Thailand: Ensure Refugee Rights and Protections Through Refugee Regulation
End detention, forcible returns, and establish durable solutions
Bangkok, June 18, 2018
On the occasion of the World Refugee Day on June 20, Asia Pacific Refugee Rights Network (APPRN), The Coalition for the
Rights of Refugees and Stateless Person (CRSP), and Fortify Rights urge the Government of Thailand to uphold the rights
of refugees in line with international standards. In support of this call, we have submitted to the government draft
regulation to recognize and protect refugees in Thailand.
On January 10, 2017, the Thai government adopted Cabinet Resolution 10/01, B.E. 2560, which created a “Committee for the
Management of Undocumented Migrants and Refugees” to develop policies concerning the screening and management of
undocumented migrants and refugees. This was a positive step towards providing domestic legal status and basic rights
for refugee and asylum seekers as well as ensuring the right to asylum as guaranteed by Article 14 of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights. However, there has been little to no progress or consultation with civil society, including
refugees, on implementing this resolution since the time of its enactment.
The proposed legal framework that we are submitting to the Government of Thailand seeks to provide a constructive
contribution towards implementing Cabinet Resolution 10/01 in order to address long-standing human rights concerns with
regard to Thailand’s treatment of displaced and migrant communities. More than 13 civil society organizations working
with refugee and migrant communities in Thailand, including Fortify Rights, APRRN, CRSP, developed this draft regulation
in consultation with and support from legal experts in refugee and Thai law. The draft regulation provides for:
• Access to asylum procedures for all individuals wishing to seek asylum in Thailand, regardless of the manner,
place, or date of entry;
• Procedural guarantees for applicants seeking asylum, such as access to information about the process, free and
competent legal counsel, and qualified and impartial interpreters.
• An internationally-recognized definition of refugee;
• A single, specialized body to examine and decide applications for asylum, ensuring decision-makers have
appropriate skills, knowledge, and training to assess applications, including competency in refugee law, working with
interpreters, conducting cross-cultural interviews, and dealing with trauma survivors;
• Decisions to be based on an individualized and thorough assessment of the particular circumstances of an
applicant’s asylum claim, including a personal interview that provides applicants with an opportunity to present
evidence on his/her asylum claim;
• Written decisions to be provided to applicants that articulate the basis for the decision in sufficient detail
in order to facilitate a meaningful appeal process if necessary;
• Confidentiality at all stages of the asylum procedure and in all aspects of an asylum claim, including the
submission of an application for asylum, the contents of an application, the identity of the applicant, allegations of
persecution, and other information that forms the basis of the asylum claim;
• The right to an independent appeal process to review questions of both fact and law, and the right to remain in
Thailand until there a final decision is made in the case in question; and
• Access to legal documentation, work permits, healthcare, educational opportunities, and other forms of
assistance for all asylum seekers and recognized refugees in Thailand.
Fortify Rights, APRRN, CRSP and other individuals and civil society organizations undertook the initiative to develop
the draft regulation recognizing Thailand’s recent positive commitments, including through Cabinet Resolution 10/01,
B.E. 2560, to protect refugees in Thailand. For example, in a speech at the Leaders’ Summit on the Global Refugee Crisis
on September 20, 2016 in New York, Prime Minister Prayut committed to end the detention of refugee children in Thailand
and to establish an effective refugee-screening mechanism. The Prime Minister also committed to ensure that refugee
returns to Myanmar would be voluntary and to increase refugees’ access to education, healthcare, and birth registration
in Thailand.
However, APPRN, CRSP, and Fortify Rights note with concern, the continuing lack of effective protection, both in law and
practice, for refugee communities in Thailand. In particular, we are concerned by the continued forced return of
refugees to countries where they may face persecution, the indefinite and arbitrary detention of refugees, and the lack
of access to livelihoods, labor protections, and education for refugees.
Refoulement or Forced Return
Thailand has long failed to respect the legally binding principle of non-refoulement, which is explicitly prescribed by Article 3 of the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment and is considered part of customary international law. Under this principle, states are
prohibited from returning an individual to a country where they may face torture or other serious human rights
violations.
Thai authorities have also conducted unofficial deportations by transporting individuals to the border and forcing them
into a neighboring country without appropriate regard to the risks of further human rights violations they may face.
Thailand has also implemented a “help-on” or “push back” policy with regard to possible refugees arriving by sea. Under
this policy, Thai authorities have intercepted and towed ill-equipped boats of people out to sea. These policies and
practices contravene the principle of non-refoulement and greatly endanger the lives of refugees.
Arbitrary and Indefinite Detention
Thai authorities continue to arbitrarily and, in some cases, indefinitely detain refugees, asylum-seekers, and other
migrants in immigration detention centers (IDCs) and government-run shelters. Under Thailand’s Immigration Act of 1979,
those who enter or stay in Thailand without permission, including refugees, are subject to arrest and detention.
Throughout the year, Thai authorities conducted raids to identify, arrest, detain, and deport migrants in violation of
Thailand’s immigration law. Refugees were among those arrested and detained during the year.
Although Thailand’s immigration detention facilities are only designed for stays of up to 15 days, the authorities have
detained some refugees for several years. Some IDCs, including the Suan Phlu IDC in Bangkok, are overcrowded with poor
sanitation and limited access to basic needs. Deaths in immigration detention have been reported during the year,
including a 16-year old Rohingya girl who died in Sadao IDC in November 2017 after spending more than three years in
IDCs and government-run shelters.
To date, more than 20 accompanied and un-accompanied children remain detained in IDCs in Thailand. Although the Thai
government in coordination with civil society organizations piloted a program in July 2017 to facilitate the release of
children from detention, only 11 children benefited from the program. The program also did not extend to the children’s
parents, who remain detained and separated from their children.
During the 2nd periodic report of Thailand’s compliance with its legal obligations under the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights, the U.N. Human Rights Committee called on Thailand to improve its detention facilities and
promote alternatives to detention. The Thai government failed to submit a progress report to the U.N. Human Rights
Committee ahead of the deadline on March 15, 2018. The U.N. Human Rights Committee requested a response from the
government by July 12, 2018.
Lack of Access to Livelihoods and Labor Protections
Thailand’s labor laws prohibit refugees without a valid visa and work permit from working legally in the country. As a
result, refugees often have no option but to engage in work that is unauthorized and frequently characterized as
dangerous and degrading. Refugees generally do not enjoy the protections stipulated by Thailand’s Labor Protection Act
and other domestic labor laws. Rather, refugees are often subjected to abusive, exploitative, and dangerous work
environments. This is contrary to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), to which
Thailand is a state party. Under Article 7 of the ICESCR, states are obliged to protect the rights of everyone to enjoy
just and favorable conditions of work.
Access to Education
Thailand’s domestic laws guarantees that all children have a right to quality and free “basic education provided by the
State for the duration of at least 12 years,” regardless of legal status. However, many refugee children are largely
unable to access Thai schools due to restrictions on movement, language barriers, and discriminatory treatment by school
administrators. Access to secondary and tertiary education is even more limited.
Many of these problems could be solved through the implementation of a legal framework that recognizes and protects
refugees. To further protect the human rights of refugees, survivors of human trafficking, and migrants, Fortify Rights,
APRRN, CRSP recommend that the Thai Government:
• Ensure asylum procedures are enshrined in law and effectively implemented.
• End the indefinite detention of refugees and survivors of human trafficking held in immigration detention
centers and government-run shelters.
• Ensure that refugees are detained only in exceptional circumstances, following an individualized assessment, and
after all less invasive alternatives to detention have been exhausted.
• Prevent the refoulement of individuals whose life or freedom would be threatened upon return to their home countries.
• Accede to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the Convention on the Protection of All Migrant
Workers and Members of Their Families, and other key human rights treaties.
• Undertake meaningful, formal consultations with civil society and with refugees living in Thailand to develop a
legal framework to recognize and protect refugees in Thailand.
Background
According to UNHCR, Thailand hosts approximately 97,000 refugees, a majority of whom are protracted refugees from
Myanmar living in temporary shelters along the Thailand-Myanmar border. Not included in this figure are 7,000 urban
refugees and asylum seekers from over 45 countries including Pakistan, Vietnam, Somalia, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, China,
and other countries, living in Bangkok and the surrounding provinces. There are also approximately 100 Rohingya refugees
and survivors of human trafficking detained in immigration detention facilities or in shelters run by the Ministry of
Social Development and Human Security.