October 18: Two high-ranking U.N. officials have embarked on a four-day mission to Myanmar to discuss the repatriation of 130,000 refugees living in camps in neighboring Thailand.

Assistant High Commissioner Kamel Morjane and the head of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees’ Asia-Pacific bureau, Janet Lim, arrived in military-ruled country on Monday.

Morjane and Lim met with Myanmar’s Minister for Immigration and Population, Maj. Gen. Sein Htwa. Details of the meeting were not available.

They are also scheduled to see other top government officials before visiting the eastern border area with Thailand.

The U.N. officials will travel on Thursday to Thailand, where they are to meet senior government officials, diplomats, representatives of non-governmental organizations and UNHCR staff.

Earlier this year, the U.N. agency reached an agreement with Myanmar’s government on preliminary efforts to create conditions that could eventually lead to the voluntary return of the refugees in Thailand, many of whom fled fighting between Myanmar government troops and ethnic
minority guerrillas.

However, a UNHCR spokeswoman, Jennifer Pagonis, said Friday in Geneva that more work needs to be done.

“We want to stress that the current situation in the states along the Myanmar-Thailand border … is not conducive to refugee returns,” she said.

Pagonis said efforts were being made to take care of the refugees.

“UNHCR is in the initial stages of providing assistance in the area to improve basic health, education, community services and infrastructure in areas of potential refugee return,” said Pagonis.

While most groups have reached cease-fires with Myanmar’s military government, the Karen — the second biggest minority — continue an armed struggle.

Since 1994, UNHCR has been repatriating Muslim refugees who fled Myanmar’s western Rakhine state to Bangladesh to escape alleged military persecution.

According to a UNHCR report covering 2003, the organization has repatriated 236,293 of about 250,000 Muslim refugees who fled to Bangladesh.