The Social Development and Human Security Ministry has not sent 19 stateless children who were rescued in Lop Buri back to their origins in Myanmar, minister Varawut Silpa-archa said on Tuesday.
He was responding to public concerns that the children, who had been in the care of a foundation in Chiang Rai, could be in danger.
Thailand and Myanmar authorities had a written contract on the protection of children’s rights going back at least 30 years, Mr Varawut said.
Consequently, he said, any attempt to push the children back to their original country would be impossible, as the ministry had full responsibility to care for their well-being.
Nineteen stateless children, aged 5 to 17, were rescued on March 12 from Wat Sawang Ar-Rom in Baan Mi district of Lop Buri during a monkhood ordination programme.
The children were sent back to the Baan Kru Naam Foundation, which had been looking after them, and then to the Chiang Rai Children and Family Shelter. The attempt led to public concerns that the children would be returned to Myanmar, which they had fled earlier.
Mr Varawut said the ministry had rescued the children and sent them to the shelter in Chiang Rai after social development officers in Lop Buri expressed concern that they might have been exploited for the purposes of raising money.
The children, who were not under the ministry’s care, showed no signs of having been part of a trafficking scheme, he added.
Nutchanart Boonkhong, who set up the Baan Kru Naam Foundation, told Reuters the children had been spending their summer at the Lop Buri temple and were not abused.
Mr Varawut said the ministry would take care of the children’s security to the best of its abilities, adding that the private sector should “know themselves” about the power they have to take care of children.
Meanwhile, Tuenjai Deetes, the founder of the Hill Area and Community Development Foundation (HADF), questioned the government’s handling of stateless children who have immigrated to Thailand, noting that many do not feel secure in the country.
Suraphong Kongjuntuek, an expert on minorities and children with the National Human Rights Commission, said that allowing this group of children to study in Thailand was not illegal under the Children’s Protection Act, adding that the state had to protect the children as they are legally innocent.