Resettlement of Myanmar Refugees

Resettlement features prominently in UNHCR’s strategic plan for assisting Myanmar refugees in Thailand. Starting in 2005, UNHCR, in coordination with the Thai Government, NGOs, and the donor countries, launched an initiative to resettle Myanmar refugees who have lived in the camps for decades.

In particular, UNHCR has worked with the US Government to offer resettlement to all Myanmar refugees admitted into the camps who wish to resettle in America. Australia, Canada, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and Ireland have also accepted a significant number of Myanmar refugees, particularly individuals with urgent and pressing protection needs, such as women-at-risk and survivors of torture.

This year will mark the first time that some Myanmar refugees from Thailand will start new lives in Japan and the Czech Republic. In 2009, Japan and the Czech Republic became the latest States to become resettlement countries, Japan being the first country in Asia to do so.

Since 2005, UNHCR has referred 103,333 refugees of Myanmar nationality for resettlement consideration. The cases of nearly 66,000 refugees have been approved to date and over 58,000 refugees have departed to third countries of resettlement.