BACKGROUND AND ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In March 2007, the International Development Committee
announced an inquiry into DFID assistance to Burmese Internally
Displaced People (IDPs) and Refugees on the Thai-Burma border.
Some 35 stakeholders provided us with a substantial
volume of written evidence, representing a wide range of development
actors, including community-based organisations; non-governmental
organisations (NGOs); multilateral aid organisations; researchers;
and consultants. We are grateful to all those who submitted written
evidence, and to those who supplied us with background papers.
We would like to thank the individuals and organisations
who gave oral evidence during three evidence sessions at Westminster
during June 2007.
We are particularly grateful to those organisations
and individuals from developing countries, and especially Burma,
who took the time to engage with the inquiry, especially given
the sensitivity of much of the information about the current situation
in Burma. We greatly value their input.
We visited the Thai-Burma border in May 2007 to observe
the assistance being given to Burmese IDPs and refugees. We also
met stakeholders, including Burmese individuals and organisations,
in Chiang Mai and Bangkok in Thailand. We would like to thank
the staff of DFID and representatives from other organisations,
especially the Thailand-Burma Border Consortium, who made it such
a worthwhile and interesting visit (see the Annex to this Report
for the programme for the visit).
We would also like to thank those who took part in
informal discussions with the Committee, including Benedict Rogers
of Christian Solidarity Worldwide UK, Charles Petrie, UN Humanitarian
and Resident Coordinator, Burma and Richard Horsey, Interim International
Labour Organisation (ILO) Representative in Burma.
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