Abstract
Do the UN’s humanitarian aid programmes in the Indo-Pacific region contribute to the protection of civilians in armed conflict? Are there particular types of humanitarian aid that can save more civilian lives than others? This chapter attempts to address these questions by analysing how the scale and variability of UN humanitarian projects for internally displaced persons (IDPs) influence the number of civilian casualties in Myanmar’s civil war. Our sample incorporates 59 “conflict-affected” townships in Kachin, Northern Shan and Rakhine states in 2013, 2014 and 2019. Using novel micro-level data from the Myanmar Information Management Unit (MIMU), we find that increased aid projects in Camp Coordination and Camp Management (CCCM), Shelter, Water/Sanitation/Hygiene (WASH) and Health sectors significantly reduce the number of civilian deaths at the township level. Other sectors (e.g. food, education and protection) did not contribute to civilian protection at least in the short term. These results are relevant to humanitarian aid policy in areas facing insurgencies. In such places, the international aid community may well want to expand projects in CCCM-Shelter-WASH clusters in a holistic and coordinated manner to provide a clean and safe habitat for displaced people.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Title of host publication | The United Nations, Indo-Pacific and Korean Peninsula |
| Subtitle of host publication | An Emerging Security Architecture |
| Publisher | Taylor and Francis |
| Pages | 136-148 |
| Number of pages | 13 |
| ISBN (Electronic) | 9781000928631 |
| ISBN (Print) | 9781032460680 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© 2024 selection and editorial matter, Shin-Wha Lee and Jagannath Panda; individual chapters, the contributors.
