Category Archives: Migration Policy in Thailand

Illegal workers face major crackdown

Government panel to set up new anti-trafficking centres on three borders.

IN A BID to counter the problem of illegal migrants, foreign workers without permits face the prospect of mass arrests and large fines, Arak Prommanee, head of the Labour Ministry’s Employment Department, said yesterday.The Committee on Foreign Workers and Human Trafficking Resolution Policies, chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Prawit Wongsuwan, resolved yesterday to push for facilitation centres and guidelines for “alien” workers to cut the number of illegal workers without proper papers.

In the meeting yesterday at the Ministry of Labour, Prawit encouraged the panel and concerned agencies to dissolve ineffective registration processes and verify the legal status of smuggled workers. He said the issue of illegal foreign workers affected national security.

The committee was set up following NCPO order no 73/2014 with Prawit as a chair, the Armed Forces Supreme Commander Sommai Kaotira and the permanent secretary at the Ministry of Labour ML Puntrik Smiti as deputy chiefs. It aims to crack down on people trafficking and illegal foreign labour.

According to Arak, the committee agreed to have a subcommittee study six resolutions:

shortcuts in the registration process that workers can take without having to wait for a health certificate (which can be a slow process);

guidelines to track registered workers’ homes and jobs;

a new version of work permits that shows jobs and areas of residence;

the International Labour Organisation’s work on fishing convention no 188;

new remand centres in Tak, Sa Kaeo and Nong Khai provinces to prevent human trafficking;

and worker service centres which have non-governmental agencies (NGOs) and private sectors involvement.

The director-general said to crack down on illegal labour, the ministry needs to take aggressive action. Workers without work permits will be jailed and made to pay a large fine. He said the ministry had tried to intensify punishment of employers who hire illegal labourers as well.

He said the ministry had to further study the possibility of easing the regulation that prohibits foreign workers taking some jobs.

Currently, there are 39 “skilled” jobs such as cooks, hairdressers, sellers and service sector work that Cambodian, Myanmar and Lao workers cannot do, Arak said. But many illegal workers do these jobs, he said, a key reason for the large number of illegal workers.

However, he said, the ministry would not jump to the conclusion that there was demand for foreign workers in prohibited jobs, adding the regulation would be maintained for now.

Arak also said in response to scandals over illegal workers bribing police to work without papers, police were responsible for the issue and the ministry would not interfere.

The ministry could only ask for police and concerned parties to cooperate and crack down on non-registered workers. It was the police’s business to deal with people who had been arrested, he said.

By: Juthathip Lucksanawong, The Nation
Published on: 14 June 2016

Southern police on Songkran trafficking alert

The Immigration Police Bureau (IPB) has intensified protection of the southern provinces to prevent human and drug trafficking during the Songkran holiday this week.

Pol Maj Gen Nitipong Niemnoi, head of Immigration Police Division 6 which oversees the southern region, said Sunday he has instructed 11 immigration offices to impose stricter measures along the border checkpoints in 14 southern provinces to thwart any organised criminal activity during the upcoming long weekend.

He said authorities will remain vigilant against all forms of transnational crimes, particularly human and drug trafficking, illegal migration and the carrying of fake passports. They are worried that gangs will attempt to take advantage of this busy time to get up to mischief.

The provincial immigration offices are in Songkhla, Narathiwat, Pattani, Yala, Satun, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Surat Thani, Ranong, Krabi, Phangnga and Phuket.

Authorities will also tighten inspections at the Padang Besar border checkpoint in Songkhla’s Sadao district bordering Malaysia.

Pol Maj Gen Nitipong said transnational criminals could attempt to elude authorities amid the increase in both Thai and foreign travellers during the Songkran festival, which marks the country’s peak tourism season. Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha has asked the bureau to help travellers and ensure their safety.

Apart from land routes, checks will also be stepped up at sea and air checkpoints across the southern region, such as the piers in Ranong and Satun and Surat Thani and Krabi international airports.

Authorities will also focus on tourist destinations such as Phuket, Koh Samui and Koh Phangan in Surat Thani, Koh Lipe in Satun, Similan National Park in Phangnga and Koh Lanta in Krabi, Pol Maj Gen Nitipong added.

Meanwhile, at the border checkpoint in Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet district, immigration police worked with local police and the military to check the luggage of Cambodian migrant workers who have been returning to their home country to celebrate the Songkran festival. Police are also looking out for any smuggled items.

Pol Lt Col Benjapol Rodsawat, deputy chief of Sa Kaeo immigration police, said immigration authorities are stationed at the checkpoint to offer help to Cambodians going home this week.

Immigration police teams are also checking they hold valid passports and Thai work permits.

Legal action will be taken against undocumented migrant workers as well as those who do not have a passport, Pol Lt Col Benjapol added.

By: Bangkok Post

Published on: 11 April 2016

New Overstay Thailand Regulation, 2016

According to Ministry of Interior’s Order 1/2558 Regarding Classes of Aliens Ineligible for Admission to the Kingdom of Thailand

  1. When entering the Kingdom of Thailand, please be mindful of the last day on your stay permit and DO NOT stay longer than the permitted date.
  2. If you have already overstayed beyond the permitted date, you must leave the country before the order’s enforced date (20 March 2016).
  3. If you have already overstayed beyond the permitted date and do not leave the country before the order’s enforced date (20 March 2016), you will be banned from re-entering the Kingdom of Thailand as shown in the details below:

    Alien Surrendered to Authorities:

      1. An alien who overstays more than 90 days beyond his/her permitted date will be banned from re-entering the country for 1 year, starting from the departure date.
      2. An alien who overstays more than 1 year beyond his/her permitted date will be banned from re-entering the country for 3 years, starting from the departure date.
      3. An alien who overstays more than 3 years beyond his/her permitted date will be banned from re-entering the country for 5 years, starting from the departure date.
      4. An alien who overstays more than 5 years beyond his/her permitted date will be banned from re-entering the country for 10 years, starting from the departure date.

    Alien Being Arrested and Prosecuted:

      1. An alien who is caught overstaying less than 1 year beyond his/her permitted date will be banned from re-entering the country for 5 years, starting from the departure date.
      2. An alien who is caught overstaying more than 1 year beyond his/her permitted date will be banned from re-entering the country for 10 years, starting from the departure date.
  4. If you have already overstayed beyond your permitted date before the order’s enforced date (20 March 2016), you may surrender to the authorities at the Immigration Checkpoint (land border, seaport, and airport). You must pay a fine of 500/day, but not exceeding 20,000 baht before you are allowed to leave the Kingdom of Thailand.

Thai govt to crack down on illegal migrants starting next year

YANGON — Starting next year, the government of Thailand will not accept any illegal migrant workers, and Thai authorities will arrest them and send them back to their countries of origin, said Htin Aung, Myanmar’s Deputy Minister of Labour, Employment and Social Security.

The information came from a discussion on Myanmar migrant workers attended by Myanmar and Thai officials held at the Labour Training Office in Yankin Township yesterday.

The Thai government will only accept workers who are sent legally by agencies under the Memorandum of Understanding between the two governments.

“Thailand will have to undertake an operation in 2016. If the migrant workers will not show visas or supporting documents, they must be arrested and sent to their native countries,” said Htin Aung.

“We would like to urge migrants to return back home to secure the official documents, if they have no census or registration cards. Vice President Nyan Tun has already instructed the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Immigration Department to process official documents urgently. Moreover, workers need to secure a Pink Card-TR 38. In accordance with the existing law, the Thai government is now implementing a Government to Government (G to G) plan. Likewise, we plan to send many workers to Thailand under the G to G plan. In Thailand, the agriculture and construction industries need many workers,” said Htin Aung.

In Thailand, there are more than 600,000 Myanmar Pink Card holders. Nearly three million Myanmar workers work in Thailand without official documents.

Ordinary passports will be issued to qualified workers. Unqualified workers will get temporary passports that only identify holders as Myanmar citizens.

By: Eleven Myanmar

Published on: 24 March 2015

Thailand arrests, repatriates 100 workers

More than a hundred illegal Cambodian migrant workers smuggled into Thailand were arrested and sent back home yesterday, according to Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Thai media reported the Cambodians had been hiding in forest near the border town of Aranyaprathet waiting for traffickers to take them to Bangkok.

But the traffickers – who Thai police suggested had heard of an impending crackdown – never showed up, leaving police to arrest the migrants en masse.

Ministry spokesman Koy Kuong said the migrant workers, 86 men, 42 women, and a boy and a girl of unspecified age, were arrested yesterday morning and eventually transferred to Cambodian authorities, arriving back in the Kingdom in the afternoon.

“[They were arrested] only yesterday, [and stayed] not even a day in Thailand,” Kuong said.

The workers then separated and started making their way home. None were charged or punished in any way on arrival in Cambodia, Kuong said.

Thai media reported the migrants had paid 2,500 baht ($77) each to a Cambodian trafficker to take them to Bangkok.

Cambodians are allowed to work in Thailand by registering with a list of approved agencies that legally send them to the country, but some avoid the agencies due to high fees and a lack of transparency.

Last month, police arrested the owner of a phony work agency in Phnom Penh after workers protested they had arrived in Thailand with no jobs on location, despite paying a hefty $350 finder’s fee.

 

By: Charles Rollet, The Phnom Penh Post

Human Rights Watch Press Release – Thailand: Migrant Children Locked Up

Thailand holds thousands of migrant children in detention each year, causing them physical and emotional harm, Human Rights Watch said in a report released today. Child migrants and asylum seekers are unnecessarily held in squalid immigration facilities and police lock-ups due to their immigration status or that of their parents.

The 67-page report, “‘Two Years with No Moon’: Immigration Detention of Children in Thailand,” details how Thailand’s use of immigration detention violates children’s rights, risks their health and wellbeing, and imperils their development. The Thai government should stop detaining children on immigration grounds, Human Rights Watch said.

“Migrant children detained in Thailand are suffering needlessly in filthy, overcrowded cells without adequate nutrition, education, or exercise space,” said Alice Farmer, children’s rights researcher at Human Rights Watch and author of the report. “Detention lockup is no place for migrant children.”

Human Rights Watch interviewed 41 migrant children and 64 adults who had been detained, arrested, or otherwise affected by interactions with police and immigration officials. In addition, Human Rights Watch interviewed representatives of international and nongovernmental organizations, migrant community leaders, and lawyers.

Immigration detention practices in Thailand violate the rights of both adults and children, Human Rights Watch said. Migrants are often detained indefinitely, and they lack reliable mechanisms to appeal their deprivation of liberty. Indefinite detention without recourse to judicial review amounts to arbitrary detention, which is prohibited under international law.

Prolonged detention deprives children of the capacity to grow and thrive mentally and physically. Yanaal L., a migrant detained with his family in Bangkok’s immigration detention center for six months, told Human Rights Watch: “My [five-year-old] nephew asked, ‘How long will I stay?’ He asked, ‘Will I live the rest of my life here?’ I didn’t know what to say.”

The International Organization for Migration reports that there are approximately 375,000 migrant children in Thailand, including children of migrant workers from neighboring countries, and children who are refugees and seeking asylum. The largest group of child refugees living in Thailand are from Burma, many of whom fled with their families from Burmese army attacks in ethnic minority areas, and from sectarian violence against Rohingya Muslims in Arakan State. Other refugees are from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Somalia, Syria and elsewhere.

Migrants from the neighboring countries of Burma, Cambodia, and Laos tend to spend a few days or weeks in detention after they are arrested and then are taken to the border to be formally deported or otherwise released. However, refugee families from non-contiguous countries face the choice of remaining locked up indefinitely with their children, waiting for months or years for the slim chance of resettlement in a third country, or paying for their return to their own country, where they fear persecution. They are left to languish indefinitely in what effectively amounts to debtors’ prison.

Immigration detention conditions in Thailand imperil children’s physical health, Human Rights Watch found. The children rarely get the nutrition or exercise they need. Parents described having to pay exorbitant prices for supplemental food smuggled from the outside to try to provide for their children’s nutritional needs. Immigration detention also harms children’s mental health by exacerbating previous traumas and contributing to lasting depression and anxiety. By failing to provide adequate nutrition and opportunities for exercise and play, Thai immigration authorities are violating fundamental rights enumerated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Thailand has ratified.

Children in immigration detention in Thailand are routinely held with unrelated adults in violation of international law. They are regularly exposed to violence, and can get caught up in fights between detainees, use of force by guards, and sometime get physically hurt.

Severe overcrowding is a chronic problem in many of Thailand’s immigration detention centers. Children are crammed into packed cells, with poor ventilation and limited or no access to space for recreation. Human Rights Watch interviewed several children who described being confined in cells so crowded they had to sleep sitting up. Even where children have room to lie down, they routinely reported sleeping on tile or wood floors, without mattresses or blankets, surrounded by strange adults.

“The worst part was that you were trapped and stuck,” said Cindy Y., a migrant child held from ages 9 to 12. “I would look outside and see people walking around the neighborhood, and I would hope that would be me.”

None of the children Human Rights Watch interviewed received formal education while in detention, even those held for many months. By denying migrant or asylum-seeking children adequate education, Thai immigration authorities are depriving children of social and intellectual development. The Convention on the Rights of the Child says that all children have the right to education without discrimination on the basis of nationality or migrant status.

Under Thai law, all migrants with irregular immigration status, even children, can be arrested and detained. In 2013, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, the body of independent experts charged with interpreting the Convention on the Rights of the Child, has directed governments to “expeditiously and completely cease the detention of children on the basis of their immigration status,” asserting that such detention is never in the child’s best interest.

“Amid the current human rights crisis in Thailand, it is easy to ignore the plight of migrant children,” Farmer said. “But Thai authorities need to address this problem because it won’t just disappear on its own.”

Besides ending the detention of migrant children, Thailand should immediately adopt alternatives to detention that are being used effectively in other countries, such as open reception centers and conditional release programs. Such programs are cheaper than detention, respect children’s rights, and protect their future, Human Rights Watch said.

In an August 14, 2014 response to a letter from Human Rights Watch sending out findings and recommendations, the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs denied that the detention of migrants was carried out in an arbitrary manner, and stated: “Detention of some small number of migrant children in Thailand is not a result of the Government’s policies but rather the preference of their migrant parents themselves (family unity) and the logistical difficulties.” The government’s seven-page response is included in the report’s annex.

Thailand faces numerous migration challenges posed by its location and relative prosperity, and is entitled to control its borders, Human Rights Watch said. But it should do so in a way that upholds basic human rights, including the right to freedom from arbitrary detention, the right to family unity, and international minimum standards for conditions of detention.

“Thailand’s immigration detention policies make a mockery of government claims to protect children precisely because they put children at unnecessary risk,” Farmer said. “The sad thing is it’s been known for years that these poor detention conditions fall far short of international standards but the Thai government has done little or nothing to address them.”

FULL REPORT HERE

 

ห้ามเผยแพร่และจัดพิมพ์จนกว่า:

เวลา 10.31 น. วันอังคารที่ 2 กันยายน 2557 ตามเวลากรุงเทพมหานคร

เวลา 03.31 น. วันที่ 2 กันยายน 2557 ตามเวลามาตรฐานกรีนิช (GMT)

ประเทศไทย : เด็กย้ายถิ่นถูกกักขัง

เด็กนับพันถูกกักขังในสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวของงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง

(กรุงเทพ 2 กันยายน 2557) ประเทศไทยกักขังเด็กย้ายถิ่นจานวนนับพันในแต่ละปี ซึ่งก่อให้เกิดอันตรายต่อ

ทั้งร่างกายและจิตใจของเด็ก ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์แถลงในรายงานที่เผยแพร่ในวันนี้ เด็กย้ายถิ่นและเด็กผู้

แสวงหาที่พักพิงถูกกักตัวไว้ในสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวของงานตรวจคนเข้าเมืองและห้องขังของตารวจที่

สกปรกซอมซ่อโดยไม่มีความจาเป็น สาเหตุมาจากสถานภาพการเข้าเมืองของเด็กหรือของบิดามารดา

รายงานจานวน 67 หน้า เรื่อง “สองปีที่ไร้จันทร์ การกักตัวเด็กในสถานกักตัวของงานตรวจคนเข้าเมืองใน

ประเทศไทย” นาเสนอรายละเอียดว่า การกักตัวเด็กในสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวของประเทศไทยเป็นการ

ละเมิดสิทธิเด็ก เกิดความเสี่ยงต่อทั้งสุขภาพและสุขภาวะและเป็นอันตรายต่อการพัฒนาการของเด็กอย่างไร

รัฐบาลไทยควรยุติการกักขังเด็กโดยใช้เหตุผลด้านการเข้าเมือง ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์กล่าว

“เด็กย้ายถิ่นที่ถูกกักขังในประเทศไทยต้องได้รับความทุกข์ยากอย่างไม่สมควรเกิดขึ้น อยู่ในที่กักขังที่แออัด

และแสนสกปรก ขาดอาหารตามหลักโภชนาการ การศึกษา และสถานที่เพื่อการออกกาลังกายที่พอเพียง”

อลิซ ฟาร์เมอร์ นักวิจัยด้านสิทธิเด็กของ ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์และผู้เขียนรายงานฉบับนี้กล่าว “สถานที่กักกัน

ตัวไม่ใช่ที่สาหรับเด็กย้ายถิ่น”

ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์ สัมภาษณ์เด็กย้ายถิ่น 41 คน และผู้ใหญ่ 64 คน ซึ่งถูกกักขัง จับกุม หรือได้รับผลกระทบ

จากการมีปฏิกิริยาต่อกันกับตารวจหรือเจ้าหน้าที่ตรวจคนเข้าเมือง นอกจากนี้ ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์ได้สัมภาษณ์

ผู้แทนองค์กรระหว่างประเทศ องค์กรพัฒนาเอกชน ผู้นาชุมชนผู้ย้ายถิ่นฐานและนักกฎหมายด้วย

การดาเนินงานการกักตัวคนเข้าเมืองในประเทศไทยเป็นการกระทาที่ละเมิดสิทธิทั้งของผู้ใหญ่และเด็ก

ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์กล่าว ผู้ย้ายถิ่นฐานมักถูกกักขังอย่างไม่มีกาหนด และขาดกลไกที่พึ่งพาได้เพื่ออุทธรณ์ต่อ

การถูกลิดรอนเสรีภาพ การกักขังอย่างไม่มีกาหนดและโดยปราศจากช่องทางในการร้องขอให้มีการ

พิจารณาตามกระบวนการยุติธรรม คือการกักขังตามอาเภอใจซึ่งขัดต่อกฎหมายระหว่างประเทศ

การกักขังอันยาวนานเป็นการบั่นทอนศักยภาพการเจริญเติบโตและพัฒนาการของเด็กทั้งทางร่างกายและ

จิตใจ ยานาอัล แอล. ผู้ย้ายถิ่นที่ถูกกักขังร่วมกับครอบครัวนานหกเดือน ในสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าว

สานักงานตรวจคนเข้าเมือง กรุงเทพมหานครบอกกับฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์ว่า “หลานชาย (วัยห้าปี) ถามผมว่า

‘หนูต้องอยู่ในนี้นานแค่ไหน ต้องอยู่จนตายไหม’ ผมไม่รู้จะพูดอะไร”

องค์การระหว่างประเทศเพื่อการโยกย้ายถิ่นฐาน (IOM) รายงานว่า มีเด็กย้ายถิ่นราว 375,000 คนในประเทศ

ไทย เป็นเด็กที่เป็นบุตรของแรงงานข้ามชาติจากประเทศเพื่อนบ้าน เด็กที่เป็นผู้ลี้ภัยและผู้แสวงหาที่พักพิง

ในกลุ่มเด็กลี้ภัยที่อาศัยอยู่ในประเทศไทยนั้น มีเด็กจากพม่ามากที่สุดซึ่งมีจานวนมากลี้ภัยมาพร้อมกับ

ครอบครัว เพื่อหลบหนีจากการโจมตีของกองทัพพม่าในดินแดนกลุ่มชนกลุ่มน้อยทางชาติพันธุ์ และจาก

การกระทารุนแรงต่อชาวมุสลิมโรฮิงญาที่มีผลมาจากความเชื่อทางลัทธิศาสนาในรัฐอะรากัน เด็กลี้ภัยอื่นๆ

มาจากประเทศปากีสถาน ศรีลังกา โซมาเลีย ซีเรียและที่อื่นๆ

ผู้ย้ายถิ่นจากประเทศเพื่อนบ้าน เช่นจากพม่า กัมพูชา และลาว มีแนวโน้มที่จะถูกควบคุมตัวไว้ในสถานกัก

ตัวเพียงไม่กี่วันหรือกี่สัปดาห์หลังจากที่ถูกจับกุม หลังจากนั้นจะถูกนาตัวไปที่ชายแดนเพื่อส่งกลับอย่างเป็น

ทางการหรือปล่อยตัว แต่อย่างไรก็ตาม สาหรับครอบครัวผู้ลี้ภัยจากประเทศที่ไม่มีพรมแดนติดกับประเทศ

ไทย ต้องเผชิญกับทางเลือกระหว่างการถูกกักขังกับลูกอย่างไม่มีกาหนด เพื่อรอคอยเป็นเดือนเป็นปีเพื่อ

โอกาสอันน้อยนิดในการไปตั้งถิ่นฐานในประเทศที่สาม หรือจ่ายค่าเดินทางกลับประเทศตนพร้อมด้วยความ

หวาดกลัวต่อการถูกดาเนินคดี คนเหล่านั้นถูกกักขังอย่างไม่มีกาหนดในสถานที่ที่เห็นได้ชัดว่ากลายเป็นที่คุม

ขังลูกหนี้

ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์พบว่า สภาพสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวในประเทศไทย เป็นผลร้ายต่อสุขภาพกายของเด็ก

เด็กแทบจะไม่ได้รับอาหารตามหลักโภชนาการและการออกกาลังกายที่จาเป็นสาหรับเด็ก พ่อแม่ของเด็กเล่า

ว่าจาเป็นต้องจ่ายค่าอาหารเสริมที่มีการลักลอบนาเข้ามาด้วยราคาสูงมากเพื่อให้ลูกได้รับอาหารตามความ

จาเป็นทางด้านโภชนาการ ยิ่งกว่านั้นสภาพในสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวยังเป็นอันตรายต่อสุขภาพจิตของเด็ก

โดยเป็นการตอกย้าความบอบช้าทางจิตใจที่เคยเกิดขึ้นก่อนหน้านี้และทาให้เกิดความหดหู่และความวิตก

กังวลตลอดไป การที่เจ้าหน้าที่ตรวจคนเข้าเมืองของไทยไม่สามารถจัดหาอาหารตามหลักโภชนาการและ

โอกาสในการออกกาลังกายและเล่นแก่เด็กได้อย่างพอเพียง ถือว่าเป็นการละเมิดสิทธิขั้นพื้นฐานของเด็ก

ตามที่ระบุไว้ในอนุสัญญาว่าด้วยสิทธิเด็กซึ่งประเทศไทยได้ให้สัตยาบัน

เด็กที่ถูกกักตัวอยู่ในสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวของประเทศไทย ต้องอยู่รวมกับผู้ใหญ่ที่ไม่ใช่เครือญาติอย่างเป็น

เรื่องปกติ ซึ่งถือว่าเป็นการละเมิดกฎหมายระหว่างประเทศ เด็กต้องเผชิญกับความรุนแรงเป็นประจาและไป

เกี่ยวข้องกับการต่อสู้กันระหว่างผู้ถูกกักขัง ถูกผู้คุมใช้กาลังบังคับและบางครั้งได้รับบาดเจ็บทางร่างกาย

ความแออัดยัดเยียดอย่างรุนแรงเป็นปัญหาเรื้อรังของสถานกักตัวคนต่างด้าวของงานตรวจคนเข้าเมืองใน

ประเทศไทย เด็กถูกจับอัดเข้าไปอยู่ในที่คับแคบ มีการระบายอากาศไม่เพียงพอ และมีพื้นที่เพื่อการ

สันทนาการเพียงจากัดหรือไม่มีเลย เด็กหลายคนที่ให้สัมภาษณ์กับฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์เล่าว่า เขาต้องอยู่ใน

ห้องกักขังที่แออัดยัดเยียดมากจนต้องนั่งหลับ หรือแม้จะมีที่ให้นอนลงได้บ้าง เด็กบอกประจาว่าก็ต้องนอน

บนพื้นกระเบื้องหรือพื้นไม้โดยไม่มีที่นอนหรือผ้าห่ม ท่ามกลางผู้ใหญ่แปลกหน้า

“ที่ร้ายที่สุดคือ หนูถูกดักจับและถูกกักอยู่แบบนั้น” ซินดี วาย. เด็กย้ายถิ่นผู้ถูกกักตัวอยู่ตั้งแต่อายุ 9 ปี จนถึง

12 ปี เล่า “หนูได้แต่มองดูคนเดินไปเดินมาอยู่บริเวณใกล้เคียงข้างนอกและหนูหวังอยากให้ตัวเองได้ออกไป

เดินอย่างนั้นบ้าง”

ไม่มีเด็กที่ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์สัมภาษณ์ได้รับการศึกษาในระบบขณะที่ถูกกักขัง แม้กระทั่งเด็กที่ต้องถูกกัก

เป็นเวลาหลายเดือน การที่เจ้าหน้าที่ตรวจคนเข้าเมืองของไทยไม่จัดการให้เด็กย้ายถิ่นหรือเด็กผู้แสวงที่พัก

พิงได้รับการศึกษาอย่างพอเพียง ถือได้ว่าเป็นการทาให้เด็กขาดโอกาสในการพัฒนาการทางสังคมและ

สติปัญญา อนุสัญญาว่าด้วยสิทธิเด็กได้ระบุว่าเด็กทุกคนมีสิทธิที่จะได้รับการศึกษาโดยปราศจากการเลือก

ปฏิบัติบนพื้นฐานของสัญชาติหรือสถานภาพการเข้าเมือง

กฏหมายไทยอนุญาตให้มีการจับกุมและกักขังบุคคลต่างด้าวผู้เข้าเมืองมาด้วยสถานะไม่ปกติทุกคน รวมทั้ง

เด็ก ในปี พ.ศ. 2556 คณะกรรมการสิทธิเด็กแห่งสหประชาชาติ ซึ่งเป็นคณะกรรมการที่ประกอบด้วย

ผู้เชี่ยวชาญอิสระ มีหน้าที่ตีความอนุสัญญาว่าด้วยสิทธิเด็ก มีคาสั่งให้รัฐบาลของรัฐภาคี “ยุติการกักขังเด็ก

บนพื้นฐานของสถานภาพการเข้าเมืองของเด็กโดยสิ้นเชิงและโดยทันที” พร้อมยืนยันว่าการนาตัวเด็กไป

กักขังไว้เช่นนั้นไม่เคยปรากฎว่าเป็นการกระทาที่เป็นประโยชน์สูงสุดต่อเด็กแต่อย่างใด

“ท่ามกลางวิกฤติเรื่องสิทธิมนุษยชนในปัจจุบันในประเทศไทย มันเป็นเรื่องง่ายที่จะมองข้ามชะตากรรมของ

เด็กย้ายถิ่น” อลิซ ฟาร์เมอร์กล่าว “แต่เจ้าหน้าที่ไทยจาเป็นต้องแก้ปัญหานี้ เพราะไม่มีทางที่ปัญหาจะหมดไป

เอง”

นอกจากจะต้องยุติการกักขังเด็กย้ายถิ่นแล้ว ประเทศไทยควรใช้วิธีทางเลือกอื่นแทนการกักขังโดยทันที ซึ่ง

มีการใช้ได้อย่างมีประสิทธิผลในประเทศอื่นๆ เช่นศูนย์แรกรับแบบเปิดและโครงการปล่อยตัวโดยมีเงื่อนไข

ซึ่งโครงการเหล่านั้นมีค่าใช้จ่ายน้อยกว่าการกักขัง เคารพต่อสิทธิเด็กและคุ้มครองอนาคตของเด็กด้วย

ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์แถลง

เมื่อวันที่ 14 สิงหาคม 2557 กระทรวงการต่างประเทศได้ตอบจดหมายจากฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์ที่ส่งไปพร้อม

กับข้อค้นพบและข้อเสนอแนะ โดยปฏิเสธว่าการกักตัวผู้ย้ายถิ่นมิได้เป็นกระทาอย่างตามอาเภอใจ พร้อมทั้ง

แถลงว่า “การกักขังเด็กย้ายถิ่นจานวนน้อยในประเทศไทย ไม่ใช่เป็นผลมาจากนโยบายของรัฐบาล หากแต่

เป็นความต้องการของผู้เป็นบิดามารดาของเด็ก (การอยู่รวมกันเป็นครอบครัว) และความยากลาบากในการ

ดาเนินงานจัดการ” คาชี้แจงจานวนเจ็ดหน้าจากรัฐบาล รวมอยู่ในภาคผนวกของรายงานฉบับนี้

ประเทศไทยเผชิญปัญหาและความท้าทายเรื่องประเด็นการโยกย้ายถิ่นฐานนานาประการ เนื่องมาจาก

ตาแหน่งที่ตั้งและความอุดมสมบูรณ์พอสมควรของประเทศ ประเทศไทยมีสิทธิที่จะควบคุมพรมแดนของ

ประเทศ ฮิวแมนไรท์วอทช์แถลง แต่ประเทศไทยควรดาเนินการด้วยความเคารพต่อสิทธิมนุษยชนขั้น

พื้นฐานรวมทั้งอิสรภาพจากการถูกกักขังตามอาเภอใจ สิทธิในการอยู่รวมกันเป็นครอบครัว ตลอดจนสิทธิ

ขั้นต่าตามมาตรฐานสากลว่าด้วยสภาพการกักขัง

“นโยบายการกักตัวคนเข้าเมืองของประเทศไทย ทาให้คากล่าวอ้างเรื่องการให้ความคุ้มครองเด็กของรัฐบาล

หมดความน่าเชื่อถืออย่างแท้จริง เนื่องจากรัฐบาลทาให้เด็กตกอยู่ในภาวะเสี่ยงโดยไม่สมควร” ฟาร์เมอร์

กล่าว “เรื่องที่น่าเศร้าคือเป็นที่รู้กันมานานนับปีว่าสถานที่กักขังเหล่านี้มีสภาพย่าแย่และต่ากว่า

มาตรฐานสากลอย่างมาก แต่รัฐบาลไทยมีการดาเนินงานเพียงเล็กน้อยหรือไม่มีเลยเพื่อแก้ปัญหาเหล่านี้”

บทสรุปและข้อเสนอแนะ [ภาษาไทย]

 

By: Human Rights Watch

 

Facts and Figures of Raids, Deportation and Returns of Migrants in Thailand – Chronology of events since the military coup on 22 May 2014

 

Tens of thousands of Cambodian migrant workers in Thailand have returned to Cambodia in June due to fears of a military crackdown on migrant workers after the Thai military took control of the country in a coup on 22 May.

There have been no similar reports of Burmese migrants returning to Burma, however, the military has also been raiding Burmese neighbourhoods across the country, with media reports of at least 1,000 arrests and there is little indication that the military is taking significant measures to stop the flow of migrant workers out of Thailand.

May 2014

22 May: The Thai military announces it is taking control of the country in a coup d’état. The military government is called the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

26 May: The Thai military government was formally endorsed by the King of Thailand and has threatened to use force if protests continue.

30 May: General Chan-Ocha states in a televised address that he intends to move forward with Special Border Economic Zones (SBEZ) to prevent ‘illegal migrants from crossing into inner provinces of Thailand, thereby giving more work opportunities to Thai nationals’.

June 2014

2 JuneThe Mayor of Mae Sot met with the head of the 4th Infantry Regiment Task Force to support and push forward the plan to establish the SBEZ and special administrative area in Mae Sot.

3 June: Thai authorities arrest and deport 163 undocumented Burmese migrants in a raid in Mae Sot at Ban Sung Kwe. 49 men, 59 women and 55 children are loaded into trucks and transported across the border to Myawaddy in Karen State. Thai security forces shut down illegal crossing points on the Burmese border, stranding many who cross back and forth for work in Thailand.

5 June: 136 Burmese migrants are deported from Ranong province. Ranong provincial governor Cherdsak Jampathes stated that they had “recently been smuggled into Thailand on foot”.

6 June: Thai police arrest a Burmese man at Por Pichai Fishing Quay in Phuket on charges of human trafficking after receiving a complaints from the Burmese Labor Development Office in Thailand.

Official deportation statistics for 6 June:  4 trucks with 205 deportees (107 men, 85 women and 13 children) (Poipet Transit Center of Ministry of Social Affairs).

7 June: Official deportation statistics: 8 trucks with 346 deportees (132 men, 187 women, 27 children).

8 June: Official deportation statistics: 12 trucks with 489 deportees (220 men, 231 women, 38 children).

9 June: Thai permanent secretary for foreign affairs Sihasak Phuangketkaew writes to the US Secretary reaffirming Thailand’s commitment to combat human trafficking in anticipation of the release of the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report later in June. Thailand has been ranked as a Tier 2 watch-list country for four consecutive years, and if no progress is reported, it may be downgraded to Tier 3, meaning that trade privileges from the US will cease.

Official deportation statistics for 9 June: 43 trucks with 2,160 deportees (1,209 men, 750 women and 201 children)

10 June: The Guardian publishes an article detailing trafficking and abuse of migrants in the Thai fishing industry, claiming that Thai officials are “often complicit” in such abuse. Thailand’s Department of Special Investigation opens a training course on how to provide victims with internationally recognized assistance to facilitate legal action against human traffickers together with the UNODC.

The NCPO announces the creation of a committee to oversee the creation and enforcement of policies regarding the migrant workforce.

1,500 Cambodians are apprehended on the Bangkok-Aranyaprathet train as they are trying to return to Cambodia and arrested for “working illegally”.

Official deportation statistics for 10 June: 70 trucks with 2,993 deportees (1,635 men, 1,058 women, 300 children)

11 June: Thai army spokeswoman Sirichan Ngathong states that “from now on any illegal migrant workers found in Thailand ‘will be arrested and deported’. The military government sees “illegal workers as a threat because there were a lot of them and no clear measures to handle them, which could lead to social problems.” Thai government television channels declared this to be  part of an ‘environmental cleansing’ operation carried out to build a ‘pleasant’ society. This statement leads to a mass departure of Cambodian migrants from Thailand due to fears of a crackdown on regular and irregular migrants.

Neth Serey, an official at the Cambodian consulate in the Thai border province of Sa Kaeo states that at least 10,000 Cambodians have crossed back into Cambodia.

Thailand is the only country to vote against an ILO protocol on forced labour, while many Gulf countries abstained. This stance was reversed later in the week after international criticism.

More than 100 Thai security police raid a Burmese migrant neighbourhood in Chiang Mai near Wat Pa Pao and detained a truck full of migrant workers. The exact number of people detained is unclear.

Five Burmese nationals who allegedly trafficked their countrymen into neighbouring Thailand were arrested in a joint operation by Thai authorities and Burmese advocacy groups.

Official deportation statistics for 11 June: 131 trucks with 7,686 deportees (4, 051 men, 3,215 women and 420 children)

12 June:  Thai authorities arrested more than 100 undocumented migrants in Mae Sot from the Muslim community.  Pol. Col. Dr. Pongnakorn states that the removal of migrant workers is “good for national security”. Over 600 Cambodian workers who were intending to leave Thailand through Surin province were arrested and deported.

Official deportation statistics for 12 June: 208 trucks with 16,508 deportees (9,451 men 5,724 women and 1,333 children)

13 June: General Chan-Ocha denies that the army will crack down on undocumented migrants as Thailand “still needs unskilled workers”. Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs spokesman Sek Wannamethee also denies that the military is conducting a crackdown, but confirms that the military is facilitating “voluntarily” returning Cambodians. Returnees claim that military officials have been requesting payment for safe passage to the border.

Official deportation statistics for 13 June: 254 trucks with 40,339 deportees (36509 men, 1209 women, 2621 children).

14 June:  The NCPO lifts the curfew across Thailand.  The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 70,000 Cambodian migrants have left Thailand since 7 June of which 37,000 left Thailand on 13 June and a further 6,000 during the morning on 14 June. More than half of the migrants are women and children and many have no way to travel onwards after they have crossed the border. Aside from transport, there is also a growing need for food, water, health care and shelter. Six undocumented Cambodian migrants and their driver die in a car crash, making them the first confirmed casualties in the mass return of migrant workers to Cambodia since the military coup.

Official deportation statistics for 14 June: 40 trucks with 43,834 deportees (23,295 men, 16,893 women and 3,646 children.)

15 June: Kousoum Saroeuth, governor of Banteay Meanchey province, reports that 135,000 Cambodians have left Thailand with 25,000 workers crossing the border on 15 June. Mr Saroeuth also reported that 300 military trucks and buses are standing by to transport the workers back to their hometowns free of charge and that local authorities and charitable organizations are providing the returnees with food and water.  The IOM places the estimate at 120,000.

Official deportation statistics for 15 June: 273 trucks with 26,763 deportees (14756 men, 9604 women, 2403 children)

16 June: The NCPO denies they are pursuing a “sweep and clean” policy of driving undocumented foreign workers out of the country

but its officials “will visit all areas where there are illegal workers to learn of the real, accumulated problems stemming from the long mismanagement of alien labour”, including child labour, human trafficking and corruption involving officials and labour agents. NCPO spokesman Winthai Suvaree states that “We ask that those who employ foreign workers continue their activities as normal and maintain good order.” General Sirichai Disthakul, chairman of the NCPO sub-committee on transnational labour visits Samut Sakhon and Ranong to survey these provinces for a new regulatory system for migrant workers, including residential zoning arrangements and public health services.

The Bangkok Post reports that Thai business operators are alarmed by the flight of migrant workers, fearing labour shortages and a detrimental impact on the Thai economy. Former finance minister Thirachai Phuvanatnaranubala also warned of the need to quickly attract fleeing Cambodian migrant workers back to Thailand.

17 June: General Chan-Ocha, calls on Thai employers to register their foreign workers, and threatens to punish officials involved in human trafficking and illegal migration. The NCPO establishes a hotline for communication on labour issues after the number of Cambodian workers returning to Cambodia reached 200,000 and “urged those workers who have been deported since June 1 to return with legal paperwork”. The Ambassador of Cambodia to Thailand, Kuy Koung said that Cambodia’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has registered 50,000 workers to of which around 20,000 have returned to Thailand.

Burmese media reports that inspections are taking place in cities heavily populated by migrant workers including Bangkok, Mahachai, Chiang Mai and Mae Sot. Migrant workers have been questioned and arrested if they lack proper documents. So far there have been no reports of a mass return of Burmese migrants, however, many Burmese workers, especially those without work permits and with underage children, have packed their belongings in case they were forced to leave at short notice.

18 June: Cambodian Interior Minister Sar Kheng calls for the leaders of the NCPO to be held accountable for the rushed return of Cambodian workers during which at least 8 people died in traffic accidents.

19 June: The Labour Ministry urged business operators facing labour shortages following the mass exodus of Cambodian workers have to report their manpower needs so the Ministry can help to fill the shortfall.

20 June: Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen signed a subdecree that will see the normal fee of $124 for passports reduced to just $4 for students and migrant workers. Major Gen. Pich Vanna, chief of Cambodian-Thai Border Relation Affairs Office, said the Thai junta sent 1,300 illegal Cambodian migrants back home on Friday, bringing the total number of Cambodian laborers deported from or fled Thailand to 226,000 in the last two weeks.

Cambodian workers who fled Thailand began trickling back into Thailand as concerns over a harsh military crackdown are easing. According to Col Phichit Meekhunsut, commander of a special task force unit under the 12th Military Ranger Regiment, more than 100 Cambodians entered Thailand today through the Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet district from the Cambodian town of Poipet.

21 June: The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) announces plans to set up one-stop service centres to register migrant workers under its urgent measures to combat long-running transnational labour problems.  The centres will speed up the documentation procedures for workers, mainly from neighboring countries , as part of security measures to ensure their access to labour rights benefits, according to a meeting of the junta yesterday chaired by deputy arm chief Gen Udomdet Sitabutr.   Authorities are also easing legal restrictions to allow workers who overstayed their visas to continue working.

25 June: NCPO announces the establishment of a Facilitation Center for the Return of Cambodian workers (hereinafter the Facilitation Center) shall be set up in Sa-Kaew province, Chantaburi province, Trad province, and Surin province. Cambodians who wish to enter Thailand for employment must notify the Facilitation Center within 25 July 2014. After this period, immigration of Cambodian nationals shall be in accordance with relevant laws. The Facilitation Center shall consider issuing a temporary entry permit for a Cambodian national who has been assigned employment. The permit shall be valid for 60 days. The employer must then obtain a temporary work permit for their employee from their local One Stop Service for the Registration of Migrant Worker, one of which will be set up in every province.

26 June: Expecting a massive number of Cambodian migrant workers to return to Thailand, the Public Health Ministry has dispatched teams to the border provinces of Sa Kaew, Trat, Surin and Si Sa Ket to provide health check-ups and sell them health insurance. The fee for the health check has been cut from Bt600 to Bt500 and insurance will now cost Bt1,600 instead of Bt2,200 for adults and Bt365 for children.

27 June: In Sa Kaeo province NCPO officials held a press conference with nearly 100 Cambodian journalists to defend the junta’s handling of a crackdown on illegal labor. Sa Kaeo governor Phakarathorn Tianchai insisted that “The new Thai government did not crack down on migrant workers … the Thai government is very happy to answer this and understand each other. The government asserts again that the best way is to create a center for migrant workers to find work that is safe according to state law and provides a good salary.” Mr. Pakkarathorn went on to state that “This is just a temporary measure which will be open for workers to register until July 25… But we are not sure how many labourers Thailand needs. It depends on the labour needs of Thai employers.”

30 June: The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) said it will address the ongoing problem of beggars currently roaming streets throughout the kingdom. The ministry has coordinated with related agencies to address the beggar issue, following an agreement with Cambodia to deport Cambodian beggars back to their motherland. Ms. Yanee said appropriate assistance would be provided to both human trafficking victim beggars and those who voluntarily choose to beg.

July 2014

1 July: Cambodians have begun to return to Thailand, at a rate of 1000 daily for the past 2 days through Poipet.

3 July: NCPO announces the establishment of additional One Stop Services to register migrant workers working on fishing vessels in Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Phra Nakhon Si Ayutthaya, Rayong, Songkhla, Samut Prakan, and Surat Thani, to begin operations 7 July 2014. Furthermore, by 21 July 2014 employers of migrant workers working on fishing vessels are ordered to compile a roster detailing the names, nationalities, and numbers of their migrant workers and notify the respective Provincial Employment Office wherein their vessels are registered, in the following 22 provinces with areas bordering the sea: Krabi, Chanthaburi, Chachoengsao, Chon Buri, Chumphon, Trat, Trang, Nakhon Si Thammarat, Narathiwat, Prachuap Khiri Khan, Pattani, Phangnga, Phetchaburi, Phuket, Ranong, Rayong, Songkhla, Satun, Samut Prakan, Samut Songkhram, Samut Sakhon, and Surat Thani.

4 July: 327 Cambodians were arrested for attempting to illegally enter Thailand. Of those, 149 were on their way back to Thailand via Sa Kaeo province, bypassing a time-consuming process to obtain border passes at Poi Pet border checkpoint in Cambodia.  Another group of 61 Cambodians was arrested as they were trying to enter Aranyaprathet district over the Thai-Cambodian Friendship Bridge. Around the same time, paramilitary troops arrested 117 Cambodians in a forest in Ban Song Phan Rai in the same district.  Authorities released 14 Cambodians who had been charged with illegal entry after holding them in a Sa Kaeo prison for the past month.

7 July: Ambassadors from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodian joined military officers to inspect the new one stop service centre opened in Samut Prakan Province. The ambassadors expressed their support of Thailand’s labour regulations, saying they would ease many problems and protect workers from human rights abuses. Other one-stop service centres were opened in Chon Buri, Rayong, Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao, Surat Thani and Songkhla.

8 July: Thailand announces that in order to obtain a workers’ permit it is mandatory to first pass a compulsory, 500-baht ($15) health screening and buy 1,600-baht insurance.  While this is not a new rule, it is being much more strictly enforced now. The Thai Ministry of Health has ordered workers seeking yearlong permits to be screened for amphetamine abuse and major illnesses, including syphilis, leprosy, filariasis, and, through a chest X-ray, tuberculosis. Female migrants are also given a pregnancy test, and if found to be pregnant, the policy stipulates that they be sent home. Consent is not being properly obtained from the worker, and results of the medical tests are shared with employers.

In the border town of Aranyaprathet in Sa Kaeo province 103 undocumented Cambodian migrant workers were arrested. Of the 103, nine had already obtained a temporary work permit from a one-stop-service centre at Rong Klua market.  Their prospective employers had not met them, so they went back into Cambodia to wait, because they were not allowed to stay overnight on the Thai side of the border. Instead of waiting, the nine decided to cross the border with the group of undocumented migrant workers who were rounded up. The nine would be sent back to the Cambodian immigration office to wait for their potential employers. The 94 others were to undergo a legal process for illegal entry before being repatriated.

11 July: NCPO announces the establishment of additional One Stop Service Centers for the Registration of Migrant Workers in Bangkok districts Bangkhen, Din Daeng, Minburi,  Pathumwan, Taweewattana and Bangbon  They will open July 15.

The Cambodian Ministry of Foreign Affairs called on all undocumented Cambodians in Thailand to register for a legal work permit at one of that country’s newly opened one-stop service centres. The ministry’s statement said passport-issuing offices will be opened at four locations along the border in Poipet, O’Smach, Cham Yeam and Pailin, which are in addition to current offices in Phnom Penh and Battambang. Banteay Meanchey Governor Korsum Saroeurt said 10,723 Cambodians were repatriated from the end of June to July 10, and as many as 40 per cent of those migrants had recently crossed only to find themselves immediately caught and repatriated.

 15 July: Six one-stop service centers for migrant workers open in Bangkok. Each of the six centres is staffed by 10 officials. Sumet Mahosot, Director-General of the Labour Ministry’s Employment Department said about 60,000 migrant workers have already registered at eight one-stop service centres nationwide.

20 July:  Landlords of migrant workers in Samut Sakhon province have been asked to provide a list of all migrant tenants to authorities within 24 hours or face legal action as part of efforts to regulate rental properties.  Colonel Jakkrawut Sinpoonphol, deputy chief of Samut Sakhon’s Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC) office and head of a migrant housing inspection team, said in a meeting with landlords that they must produce rental contracts for the check. Home owners may become second defendants in legal cases if officials arrest their tenants for violating the law.

23 July: The Permanent Secretary for Public Health Narong Sahamethapat noted that after the ministry had established 34 One Stop Service Centers, 28 in upcountry and another 6 in Bangkok, for migrant workers to receive proper health checks and purchase health insurance cards across the country, more than 100,000 workers received the service and bought insurance cards from June 30th to July 15th. The NCPO states again that any workers with any of seven restricted diseases including latent tuberculosis infection (LTBI), leprosy, elephantiasis, syphilis, narcotic addiction, alcoholism and psychosis are not allowed to work in the country.

24 July: The one-stop service center in Samut Prakarn which opened on July 7th, 2014, announced they have received a total of 17,000 work permit applications. The registration will continue until August 5th 2014.

Thai and Burmese official plan talks to discuss the repatriation of Burmese migrants living in refugee camps in Thailand. The talks will be held on August 1-3 in Mergui, Myanmar, attended by Lt-Gen Preecha Chan-ocha, co-chairman of the Thai-Burma Regional Border Committee.  They will discuss preparations to relocate about 130,000 Burmese refugees.

26 July: The Department of Employment revealed that in accordance with NCPO directives, the operators of 3,315 fishing trawlers have submitted lists with the names of 54,789 migrant workers – 44,357 of them undocumented. As there are about 10,000 fishing trawlers in operation, Pichit Nilthongkham, director of the Office of Foreign Workers Administration, urged all operators to submit a list of names and register undocumented migrant workers at any of 22 coastal service centres by August 21.

27 July: 106 Cambodian immigrants were detained at a sugar cane plantation near the border in Sa Kaeo’s Aranyaprathet district.  Their former employers told them to let a smuggling gang lead them across the border to wait for transport on the Thai side so that after arriving in Chon Buri and Rayong they could register for a work permit at the one-stop-service centre right away without having to pay 3,000-3,500 baht each for a border pass in Cambodia.

28 July: Tens of thousands of new migrants from Myanmar have entered Thailand in recent weeks because of the NCPO’s migrant registration policy.It is estimated than an additional 10,000 Myanmar unregistered workers have arrived in Samut Sakhon. The new arrivals hope that two-month registration cards issued under the program will make them eligible for temporary passports and work permits under a bilateral program. Although only those who were in Thailand as of June 30 are officially eligible, new arrivals are also being registered; The Myanmar Times met one woman at a registration office who had just received a card despite only have arrived in Thailand two days earlier.

29 July: NCPO held a press conference announcing that the time period for allowing undocumented migrants from Myanmar, Laos, and Cambodia to register and received temporary work permits in Thailand would not be extended. “This is to allow the process of passport issuance from their home country and status adjustment as legal labor by March 2015.”

The Ministry of Labour reported that between 26 June and 28 July 2014, One Stop Service (OSS) centers across the country registered 378,444 migrant workers total. Of those 378,444, the national breakdown was: 137,312 Myanmar, 185,757 Cambodian, and 55,375 Laotian.  In that same time period, the four border provinces of Sra Kaew, Chantaburi, Trad, and Surin had 6,204 employers and 51,564 Cambodian workers register there.  The six OSS centers in Bangkok, which opened 15 July, registered 20,812 employers and 101,475 migrant workers. The nationality breakdown of the registering migrants in Bangkok was: 32,414 Myanmar, 44,066 Cambodian, and 24,995 Laotian. The 15 OSS centers in provinces bordering the ocean, which opened 22 July, registered 8,461 employers and 45,752 migrant workers. Of those migrant workers 29,592 were Myanmar, 10,117 Cambodian and 6,043 Laotian. Finally between 30 June and 28 July at Samutsakorn and other 7 provinces 308 employers and 179,653 migrant workers were registered.  Of those 75,306 were from Myanmar, 80,010 Cambodian, and 24,337 Laotian.

Migrants after the Military Coup – Summary of information concerning raids, deportation and returns of migrants currently happening in Thailand is available

Hundreds of thousands of Cambodian migrants in Thailand returned to Cambodia in June due to fears of a military crackdown on migrant workers after the Thai military took control of the country in a coup on 22 May.

There have been no similar reports of Burmese migrants returning to Burma, however, the military has also been raiding Burmese neighbourhoods across the country, with media reports of at least 1,000 arrests. There is little indication that the military is taking significant measures to stop the flow of migrant workers out of Thailand.

MMN has prepared a chronology of events and news reports on the raids, deportation and returns of migrants in Thailand since the military coup, available at on the Arrest, Detention and Deportation website at http://mekongmigration.org/add/?page_id=55 

MMN will continue to update this chronology as the situation progresses.

Envoys back labour reforms

Envoys from three neighbouring countries yesterday expressed their appreciation for migrant labour regulation policies launched by the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO).

The labour regulations were implemented alongside the establishment of one-stop service centres, which opened in seven more provinces yesterday.

Ambassadors from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodian joined military officers to inspect the new centre in Samut Prakan Province yesterday.

The ambassadors expressed their support of Thailand’s labour regulations, saying they would ease many problems and protect workers from human rights abuses.

Laos’ ambassador Ly Bounkham said the one-stop service centre is good for migrant workers as it would shorten the registration process and make it more transparent. “The labour management policy is good since it can prevent labour abuses of migrant workers and prevent other problems, including human trafficking,” he said.

The Cambodian ambassador Eat Sophea said she appreciated the setting up of a one-stop service centre and hoped it would help workers gain the labour benefits to which they are entitled.

“I want to express my appreciation of the NCPO’s decision to establish the one-stop service centre and I’m confident all undocumented workers will be registered with it. Under their new legal status, workers will have their rights protected,” Cambodian ambassador Eat said.

Myanmar’s ambassador, Win Maung, called on Myanmar workers to register at the centre to claim their benefits and complete the process of nationality verification, which would be conducted by Myanmar authorities after the workers’ registration.

“I would like to urge Myanmar workers in Thailand to take part in the registration process because it will help you receive the benefits you deserve,” Mr Win said.

The one-stop service inspection was led by the armed forces Chief of Joint staff, Sirichai Distakul, who confirmed the NCPO would offer a chance for employers and workers to contribute ideas to migrant labour regulations. He also warned those who have been taking advantage of migrant workers to stop doing so, or face punishment.

One of the Cambodian workers registered at the Samut Prakan centre expressed happiness at being able to work legally in Thailand after working in the construction sector for the last two years. The worker, who asked to remain anonymous, said registration would protect migrant workers and allow them to work without fear of abuse.

According to Sumut Prakan’s governor, there are around 50,000 migrant workers in the province, with 30,000 from Myanmar, 15,000 from Cambodia and 5,000 from Laos.

The other one-stop service centres were opened yesterday in Chon Buri, Rayong, Ayutthaya, Chachoengsao, Surat Thani and Songkhla. A pilot centre was opened last week in Samut Sakhon Province.

The fishing industry would be regulated by the Department of Special Investigation, which has backed urgent plans to tackle industry problems, especially payments for migrant workers.

By: Bangkok Post

Crackdown on ‘slave labour’

POL Gen Ake Angsananont, the deputy National Police chief in charge of suppressing human trafficking, yesterday vowed to crack down on “slave labour” in the fisheries industry and among foreign beggar gangs.

The registration of migrant workers in the fishery and related industries in 22 coastal provinces kicks off today. The National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has given trawler operators until July 21 to file lists of the names of their migrant crew to the Provincial Employment Office.

Ake said police, acting |on instructions from the NCPO to stamp out human trafficking especially in the two sensitive areas, have proposed a plan and discussed with parties |the implementation of a |measure to have fishing |boat owners draw up the lists |of their migrant workers on board.

As for foreigners procuring children for the “begging business”, Ake would call a meeting of police units including the Anti-Human Trafficking, Marine, Immigration and Tourist police to launch operations in accordance with the NCPO policy.

Since some beggars were also forced into the business, he would this week inspect the situation in Sa Kaew’s Aranyaprathet border district.

Permanent secretary for the Labour Ministry Jeerasak Sukhonthachat said the Employment Department would post information on worker registration and required forms for the 22 coastal provinces at www.doe.go.th.

Fishery operators could download and fill them out before submitting the name lists to the Employment Office in the province where their boats are registered or docked.

Registration

President of the Samut Sakhon Fishery Association Kamjorn Mongkoltrirak urged the NCPO to register migrants working on fishing boats separately from those in fishery-related industries because the deckhands often jumped ship after working awhile, so boat owners had to find new migrant workers to replace them.

As the fishing boats often stay out for a long time, registration should be flexible, like twice a year, each time for three months.

The Public Health Ministry should offer term health insurance of three months, six months or one year to allow boat owners to buy a policy according to an individual worker’s status.

The newly hired would |get a three-month policy, |while those working for more than a year would get a one-year policy. The premiums would be paid in Bt400 monthly instalments and workers could get treatment at any hospital where their boat is berthed.

The NCPO should call regular meetings with trawler operators in the 22 coastal provinces to explain the migrant worker employment guidelines and allow them to express opinions.

This would bring the NCPO’s policy and the operators’ needs on the same page while also sustainably tackling migrant workers’ issues and human |trafficking, he added.

By: The Nation