VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBK #7429 3490352
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 150352Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3457
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1751

UNCLAS BANGKOK 007429 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF
SUBJECT:  UNHCR REGIONAL RESETTLEMENT STRATEGIC PLANNING 
MEETING 
 
 
 ¶1. Terry Rusch, PRM Refugee Admissions Director, Mike 
Honnold, Bangkok Regional Refugee Coordinator and Jessica 
Adler, Deputy Regional Refugee Coordinator participated in 
the December 7 - 8 Regional Resettlement Strategic Planning 
Meeting organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for 
Refugees (UNHCR) in Bangkok. Staff of eleven East and South 
Asian UNHCR offices attended as did government 
representatives from eight resettlement countries and the 
International Organization for Migration (IOM). 
 
¶2. This was the fourth in a series of regional strategic 
planning meetings and was chaired by UNHCR,s Resettlement 
Service Director of the Division of International Protection 
in Geneva, Vincent Cochetel.  (Previous meetings were held in 
Accra, Nairobi, and Beirut.) The purpose of these sessions is 
to review the current resettlement need from the region, 
identify challenges to meeting the need and share best 
practices. 
 
3.The situation of the sizeable Burmese refugee population in 
Thailand, Malaysia and Bangladesh dominated the discussion. 
While the Royal Thai Government has recently agreed to allow 
third country resettlement processing of the 140,000 Burmese 
in camps along its border with Burma, significant staffing 
and logistical challenges persist.  The remote location of 
some of these camps complicates selection missions for 
smaller resettlement countries who do not maintain a 
permanent field processing infrastructure and are dependent 
on UNHCR for support. The sizeable number of children 
residing in the camps while their natural parents are either 
still in Burma or are working elsewhere in Thailand presents 
special considerations when their relatives or other 
custodial adults are under consideration for resettlement. 
The need for trained child welfare staff to conduct "Best 
Interests of the Child Determinations" is acute. The lack of 
common family names and knowledge of birthdates among the 
refugee population presents unique challenges to 
documentation and raises potential fraud concerns. 
 
¶4. The recent availability of "waivers" for the material 
support for terrorism provision in U.S. immigration law for 
the Karen and Chin was hailed as a most welcome development 
as considerable anxiety had developed in the camps as to what 
this ineligibility meant. The dire living conditions of the 
urban Chin refugees in Malaysia and the Rohingyas in 
Bangladesh argue for durable solutions to be found for these 
groups as well. Participants were also updated on the current 
political situation within and prospects for repatriation to 
Burma. 
 
¶5. The group also benefited from brief presentations on the 
refugee situation in other countries (Nepal, India, Sri 
Lanka, Hong Kong and Indonesia) in the region. 
 
¶6. Comment:  In recent years and at the urging of 
resettlement countries, the profile of third country 
resettlement has been raised considerably within UNHCR.  The 
organization has made significant progress in training 
protection and other staff to both recognize the need for and 
follow through on the use of resettlement as a viable 
protection tool and durable solution. The U.S. has 
contributed considerable financial and moral support to this 
effort and USG participants in the Bangkok meeting were 
pleased to see the positive and tangible results. 
ARVIZU