Bangladesh, Burma and the Rohingya crisis 37 The arguments about disengagement with Burma are very clear. In a state that has seen this happen within its own borders, where it is quite clear that an element of the state, the military, has been responsible for the atrocities that we have seen, it is a very easy question to raise to say we should cut off the contact. If we do, those voices that want to be part of something different and that struggle to be heard, those who have sought change in Burma, and those who are working with the poorest in the most difficult of circumstances, where they need health, sanitation and education, would just have to find it elsewhere. If we were not there, who would be? Those are the reasons for engagement.107 79. There is a difference between ending support to the government and ending engagement with it, and ending support to the government does not meet not supporting reform minded people via other means which we discuss in the next section on civil society. 80. The UK is providing advice to government departments which although not classified as ‘direct aid to government’ it is British taxpayers’ money being used to engage with the Burmese government which DFID itself admits is significantly influenced by the military. However, as the Minister says to disengage is to lose any influence over the government. We ask DFID to re-evaluate its balance of spending between economic development, human development and on meeting urgent humanitarian needs. Support for civil society 81. DFID said: DFID Burma works closely with NGOs and civil society organisations to deliver objectives on civic education, inclusion and participation in public life. This support includes working innovatively to build coalitions between groups with little to no prior history of collaboration. It also promotes improved accountability on issues relevant to broader social and political change, not least through our continued support to electoral processes as well as budget monitoring and systems improvement. DFID also provides core funding to local civil society organisations to strengthen their internal management and governance and enable them more actively and effectively to advocate for sustainable, inclusive development in Burma.108 82. However, the evidence from the CSO says otherwise. Many civil society organisations consider that the move to work through INGO consortia with CSOs as implementing partners in the past years has been detrimental to their ability to tailor their programs to the fast-changing political landscape (see pages 27-28). 83. Burma Campaign UK has suggested DFID has been selective in its support of more compliant civil society groups rather than those stronger on human rights and government accountability. DFID must be more willing to support grassroots civil society organisations which document and advocate on human rights and are more critical of the military, government and international community. 107 108 Q244 Department for International Development (DBB016)