vulnerable subcommunities (€51.5 million).

Ex. child protection, gender based violence, healthcare, nutrition, food assistance. Development support to focus on education, health, food security, informational needs (€39 million). Conflict prevention (€5.5 million)

Indonesia: Focused on negotiation, diplomacy with the Myanmar government to pursue regional peace and therefore aid for victims in the Rakhine state.

Ex. “Formula 4+1 proposal consists of (i) restoring stability and security; (ii) maximum restraint and non-violence; (iii) protection of all people residing in Rakhine State, regardless of ethnicity or religion; and (iv) the importance of immediately opening access to humanitarian assistance”

January 2020: International Court of Justice has ordered Myanmar to protect Rohingyas and report back on their procedures to do so. This was brought up by the nation of Gambia and has reached the UN’s highest court to condemn Myanmar for violating the Genocide Convention.

February 2021: Biden has threatened sanctions on Myanmar and a call for more international response from allies and the US itself.