Burma: Refugees Fleeing to Yunnan

(Bangkok, June 26, 2012) – Several thousand ethnic Kachin refugees from Burma are isolated in Yunnan, China, where they are at risk of return to a conflict zone and lack needed humanitarian aid, Human Rights Watch said in a new report today. The Chinese government should immediately provide temporary protection and allow United Nations and humanitarian agencies unhindered access to Kachin refugees in Yunnan who have fled wartime abuses in Burma, Human Rights Watch said.
“The Chinese government has generally tolerated Kachin refugees staying in Yunnan, but now needs to meet its international legal obligations to ensure refugees are not returned and that their basic needs are met,” said Sophie Richardson, China director at Human Rights Watch. “China has no legitimate reason to push them back to Burma or to leave them without food and shelter.”