While Thailand eagerly awaits the formation of a new government to usher in change, a crisis on its western borders is driving war refugees to seek safety on Thai soil. They, too, are in desperate need of guidance from the next government, humanitarian aid, and effective intervention to stop the bloodshed. Current approaches are just band-aid solutions.
Asean Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) last week urged the government to revise its refugee management policies to safeguard refugees' lives and human rights. The call, if not long overdue, is both legitimate and necessary.
Most of the 96,000 refugees living in Thailand are members of ethnic minorities like the Karen, Kayah, or Karenni who have fled conflict and persecution in Myanmar, says the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. They live in nine prison-like refugee camps located in four border provinces adjacent to Myanmar.
APHR chairwoman Mercy Barends urges the new administration to allow refugees to safely enter Thailand and ensure their access to humanitarian assistance. She also emphasised the importance of providing educational and economic opportunities for refugees in the camps.
Thailand's Education for All policy, endorsed by a 2005 cabinet resolution, guarantees access to basic education for all, including refugee children in camps. However, the Office of the Basic Education Commission refuses to comply, denying them the chance to enter the education system and acquire degrees that would enhance their future prospects.
Furthermore, if refugee children attempt to attend schools outside, they are often denied access, as shown by a recent case at Ban Nupo School near Nupo refugee camp in Tak province, which reportedly refused admission to refugee children due to discrimination. Thailand also prohibits refugees from working or pursuing any occupation. According to the Karen Peace Support Network, refugees receive meagre food rations worth approximately 300 baht per month.
Despite strict rules against working outside the camps, many refugees take the risk to survive. Working illegally exposes them to exploitation by corrupt officials and employers. All initiatives aimed at granting refugees freedom of movement and the right to work have failed, likely due to vested interests benefiting from the refugees' underground labour.
Thailand has consistently faced criticism for pushing refugees back to Myanmar. In April, immigration police arrested and handed over three anti-junta activists to the Border Guard Force, a group allied with the Myanmar military. Subsequently, media reports emerged of one person being shot dead, and two others going missing.
Returning refugees to life-threatening situations violates immigration laws by failing to ensure their safe return through legal channels. It also violates the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act, which forbids sending people to places where they may be subjected to forced disappearance, torture, or other cruel or inhumane treatment. In addition, it violates the principle of non-refoulement which prevents the forced return of refugees to dangerous circumstances.
The violence in Myanmar has led to further displacement. From late June to early July, the Myanmar military conducted airstrikes that destroyed several Kayah villages, forcing some 5,000 refugees to flee to Mae Hong Son province along the Thai border.
In addition to granting refugees freedom of movement, access to work, and education, the new administration must start confronting the Tatmadaw (the Myanmar military regime) by supporting peace initiatives in Myanmar and abandon its stance of understanding neighbour. Otherwise, the influx of refugees will continue, leaving Thailand to bear the consequences of war and violence in Myanmar.
Despite the large number of refugees in Thailand, the government refuses to recognise them as refugees, instead using the terms "displaced persons" or "asylum seekers". The government claims they cannot be called refugees because the country has not ratified the United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees.
It is illogical to claim that Thailand can use the term refugees only after ratifying the convention, or to argue that there are no refugees in Thailand because we do not refer to them as such.
It is imperative the new administration recognise the real situation of refugees in Thailand. Failure to do so will continue to undermine the rights and protections of refugees, perpetuating their vulnerability.