Global Needs Assessment

Refugees fleeing conflict have been crossing Myanmar's eastern border jungles for the safety of Thailand for nearly 25 years. Inside Thailand, they find refuge in nine government-run camps along the border, where today some 140,000 Myanmar refugees and asylum-seekers receive basic food, shelter, medical care and schooling.

Although their basic needs are met, refugees have no freedom to leave the camps. Some who were born in the camps are now raising their own children there and frustration levels are high. Rape, domestic violence and substance abuse are chronic problems.

2010 UNHCR country operations profile - Thailand

Working environment

The context

The volatile political situation and successive changes in key government personnel have posed challenges for UNHCR as it advocates for policies favourable to refugees. While Thailand has over the last four decades been a major country of asylum, sheltering some 1.3 million refugees, it is not party to the 1951 Refugee Convention. Currently, the country hosts some 112,000 refugees from Myanmar who have been registered, and an estimated 50,000 who have not, in nine camps along the Thai-Myanmar border.

Some 3,000 new arrivals have entered Thailand since June 2009 due to an upsurge in fighting in the border area of south-eastern Myanmar. The potential exists for fresh displacement into Thailand in the run-up to the 2010 elections in Myanmar. Admission to the refugee camps on the border is governed by a national screening mechanism which was revitalised in 2009 through close cooperation between UNHCR and the Government. Refugees and asylum-seekers living outside the camps are considered illegal migrants under Thai law, and are subject to arrest, detention and deportation.

UNHCR has observed a shrinking of the protection space for all groups of concern in Thailand since 2006. The repatriation of Lao Hmong continues, and UNHCR does not have access to those being returned. There have also been cases of asylum-seekers being deported to Myanmar and Cambodia.

Muslim residents of Myanmar's northern Rakhine State who arrived in Thailand by boat in January 2009 were placed in detention and, at the time of reporting, had not had their protection claims examined. Many others were reported to have been pushed back out to sea, with significant loss of life. There have been improvements in UNHCR's access to refugees and asylum-seekers in detention, but no progress has been made in finding solutions for 158 Lao Hmong refugees who have been detained since November 2006.

Thailand is at the centre of numerous migratory movements in the region and the country hosts an estimated two million migrants, with a blurring of the distinction between those arriving for economic reasons and asylum-seekers.

There are an estimated 3.5 million stateless people in Thailand, mostly members of hill-tribes and migrants from neighbouring countries. Although Thailand is not party to the Statelessness Conventions, recent amendments to legislation allow for the registration and documentation of all children born in the country.

The needs

The situation of refugees from Myanmar in camps in Thailand is one of the most protracted in the world. These refugees have been confined to nine closed camps since they began arriving in the 1980s. According to Thai law, those found outside the camps are subject to arrest and deportation. Legally, refugees have no right to employment.

The prolonged confinement of Myanmar refugees in camps has created many social, psychological and protection concerns. The coping mechanisms of refugees have been eroded, and the restrictions imposed on them have increased their dependence on assistance. However, the introduction of third-country resettlement in 2005 has provided resettlement solutions for more than 50,000 individuals, and up to 15,000 more departures are expected in 2010.

Despite this remarkable responsibility-sharing effort, the camp population is not likely to decrease rapidly; there is a steady flow of new arrivals into the camps. The Office will continue to work with the Government to find durable solutions for refugees and ensure that asylum-seekers have access to fair and efficient asylum procedures. The pre-screening exercise for new arrivals, which was piloted in four camps in 2009, will continue in 2010. Furthermore, UNHCR together with The Committee for Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand (CCSDPT) has developed a five-year strategic plan as a platform for discussion among partners involved in providing protection and assistance to refugees along the Thai-Myanmar border.

UNHCR conducts refugee status determination (RSD) under its mandate for all urban asylum-seekers, with the exception of those from Myanmar, for whom a camp-based Government-led procedure is in place. Status determination for Lao Hmong has been suspended since 2006 at the insistence of the Government.

There are more than 2,100 urban refugees and asylum-seekers in Thailand, with the number growing at a rate of more than 50 a month. Fear of arrest, intimidation by the host community, extreme poverty, exploitation and lack of educational opportunities are some of this group's main concerns. Asylum-seekers and refugees are subject to indefinite detention under Thailand's immigration laws. Some 14 per cent of the urban caseload, including a number of children, are currently held in immigration detention. UNHCR will expand its interventions and advocacy to address these issues.

Most stateless people do not have access to basic social services or employment opportunities, and many cannot travel freely in the country for fear of arrest and deportation. UNHCR will coordinate with other UN agencies to engage the Government on these issues.

Main objectives

Favourable protection environment

• Ensure access to asylum, protection and physical security for all people of concern.

• Strengthen national bodies and procedures in support of a national protection regime.

Fair protection processes

• Streamline RSD procedures for various groups of non-Myanmarese asylum-seekers.

Basic needs and services

• Improve the social and economic well-being of refugees.

Durable solutions

• Expand the search for durable solutions for refugees.

Key targets for 2010

• Refugees are protected against refoulement, are physically safe and enjoy a reduction in all forms of violence.

• The use of resettlement as a protection tool, a durable solution, and a responsibility-sharing mechanism is maximized.

• Provincial Admissions Boards, which govern admissions to refugee camps, are strengthened with fair and efficient standards for the admission, screening and protection of Myanmarese asylum-seekers. This ensures that both unregistered camp residents and new arrivals have their claims assessed on a timely basis.

• The administration of justice in the camps is improved; refugees and asylum-seekers have access to judicial and legal remedies as well as traditional justice mechanisms.

• Refugees with specific needs, especially women and children, benefit from enhanced protection against sexual and gender-based violence through the strengthening of prevention and response mechanisms in the camps.

• All unaccompanied and separated children are properly identified, registered, monitored and protected.

• Refugee adults and adolescents have more opportunities to engage in income-generating activities, use their vocational skills, and benefit from non-formal education.

• Refugees enjoy HIV and AIDS services, and prevention and awareness-building activities are implemented.

• Urban asylum-seekers have access to fair and efficient RSD.

• Urban refugees and asylum-seekers enjoy basic medical care and referrals to local hospitals.

• Refugee children have access to primary, secondary and higher forms of education; adults can avail themselves of non-formal education.

• UNHCR is able to meet and provide protection to asylum-seekers and refugees held in detention.

Strategy and activities

For the camp-based population of Myanmarese refugees, UNHCR's strategy will focus on consolidating fundamental protection activities. This will mean enhancing border monitoring to help prevent and supporting the State's efforts to improve the national screening mechanism for Myanmarese asylum-seekers. Protection activities will be strengthened through advocacy and interventions with the authorities.

UNHCR will continue to engage relevant actors, including governments and donors, in discussions to support policy changes aimed at finding durable solutions and increasing the protection space. In the absence of a national mechanism to process the claims of non-Myanmarese asylum-seekers, UNHCR will continue to register and conduct RSD for urban refugees. The Office will also monitor the rights and well-being of people of concern, intervening with the national authorities on their behalf and striving to meet their basic needs, including medical care and educational support.

UNHCR will continue its advocacy efforts aimed at sensitizing the Government to statelessness issues and will explore joint programming opportunities with other UN agencies.

Constraints

Refugee issues are likely to remain low on the national agenda and Thailand's refugee policy will continue to be shaped by security concerns and bilateral considerations. It is also assumed that the intermingling of economic migrants and people of concern to UNHCR will continue. The overall protection environment in Thailand is set to remain uncertain, marked by detentions and a shrinking of the asylum space for urban refugees and asylum-seekers.

There has been no significant progress towards refugees' self-reliance and access to the labour market, while opportunities for higher education are limited. Sustained advocacy in line with the five-year strategic plan will be required to achieve a gradual opening of the camps and gain the Government's permission for refugees to work and move about more freely.

UNHCR has observed an increase in the repatriation of Lao Hmong. Since the Office does not have access to those being returned, it cannot gauge their protection needs or assess whether their returns are voluntary.

The Thai Government's engagement on statelessness issues remains contingent upon the overall political environment.

Organization and implementation

Coordination

The refugee situation in Thailand requires careful coordination with key partners. UNHCR relies on its international and local humanitarian partners in order to respond to protection needs and overcome political constraints to advocate for policies favourable to refugees. The border assistance operation, which provides for more than 160,000 refugees and asylum-seekers from Myanmar, includes some 20 international and local NGOs. These organizations work closely with UNHCR and operate under the guidance of the Committee for Coordination of Services to Displaced Persons in Thailand.

Financial information

The budget for the Thailand operation has grown steadily over the past five years. The UNHCR Regional Office in Thailand is strengthening its capacity by consolidating regional posts in Bangkok, resulting in further increases to the Thailand budget from 2009.

Source: UNHCR Global Appeal 2010-2011