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THAILAND: Officials detain babies, children and pregnant women among asylum seekers

December 21, 2010

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION - URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

 

Urgent Appeal Case: AHRC-UAC-182-2010

 

 

 

21 December 2010

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THAILAND: Officials detain babies, children and pregnant women among asylum seekers

 

ISSUES: Arbitrary detention, asylum seekers, child rights, religious groups

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AHRC 2010 HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT: THAILAND

THE INTERNAL SECURITY STATE DIGS IN

http://www.humanrights.asia/resources/hrreport/2010/

 

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Dear friends,

 

The Asian Human Rights Commission has obtained information that immigration authorities have taken into custody at least 85 persons from Pakistan who are seeking asylum. The group includes babies, small children, pregnant women, and the sick and elderly. The persons have registered with the United Nations for asylum and so far 17 have reportedly been officially recognized as refugees. No reason has been given for their detention; however, it comes at a time that authorities in Thailand are reportedly targeting asylum seekers for forced repatriation, especially to countries in South Asia.

 

 

CASE NARRATIVE

:

 

On 14 December 2010, immigration authorities in Thailand raided the residences of a group of at least 85 persons from Pakistan who have been registered as asylum seekers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, 17 of whom have reportedly had their applications accepted and have been granted refugee status, and took them into custody at the immigration detention facilities in Bangkok.

 

The group includes at least 38 women and girls, among whom there is at least one pregnant woman. It also includes at least 38 children, including 26 aged under 10 years, among them a number of babies. And it includes a 60-year old with high blood pressure, and a 53-year old with a heart condition. A list compiled of the detainees is available here

:

 

According to the information that the AHRC has received, the raid was coordinated across a number of locations near Bangkok where the persons had been residing. Despite this, the immigration authorities did not explain why they were taking the group into custody. The raid comes at a time that authorities in Thailand are reportedly hunting for and forcibly repatriating asylum seekers from South Asia, including from Pakistan and Sri Lanka.

 

The detention centre where the group is being held is notoriously overcrowded and unhygienic. According to a recent visitor to the facility, the detainees are being held like "fish in a can" and are not even able to all sit down at the same time.

 

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION

:

 

The members of the group for whom this appeal is being issued are Ahmadiyya Muslims who have sought asylum on the basis that they face religious persecution in Pakistan. Since they applied for asylum in Bangkok they are reported to be living in very difficult conditions, lacking any sources of income and surviving on assistance that was mainly provided by the Jesuit Refugee Service. The people had reportedly been living peaceably, awaiting the outcomes of their applications for asylum, and their detention while the process is ongoing is completely unjustified.

 

SUGGESTED ACTION

:

 

Please write to the persons listed below to call for the immediate release of these persons from custody and the respect of their right to seek asylum in Thailand and complete the process that they have begun with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.

 

Please be informed that the AHRC is writing separate letters to the UN Working Group on Arbitrary Detention and the regional human rights office for Southeast Asia concerning these detainees.

 

To support this appeal, please click here:

 

 

SAMPLE LETTER

:

 

Dear ___________,

 

THAILAND: Immigration Police detain babies, small children and women among group of registered asylum seekers and recognized refugees

 

Details of victims: At least 85 asylum seekers of Pakistani origin, a list of names and details posted online at: link

 

 

Details of alleged perpetrators

: Immigration Police Division, Royal Thai Police

 

Date of incident

: 14 December 2010 to present

 

I am writing to express my alarm at information I have received that Thai Immigration Police have taken into custody at least 85 persons of Pakistani origin who have fled to and have been staying in Bangkok for the purpose only of obtaining asylum and resettlement in third countries, among whom there are many women, small children and infirm people.

 

According to this information, on 14 December 2010, immigration authorities in Thailand raided the residences of persons from Pakistan who have been registered as asylum seekers with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Bangkok, 17 of whom have reportedly had their applications accepted, and have been granted refugee status, and took them into custody at the Immigration Detention Centre at Suanphlu in Bangkok.

 

The group reportedly includes at least 38 women and girls, among whom there is at least one pregnant woman who is expecting to give birth to her child. It includes 38 children, including 26 aged under 10 years, among them a number of babies. It also includes a 60-year old with high blood pressure, and a 53-year old with a heart condition.

 

I am aware that the conditions in the detention centre are under normal conditions overcrowded and unhygienic. According to the report of one person who visited the facility recently, detainees are staying like "fish in a can", and there is not even enough room for everyone to sit at the same time, let alone to lie down or move about at all.

 

I am appalled to hear that children and young women especially are being held in such circumstances, and am aware that aside from this group there are other women and children being held in the atrocious conditions at this facility: according to a report by a recent visitor to the detention centre, there are at least five women in advanced stages of pregnancy, from Sri Lanka and Pakistan, locked up there at present.

 

The raids on the residences of the asylum seekers at four locations, namely Prueksa 9, 11 and 12, Klong Sam, Prathumthani; and Sapanmai, Jaralsanitwong and Intamara in Bangkok were coordinated and planned, as the immigration personnel brought enough vehicles to take away all the persons. Despite this, the officials reportedly did not explain why they were taking the group into custody. As the asylum seekers had been staying peaceably, awaiting the outcome of their applications, the only conclusion to be had is that this is part of a programme being carried out by the authorities in Thailand against asylum seekers and refugees.

 

In light of the above, I call for the immediate release of these persons and for them to be allowed to remain in Thailand pending the outcomes of their applications for asylum. I call for appropriate medical treatment to be given to the ill and pregnant among them, and for the concerned authorities to take other measures as necessary for their security and wellbeing.

 

In this regard I draw the attention of the government of Thailand to its legally-binding obligations under international treaties, specifically under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and the Convention against Torture, both of which it has joined voluntarily. Under article 9 of the ICCPR, it is prohibited for the authorities in Thailand to detain anyone arbitrarily, and anyone who is detained has a legal right to be informed of the reasons and to challenge their detention in a court of law. Furthermore, under article 10 of the same treaty, "All persons deprived of their liberty shall be treated with humanity and with respect for the inherent dignity of the human person."

 

Finally, the government would be aware that under article 3 of the Convention against Torture, it is prohibited from forcibly repatriating any person to a country where he or she is in danger of being subjected to torture; therefore, it is incumbent upon the authorities in Thailand to ensure that where any persons among those seeking asylum have legitimate reason to fear that they would be subject to torture if repatriated, the appropriate steps be taken to make sure that they are not under any circumstances forced to go back to their country of origin.

 

Yours sincerely,

 

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO

:

 

1. Mr. Abhisit Vejjajiva

Prime Minister

c/o Government House

Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District

Bangkok 10300

THAILAND

Fax: +66 2 288 4000 ext. 4025

Tel: +66 2 288 4000

E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th or abhisit@abhisit.org

 

2. Mr. Chaowarat Chanweerakul

Minister of Interior

Office of the Ministry of Interior

Atsadang Road, Ratchabophit

Pranakorn, Bangkok 10200

THAILAND

Fax: +66 2 226 4371/ 222 8866

Tel: +66 2 224 6320/ 6341

E-mail: om@moi.go.th

 

3. Mr. Peeraphan Saleeratwipak

Minister of Justice

Office of the Ministry of Justice

Ministry of Justice Building

22nd Floor Software Park Building,

Chaeng Wattana Road

Pakkred, Nonthaburi 11120

THAILAND

Fax: +662 502 6734 / 6884

Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223

E-mail: om@moj.go.th

 

4. Mr. Kasit Piromya

Minister of Foreign Affairs

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affair

443 Sri Ayudhya Road

Bangkok 10400

THAILAND

Fax: +662 643 5318

Tel: +662 643 5333

E-mail: om@mof.go.th

 

5. Mr. Jullasingha Wasantasingha

Attorney General

Office of the Attorney General

Lukmuang Building, Nahuppei Road

Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn,

Bangkok 10200

THAILAND

Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858

Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30

E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th

 

6. Pol. Gen. Wichean Potephosree

Royal Thai Police

1st Bldg, 7th Floor

Rama I, Patumwan

Bkk 10330

THAILAND

Fax: +66 2 251 5956/ 205 3738/ 255 1975-8

E-mail: feedback@police.go.th

 

 

Thank you.

 

Urgent Appeals Programme

Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) (ua@ahrc.asia

)

 

 

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal Case
Document ID :
AHRC-UAC-182-2010
Countries :
Issues :
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Extended Introduction: Urgent Appeals, theory and practice

A need for dialogue

Many people across Asia are frustrated by the widespread lack of respect for human rights in their countries.  Some may be unhappy about the limitations on the freedom of expression or restrictions on privacy, while some are affected by police brutality and military killings.  Many others are frustrated with the absence of rights on labour issues, the environment, gender and the like. 

Yet the expression of this frustration tends to stay firmly in the private sphere.  People complain among friends and family and within their social circles, but often on a low profile basis. This kind of public discourse is not usually an effective measure of the situation in a country because it is so hard to monitor. 

Though the media may cover the issues in a broad manner they rarely broadcast the private fears and anxieties of the average person.  And along with censorship – a common blight in Asia – there is also often a conscious attempt in the media to reflect a positive or at least sober mood at home, where expressions of domestic malcontent are discouraged as unfashionably unpatriotic. Talking about issues like torture is rarely encouraged in the public realm.

There may also be unwritten, possibly unconscious social taboos that stop the public reflection of private grievances.  Where authoritarian control is tight, sophisticated strategies are put into play by equally sophisticated media practices to keep complaints out of the public space, sometimes very subtly.  In other places an inner consensus is influenced by the privileged section of a society, which can control social expression of those less fortunate.  Moral and ethical qualms can also be an obstacle.

In this way, causes for complaint go unaddressed, un-discussed and unresolved and oppression in its many forms, self perpetuates.  For any action to arise out of private frustration, people need ways to get these issues into the public sphere.

Changing society

In the past bridging this gap was a formidable task; it relied on channels of public expression that required money and were therefore controlled by investors.  Printing presses were expensive, which blocked the gate to expression to anyone without money.  Except in times of revolution the media in Asia has tended to serve the well-off and sideline or misrepresent the poor.

Still, thanks to the IT revolution it is now possible to communicate with large audiences at little cost.  In this situation there is a real avenue for taking issues from private to public, regardless of the class or caste of the individual.

Practical action

The AHRC Urgent Appeals system was created to give a voice to those affected by human rights violations, and by doing so, to create a network of support and open avenues for action.  If X’s freedom of expression is denied, if Y is tortured by someone in power or if Z finds his or her labour rights abused, the incident can be swiftly and effectively broadcast and dealt with. The resulting solidarity can lead to action, resolution and change. And as more people understand their rights and follow suit, as the human rights consciousness grows, change happens faster. The Internet has become one of the human rights community’s most powerful tools.   

At the core of the Urgent Appeals Program is the recording of human rights violations at a grass roots level with objectivity, sympathy and competence. Our information is firstly gathered on the ground, close to the victim of the violation, and is then broadcast by a team of advocates, who can apply decades of experience in the field and a working knowledge of the international human rights arena. The flow of information – due to domestic restrictions – often goes from the source and out to the international community via our program, which then builds a pressure for action that steadily makes its way back to the source through his or her own government.   However these cases in bulk create a narrative – and this is most important aspect of our program. As noted by Sri Lankan human rights lawyer and director of the Asian Human Rights Commission, Basil Fernando:

"The urgent appeal introduces narrative as the driving force for social change. This idea was well expressed in the film Amistad, regarding the issue of slavery. The old man in the film, former president and lawyer, states that to resolve this historical problem it is very essential to know the narrative of the people. It was on this basis that a court case is conducted later. The AHRC establishes the narrative of human rights violations through the urgent appeals. If the narrative is right, the organisation will be doing all right."

Patterns start to emerge as violations are documented across the continent, allowing us to take a more authoritative, systemic response, and to pinpoint the systems within each country that are breaking down. This way we are able to discover and explain why and how violations take place, and how they can most effectively be addressed. On this path, larger audiences have opened up to us and become involved: international NGOs and think tanks, national human rights commissions and United Nations bodies.  The program and its coordinators have become a well-used tool for the international media and for human rights education programs. All this helps pave the way for radical reforms to improve, protect and to promote human rights in the region.