Working Through Ambiguity: International NGOs in Myanmar Soubhik Ronnie Saha The Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations Harvard University September 2011 Executive Summary Building the capacity of local civil society is an important goal for donors and INGOs, but a disenfranchised society makes this a difficult task. Myanmar faces significant humanitarian, development INGOs must find better ways of mitigating power and political challenges. Years of international sanctions asymmetries between themselves and local NGOs, have constrained levels of foreign aid. Still, some 65 and of investing in grassroots capacity building even international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) when funding cycles are short-term. work in Myanmar in a variety of sectors, including health, agriculture and disaster response. Some are Advocacy with the Government of Myanmar is possible INGOs with global operations, while others are and, in some cases, effective. The approach endorsed smaller, sector-specific organizations. Based largely by some INGOs and donors is “non-confrontational,” on interviews with personnel from INGOs and aiming to inform and promote dialogue with the donors present in the country, this paper explores the government, not to assess blame. operational modalities INGOs use and examines how INGOs consider the impact, ethics, effectiveness and Key operational impediments faced by INGOs include accountability of their programs in Myanmar. the lack of mobility of expatriate staff, fluctuating visa approvals, limited humanitarian space, uncertain In the past five years, political shifts in Myanmar have registration status, and short-term donor funding. created some openings for civil society efforts. The Underlying these impediments is a pervasive sense Saffron Revolution (2007) and the homegrown response of ambiguity. to Cyclone Nargis (2008), have demonstrated an emergent, but still weak, civil society. Since Cyclone Several forums exist for INGOs to collaborate, Nargis, the humanitarian space has opened up coordinate and pursue joint action. Perspectives on significantly. Despite questions about the legitimacy the role of the UN varied. Some interviewees viewed of the November 2010 elections and the continuing INGO-UN relations as trustful and functional; others influence of the military, changes to the constitution urged the UN to be more assertive with the Government and political structures may offer potential for of Myanmar and show more strategic leadership. incremental reform. There is some evidence that Western governments are responding to these changes. Safeguards used by donors and INGOs to protect For example, the U.S. and U.K. have recently increased humanitarian independence include internal and development funding for programs inside Myanmar. external audits, monitoring recipients of aid, and adherence to transparency and procurement protocols. INGOs typically operate in Myanmar under various Overall, INGO interviewees felt that such safeguards framework agreements with the government, such as help maintain humanitarian independence. Some Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) or Letters of believed that safeguards that limit interaction with Agreement with a relevant ministry. Interviewees government officials could be counterproductive for stressed that the Government of Myanmar is “not long-term development. monolithic” and that receptivity to development efforts is inversely related to proximity to the military junta. Operating in Myanmar confronts INGOs with several ethical issues, including how to work with the There is no “optimal operational modality” for working government without bolstering or appeasing it, in Myanmar. INGOs choose operational approaches how to provide impartial assistance in a state where (e.g. to registration, procurement, banking) appropriate humanitarian access is still highly controlled, and for their specific missions, portfolio of projects, and how to properly monitor aid given restrictions on the organizational principles. mobility of INGO (particularly expatriate) staff. 1 INGOs believe that aid can be effectively implemented and has a positive impact in Myanmar. Analysts have also noted additional benefits of the presence of INGOs, including helping to build local capacity, acting as potential witnesses whose very presence could deter human rights violations, and helping to open up space for dialogue with the government. Key impediments to aid effectiveness include a repressive government, limited donor funding, restricted humanitarian space, weak indigenous capacity, lack of reliable data, donor restrictions on aid, a polarized political context surrounding aid, and the government’s cumbersome procedures. In addition to significant political reform, interviewees suggested that aid effectiveness could be enhanced by increasing aid levels (with a focus on more long-term, development-focused funding), continuing dialogue with the government to improve humanitarian access and reduce onerous procedures, building local capacity, improving donor coordination, and generating better data. 2 Working Through Ambiguity: Research Methodology International NGOs in Myanmar1 Fifteen semi-structured interviews were conducted to explore the questions in the inquiry design (see Annex Myanmar faces significant humanitarian, development 1). Interviewees included personnel from INGOs, and political challenges. International sanctions local NGOs and bilateral donors based in Myanmar. intended to punish the country’s military junta for Additional interviews were conducted with staff of human rights violations have constrained levels of INGOs, scholars and analysts based in the U.S. foreign aid. Still, many international NGOs (INGOs) Interviewees received the inquiry design ahead of time, implement programs in Myanmar. This paper seeks to and interviews were conducted by phone between April describe the humanitarian and development landscape and June 2011. The paper draws from these interviews in Myanmar, explore the operational modalities INGOs while maintaining anonymity so as not to jeopardize use, and examine how INGOs think about the impact, ongoing work in Myanmar. ethics, effectiveness and accountability of their programs in Myanmar. It is being written at an At the outset, it is important to draw a distinction interesting time for three reasons: despite serious doubts between two sets of INGOs working in Myanmar. The as to whether the November 2010 elections (the first first group focuses on human rights and political reform; in more than a decade) were free and fair, recent these organizations tend to work “underground” in constitutional and political changes may present an Myanmar or from abroad. The second group might be opportunity for further reform; Western countries2 considered “traditional” humanitarian and development seem to be rethinking their policies toward Myanmar; organizations; these organizations work “above the and recent citizen action, including the homegrown radar” and provide services or technical assistance response to Cyclone Nargis, indicates an emergent in sectors such as agriculture, education, health or civil society in Myanmar. microfinance. Since the focus of this paper is on understanding how organizations work in the Myanmar The paper is divided into four parts: first, a description context, including how they navigate government of the research methodology; second, a discussion of restrictions and rules, most of those interviewed for this the humanitarian and development landscape; third, an project were from the latter group. The paper, therefore, exploration of questions pertaining to the operations, largely reflects their perspectives. effectiveness, and ethical considerations of INGOs working in Myanmar; and finally some conclusions and Another limitation of this research is that several key takeaways. interviewees were asked to both describe and evaluate the operations of their own organizations. The author sought to balance this out by garnering opinions of a 1 This paper was written by Soubhik Ronnie Saha, on behalf of the Humanitarian & Development NGOs domain of practice of the diverse set of actors, including INGO staff from various Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University. sectors, INGOs based in Western and Asian countries, This research was supported by the China Medical Board. The staff of bilateral donors, local NGOs, and the diaspora/ author thanks Peter Bell and Sherine Jayawickrama for their review, guidance and edits. exile community. In addition to interviews, the author 2 In this paper, the term “Western” is used as shorthand to refer consulted relevant academic and policy analytic to Western European, Nordic, Australian and U.S. donors and literature. governments. “Asian” refers to Northeast and Southeast Asian governments and donors. 3 Understanding the Context New Government Despite concerns regarding the legitimacy of the The Political Landscape November 2010 elections and the continuing influence In the past five years, political shifts in Myanmar have of the military4, some analysts believe that positive presented some openings for civil society efforts. changes have taken place and that they could lead to In September 2007, mass protests were initiated incremental reforms. These changes include: i) the following a sharp increase in fuel prices. First led by establishment of a bicameral national assembly; ii) pro-democracy groups and then by Buddhist monks, newer, younger and more diffuse leadership; iii)