The Committee for Internally Displaced Karen People (CIDKP) is a humanitarian organization that was established on February 5, 1998, to respond to the emergency needs of IDPs in remote areas in Southeast Burma. CIDKP provides relief and rehabilitation assistance, conducts mine risk education, and promotes peace and equality in the conflict-affected region of southeast Burma. This Committee recognizes and ensures everybody in the Karen (Kawthoolei) area, regardless of race, ethnicity, nationality, sex, religion, political affiliation and social status has the right to work for humanitarian assistance and community rehabilitation. After 1997, the population of Internally Displaced People in Kawthoolei increased. And, because the Burma Army targeted the Internally Displaced Karen People in the jungle, trying to find their hiding sites, and destroy their food, and plantation fields, they faced a shortage of food. Many IDPs lost their properties and lives.
Civilians in Burma are enduring an unprecedented humanitarian crisis that has disrupted the lives of millions. Daily, they confront the harsh realities of escalating conflict, which is driving people to flee their homes in record numbers in search of safety and necessities. Amidst the ongoing violence, civilians face severe protection risks, acute food shortages, the near-collapse of essential public services, and economic shocks that are causing inflation and loss of livelihoods. The significant increase in humanitarian needs since the military takeover in February 2021 is primarily due to intensifying armed conflict, natural disasters, and economic and political instability.