Thailand

Working environment

• In 2015, the political and economic situation in the wake of the military coup was largely stable, despite increased security and immigration enforcements.
• Thailand is neither a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor the Statelessness Conventions and continues to treat non-Myanmar people of concern without a valid visa as illegal aliens, exposing them to higher risks of arrest, detention, deportation and exploitation. 
• Mixed maritime movements originating from the Bay of Bengal resulted in the death of approximately 370 refugees and migrant in 2015. In light of this situation, efforts to enforce anti-trafficking and anti-smuggling laws in Thailand were strengthened. 

Population trends

• There were 1,830 new urban asylum-seekers in Thailand in 2015, bringing the total number of refugees and asylum-seekers to 1,912 and 7,082 respectively.
• New figures released by the Government of Thailand showed a decrease in the number of stateless people, with over 18,770 individuals having been granted Thai nationality over the last three years. 
• In 2015, over 109,800 verified Myanmar refugees lived in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border. 

Achievements and impact    

• Through joint advocacy efforts between UNHCR and other partners, bail-releases from detention increased from 15 to 55 per cent and exemptions from bail for children under 14 was implemented. 
• In a pilot project, UNHCR and a partner opened five in-school service centres to assist stateless children and families in accessing nationality procedures.
• UNHCR and the Government of Thailand conducted a major verification exercise and issued 1,853 birth certificates in the border camps.
• A UNHCR field office in Hat Yai was established as part of the Bay of Bengal response, ensuring enhanced protection and access to Rohingya people of concern.

Unmet needs

• Field monitoring activities were curtailed due to funding constraints. 
• Despite a three-fold increase in the number of asylum-seekers since 2012, resources continued to be stretched and a significant refugee status determination backlog remained. Processing times also increased, resulting in higher risks of arrest, detention and exploitation for persons of concern to UNHCR.
• Because of insufficient funding, UNHCR prioritized health care and social assistance for the most vulnerable urban refugees and asylum-seekers and could only support to distribution of sanitary kits for six months of the year for 36,000 refugee women in the border camps. 

Working environment

Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention or its 1967 Protocol and does not have a formal national asylum framework. The Thai Government currently hosts refugees from Myanmar in nine temporary shelters along the border.

Since early 2012, cease­ res signed between the Myanmar Government and the main non-state armed groups have led to a decrease in security incidents in south-east Myanmar. While conditions are not yet fully conducive for UNHCR to promote voluntary repatriation, it is possible that spontaneous returns might increase in 2015.

In the wake of the May 2014 military coup, immigration measures in the country were tightened and the policy restricting the movement of undocumented people in border areas was implemented more strictly.

Rohingya people continue to flee by sea due to communal violence in Myanmar and reach the Thai coast. Men are placed in immigration detention centres and women and children in social community centres.

The Government continues to assume primary responsibility for addressing statelessness and risks thereof in Thailand. UNHCR supports implementation of the nationality legislation and strategy that deals with people without clear legal status.

Needs and strategies

In 2015, UNHCR will continue to focus on core protection activities and developing durable solutions strategies in the face of decreasing funds and reduced services in temporary shelters. Self-reliance and occupational skills development will be prioritized, in addition to reconciliation and peacebuilding activities within communities.

UNHCR will support repatriation, if conditions become conducive in the home countries for voluntary returns to take place in safety and dignity. The organization is leading the overall humanitarian preparedness through activities such as information dissemination, consultations, and enhanced coordination and planning forums. In urban areas, an ongoing surge of new arrivals continues to delay case processing and may increase risks of arrest and deportation for people of concern, as well as possible exploitation and abuse as they engage in informal work. UNHCR will continue to conduct urgent protection interventions, advocate detention alternatives and seek enhanced access to basic public services, such as health and education, while seeking to raise awareness so that people of concern may fully benefi­t from existing protection mechanisms.

UNHCR will support the Government in tackling statelessness and risks thereof, through a pilot project aimed at addressing challenges, such as a lack of awareness among populations in remote areas and bottlenecks in local processing of nationality-related applications.