Please find attached the joint statement of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and
the Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand (HRDF) which was
issued this morning (Tuesday 1st June 2010) in the United Nations Human
Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. This statement, on the situation of
migrant workers in Thailand, was issued as part of the interactive
dialoguefollowing the report to the 14th Session of the Human Rights Council by
theUN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. A Thai translation
of this statement is also attached.
During 2009-2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of
Migrants issued 4 sets of urgent and confidential correspondence to the
Royal Thai Government on issues relating to migrant workers in Thailand,
including: (1) the deportation of Laos Hmong; (2) the migrant nationality
verification process; (3) treatment of Rohingya persons in Thailand; and
(4) systematic discrimination against migrant work accident victims. This
correspondence, also released to the UN Human Rights Council today, shows
the Thai government replied to the Special Rapporteur only on issues (1)
and (3).
This statement, as issued during the Council session, can also be viewed
on the UN Webcast at http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=0144
For more information on this statement, please contact:
o Mr. Sunai Phasuk (Human Rights Watch, Thailand): +66 816 323052 (English
and Thai)
o Mr. Somchai Homlaor (Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand):
+66 818 995476 (English and Thai)
o Mr. Phil Robertson (Human Rights Watch, New York): +1 917 378 4097
(English and Thai)
o Mr. Andy Hall (Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand): +66
846 119209 (English and Thai)
**HRDF’s Migrant Justice Programme**
migrantjustice@hrdfoundation.org
**Human Rights Watch**
Oral Statement
Item 3
Interactive Dialogue
Mr. President,
Human Rights Watch, with the support of the Human Rights and Development Foundation of Thailand, thank the Special Rapporteur on Migrants for his report on communications, which highlights the plight of migrants in Thailand. An estimated two to three million migrants work in Thailand. The majority originate from Burma, but significant numbers are also from Laos and Cambodia. These migrants work in the most dangerous and lowest paid jobs, contributing 6 to 7 percent of Thailand’s GDP and making up 5 to 10 percent of its workforce.
Main challenges faced by Thailand’s migrants result from the government’s emphasis on presumed nationality security concerns and economic imperatives over respect for human rights. Thailand continues to lack a long-term strategy for integrating migrants into its society or protecting their fundamental rights. This means migrant access to hygienic and sustainable housing, as encouraged in the Special Rapporteur’s report, remains a distant reality. Policies to promote migrant access to health care are more promising, but migrants continue to be regarded as second-class citizens and subject to systematic discrimination, and access to these services are also severely limited in practice.
In 2003, Thailand and Burma agreed to a process called “National Verification” through which Burmese migrants who had entered Thailand “illegally” would return to Burma to verify their nationality. Migrants would then be issued temporary passports enabling them to work legally in Thailand. The policy, however well-intentioned as a method to deal with irregular migration, was implemented in 2009 with no genuine consideration for human rights. Instead, threats of mass deportation have been highly visible, only registered migrants are eligible for the scheme, and unregulated brokers continue to charge exorbitant fees. Human Rights Watch commends the Special Rapporteur’s interventions on this issue and requests he continue to carefully monitor this policy’s implementation.
The past year has seen migrants in Thailand continue to face routine exploitation at work by employers and lack of effective access to labor rights protection mechanisms, dangerous working conditions, severe restrictions on freedom of movement and organizing, and regular victimization through systematic targeting for arbitrary arrest and extortion by police and other government officials. Allegations of national security concerns resulted in reversal of a promising policy by the Transport Department to allow migrants access to driving licenses (though now they lawfully can own vehicles).
Human Rights Watch expressed concerns at the Human Rights Council last year regarding treatment of migrants disabled as a result of work accidents. Despite the Special Rapporteur’s extensive correspondence with Thailand on this issue, and an ILO Committee of Experts report concluding Thailand is breaching ILO Convention No. 19, to which it is a party, migrants continue to be denied access to the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, as well as deprived work accident rehabilitation services and disability registration. The discriminatory treatment of migrants violates Thailand’s obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and contravenes the extensive pledges on non-discrimination and respect for migrant rights made in Thailand’s recent membership campaign for this Council.
Mr. President, we note finally that the Special Rapporteur has yet to receive a response to his request for an official visit to Thailand. Human Rights Watch strongly supports such a visit as a means to constructively support Thailand in its efforts to adhere to its international obligations to promote migrant rights and thereby honor its recent pledges to this Council.
**To: All Media/Editors and Colleagues**
Please find attached the joint statement of Human Rights Watch (HRW) and
the Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand (HRDF) which was
issued this morning (Tuesday 1st June 2010) in the United Nations Human
Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland. This statement, on the situation of
migrant workers in Thailand, was issued as part of the interactive
dialoguefollowing the report to the 14th Session of the Human Rights Council by
theUN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants. A Thai translation
of this statement is also attached.
During 2009-2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of
Migrants issued 4 sets of urgent and confidential correspondence to the
Royal Thai Government on issues relating to migrant workers in Thailand,
including: (1) the deportation of Laos Hmong; (2) the migrant nationality
verification process; (3) treatment of Rohingya persons in Thailand; and
(4) systematic discrimination against migrant work accident victims. This
correspondence, also released to the UN Human Rights Council today, shows
the Thai government replied to the Special Rapporteur only on issues (1)
and (3).
This statement, as issued during the Council session, can also be viewed
on the UN Webcast at http://www.un.org/webcast/unhrc/archive.asp?go=0144
For more information on this statement, please contact:
o Mr. Sunai Phasuk (Human Rights Watch, Thailand): +66 816 323052 (English
and Thai)
o Mr. Somchai Homlaor (Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand):
+66 818 995476 (English and Thai)
o Mr. Phil Robertson (Human Rights Watch, New York): +1 917 378 4097
(English and Thai)
o Mr. Andy Hall (Human Rights and Development Foundation, Thailand): +66
846 119209 (English and Thai)
**HRDF’s Migrant Justice Programme**
migrantjustice@hrdfoundation.org
**Human Rights Watch**
Oral Statement
Item 3
Interactive Dialogue
Mr. President,
Human Rights Watch, with the support of the Human Rights and Development Foundation of Thailand, thank the Special Rapporteur on Migrants for his report on communications, which highlights the plight of migrants in Thailand. An estimated two to three million migrants work in Thailand. The majority originate from Burma, but significant numbers are also from Laos and Cambodia. These migrants work in the most dangerous and lowest paid jobs, contributing 6 to 7 percent of Thailand’s GDP and making up 5 to 10 percent of its workforce.
Main challenges faced by Thailand’s migrants result from the government’s emphasis on presumed nationality security concerns and economic imperatives over respect for human rights. Thailand continues to lack a long-term strategy for integrating migrants into its society or protecting their fundamental rights. This means migrant access to hygienic and sustainable housing, as encouraged in the Special Rapporteur’s report, remains a distant reality. Policies to promote migrant access to health care are more promising, but migrants continue to be regarded as second-class citizens and subject to systematic discrimination, and access to these services are also severely limited in practice.
In 2003, Thailand and Burma agreed to a process called “National Verification” through which Burmese migrants who had entered Thailand “illegally” would return to Burma to verify their nationality. Migrants would then be issued temporary passports enabling them to work legally in Thailand. The policy, however well-intentioned as a method to deal with irregular migration, was implemented in 2009 with no genuine consideration for human rights. Instead, threats of mass deportation have been highly visible, only registered migrants are eligible for the scheme, and unregulated brokers continue to charge exorbitant fees. Human Rights Watch commends the Special Rapporteur’s interventions on this issue and requests he continue to carefully monitor this policy’s implementation.
The past year has seen migrants in Thailand continue to face routine exploitation at work by employers and lack of effective access to labor rights protection mechanisms, dangerous working conditions, severe restrictions on freedom of movement and organizing, and regular victimization through systematic targeting for arbitrary arrest and extortion by police and other government officials. Allegations of national security concerns resulted in reversal of a promising policy by the Transport Department to allow migrants access to driving licenses (though now they lawfully can own vehicles).
Human Rights Watch expressed concerns at the Human Rights Council last year regarding treatment of migrants disabled as a result of work accidents. Despite the Special Rapporteur’s extensive correspondence with Thailand on this issue, and an ILO Committee of Experts report concluding Thailand is breaching ILO Convention No. 19, to which it is a party, migrants continue to be denied access to the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, as well as deprived work accident rehabilitation services and disability registration. The discriminatory treatment of migrants violates Thailand’s obligations under the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and contravenes the extensive pledges on non-discrimination and respect for migrant rights made in Thailand’s recent membership campaign for this Council.
Mr. President, we note finally that the Special Rapporteur has yet to receive a response to his request for an official visit to Thailand. Human Rights Watch strongly supports such a visit as a means to constructively support Thailand in its efforts to adhere to its international obligations to promote migrant rights and thereby honor its recent pledges to this Council.
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