Thailand grants few asylum claims in first year of program

BANGKOK — 

Amid a reported surge successful cross-border repression crossed Southeast Asia, rights advocates accidental Thailand is making promising but precise dilatory advancement rolling retired an asylum programme meant to support the astir susceptible refugees.

They accidental galore who mightiness beryllium eligible for the programme are reluctant to use for fearfulness of exposing themselves to the constabulary and that coming guardant could backfire.

Thailand does not officially admit refugees and deems anyone successful the state without a valid visa oregon passport an amerciable migrant. Last September, though, the authorities introduced a National Screening Mechanism to springiness "protected persons status" to those from different countries who tin beryllium they are "unable oregon unwilling" to instrumentality location "due to a well-founded fearfulness of persecution."

Neither the Royal Thai Police – whose Immigration Bureau is starring the programme – nor the National Security Council oregon Foreign Affairs Ministry, which some participate, replied to VOA’s repeated requests for remark connected the NSM, which took effect September 22 of past year.

At a gathering with assistance groups past week, though, migration officials said less than 10 people, including adults and their children, person been afloat vetted and granted asylum nether the programme to date, participants from the assistance groups told VOA.

They accidental officials said 1 applicant had been rejected and that astir 200 were inactive having their claims assessed.

"In presumption of implementation, it’s not proportionate yet with the wide colonisation of asylum seekers and refugees successful Thailand," said Krittaporn Semsantad, programme manager for Thailand’s Peace Rights Foundation, aft attending past week’s meeting.

"I’d accidental they’re … trying to bash their best," she said of the government. "However, there’s a batch of limitation."

The United Nations estimates immoderate 5,000 asylum seekers are surviving successful Thailand, though rights groups accidental the existent fig is apt higher.

Human Rights Watch reported successful May that Thailand had made itself progressively unsafe for asylum seekers implicit the past decennary done what rights groups assertion is an statement with its neighbors to forcibly instrumentality each other’s dissidents, careless of imaginable persecution, including arrest, torture and death.

In caller years, Thailand has arrested and forced dozens of dissidents and members of persecuted taste minorities backmost to their location countries, including China. A rights activistic from Vietnam, Y Quynh Bdap, was arrested successful Bangkok successful June and is present connected proceedings for imaginable extradition backmost to Vietnam, wherever helium is wanted for fomenting a deadly riot helium says helium had thing to bash with.

Once accepted into Thailand’s caller asylum program, refugees should beryllium harmless from a forced instrumentality home, but rights advocates accidental the NSM is moving acold excessively dilatory to header with the need.

They accidental the screening committee is struggling to verify the biographies of applicants, has excessively fewer interpreters to span connection barriers, and that galore imaginable applicants inactive don’t cognize the programme adjacent exists. Those who do, they add, tin beryllium enactment disconnected by having to beryllium formally charged with an migration discourtesy to spell done the process.

They accidental galore besides don’t spot the authorities to vet them reasonably and fearfulness that if their applications are rejected they could extremity up backmost successful the countries they fled.

"They’re acrophobic that if they use for NSM, they uncover themselves to the government, and if they [do] not conscionable the criteria of the NSM they volition request to [be] deport[ed] backmost to their … location country," said Tanyakorn Thippayapokin, argumentation advocacy coordinator for Asylum Access Thailand, who besides attended past week’s meeting.

Advocates accidental arsenic good that the eligibility rules are excessively constrictive by barring ineligible migrant workers — who whitethorn besides beryllium asylum seekers who request extortion — from applying, and that the powerfulness the rules springiness the authorities to cull applicants implicit unspecified nationalist information risks are excessively broad.

By not having to explicate the information risks, immoderate worry, the authorities whitethorn crook worthy applicants down to either physique oregon support bully relations with neighboring countries.

Opposition lawmaker Kannavee Suebsang, who chairs the House of Representatives subcommittee connected sustainable solutions for migrants successful the state illegally, cited the lawsuit of the 4 twelve taste Uyghurs from China who Thailand has been holding successful detention without charges since arresting them for amerciable introduction implicit a decennary ago.

"When they [use] the justification of the nationalist information concern, it tin [mean] everything successful this world," said Kannavee, who worked for the United Nations exile bureau for implicit a twelve years.

"For example, the Uyghurs. If they said it is simply a nationalist information concern, we cannot enactment the 48 cases of the Uyghur refugees who’ve been enactment successful the migration detention halfway [through] the NSM, it tin beryllium similar that," helium said.

Krittaporn said she was told by migration officials that the detained Uyghurs were eligible for the NSM, but she added that nongovernment groups person not been capable to conscionable with them to cheque whether they person been fixed the accidental to apply.

Advocates suggest the authorities bash much to pass asylum seekers and refugees astir the program, prosecute much interpreters, and standard backmost the stock of information bureau officials connected the screening commission. Some suggest it besides scrap the request for applicants to beryllium formally charged.

As it is now, the programme seems designed much for uncovering reasons to crook down applicants than to o.k. them, said Pornsuk Koetsawang, laminitis of Friends Without Borders, different section exile assistance group.

"The information agencies enactment for Thailand’s nationalist security, not for extortion of refugees, and they [refugees] interest that Thai information agencies … deliberation that refugees are a threat," she said. "That’s the happening that has been happening for the past fewer decades."

Kannavee said transferring superior work for the programme from the constabulary to the Interior Ministry would assistance springiness it a much humanitarian focus. He says the programme whitethorn yet illness from each its faults, though, and has been moving connected authorities that would springiness Thailand an wholly caller exile program.

On the whole, though, astir advocates accidental the NSM is astatine slightest a humble measurement successful the close absorption for Thailand and whitethorn inactive beryllium capable to spare immoderate refugees from apprehension and a forced instrumentality to the countries they person fled.

Once vetted and approved, said Tanyakorn, "they’re present legally astatine slightest and with the extortion of the authorities authorities."