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GENERAL APPEAL (Thailand): Government imposing policies further discriminating against migrant workers

November 30, 2007

URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEAL GENERAL URGENT APPEALS GENERAL

ASIAN HUMAN RIGHTS COMMISSION – URGENT APPEALS PROGRAMME

Urgent Appeal General

30 November 2007
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UG-009-2007: THAILAND: Government imposing policies further discriminating against migrant workers

THAILAND: National security; international law; migrant workers; women's rights; discrimination
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Dear friends,

The Asian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) writes to inform you that the government of Thailand is imposing policies which further deprive migrant workers of their rights. The policies, particularly on migrant workers giving birth in the country, are discriminatory as they effectively excuse the government from any responsibility to ensure the welfare of persons who are not citizens. This is in violation of Thailand's international obligations.

CASE DETAILS:

In dealing with the migrant workers' issue, General Sonthi Boonyaratglin, leader of the September 2006 coup and now Deputy Prime Minister, on November 14 announced during a visit to Samut Sakhorn, that he would deal with the "problem" of migrant workers having babies in Thailand. He said that pregnant women would be deported back to their countries of origin. He also said that arrangements would be made through the National Security Council (NSC) in dealing with migrant workers having babies there.

Prior to this, on October 26 the province' governor, Virayuth Iyamampha, had already issued a notice that people "should not give assistance [to migrants] because it will give them the feeling that they belong to the community". He instructed factories employing migrants from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, especially those from Burma, to monitor their behaviour so that criminal cases could be initiated, and also told them not to do anything to encourage the "spread of aliens' culture".

Apart from that, two local radio stations in the northern part of the country broadcasting in minority languages have also been ordered by local army officers stop broadcasting for "security reasons". Two local radio stations using Karen as their medium and another using Shan have been affected. Even though the said orders have not been made in writing they appear to have come from the Internal Security Operations Command, which is also headed by General Sonthi. Despite explanations made by the broadcasters that the contents of their programmes are about health, education and other social matters they were still not allowed to keep broadcasting.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION:

On August 30, the AHRC already raised its concerns along with other groups regarding discriminatory gubernatorial directives targeting migrant workers in five southern provinces. The provinces of Phuket, Ranong, Rayong and Phang Nga imposed restrictions prohibiting migrants from gathering in groups of more than five persons without prior permission, regulates their use of mobile phones, motorcycles and cars, and imposed curfew hours from 8pm to 6am. Similar directives have also been imposed in the provinces of Surat Thani, Krabi and in Chaing Mai.

The directives deprive the migrant workers of their fundamental rights. The workers are mostly from Burma, Laos and Cambodia, and intend only to provide financial support to their families back home. Some workers, particularly those coming from Burma, are forced to leave their countries to avoid persecution. The regulations are also applied regardless of whether or not the workers have proper documentation. It makes them more vulnerable to abuse and exploitation, both by their employers and the police authorities.

Apart from policies imposed above, it is also difficult for migrant workers to obtain legal remedies or representation once their rights are violated. In Thailand, migrant workers have no legal right to form their own unions and collectively bargain with their employers and the government for their demands. In the event of a labor conflict, migrant workers are unable to raise complaints, settle the case amicably and are forced to endure the continuing abuses to avoid being deported.

For instance, in Thailand, migrant workers seeking another employer cannot legally do so unless they are given clearance or permission by their previous employers. Therefore, once a conflict takes place between the worker and the employer, the latter exploits the former by refusing to give them permission to move on. When the migrant workers cannot obtain other employment legally, they are forced to work illegally once their permit to stay expires. This condition makes them more vulnerable to abuse by their employers.

For individual cases regarding the plight of migrant workers working in Thailand, please read our previous appeals: UA-54-2003; UA-178-2004; UA-157-2005; UP-109-2005.

The AHRC has warned that the imposition of these policies and directives is tantamount to a trend towards heightened military control, not only in the southern provinces where the emergency law still continues to take effect, but in the entire civilian institution of the country on the pretext of "counter insurgency" and threats to "national security". (AHRC-PL-034-2007; AS-276-2007). See also Thailand imperiled by masculinity, not pregnancy at UPI Asia Online.

SUGGESTED ACTION:
Please write letters to the concerned authorities below demanding the government of Thailand to ensure that discriminatory orders and policies are immediately revoked. They must also observe obligations under international law to refrain from taking actions depriving migrant workers' rights.

The AHRC is also writing letters to the concerned UN agencies for their intervention.

To support this appeal, please click here:

Sample letter:

Dear __________,

THAILAND: Please desist with policies that discriminate against migrant workers

I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the implementation of policies by the government of Thailand discriminating further against migrant workers.

I have learned that on 14 November 2007 Deputy Prime Minister General Sonthi Boonyaratglin announced that the government would deport pregnant migrant workers. This, however, effectively excuses the government from any responsibility to ensure the welfare of migrant workers, particularly women having babies. He also said that appropriate arrangements would be made through the National Security Council (NSC) to deal with migrant workers having babies there.

Meanwhile, on 26 October 2007 Governor Virayuth Iyamampha of Samut Sakhorn issued a notice (No. Sorkhor 0017.2/Wor 3634) that the people "should not give assistance [to migrants] because it will give them the feeling that they belong to the community". He instructed factories employing migrants to monitor their behaviour so that criminal cases could be initiated, and also told them not to do anything to encourage the "spread of aliens' culture".

Also in five provinces in the south, gubernatorial directives have been imposed which prohibit migrant workers from gathering in numbers of more than five persons, regulating their use of mobile phones, motorcycles and cars, and imposed curfew hours on them. Similar directives have also been imposed in Chaing Mai. These rules remain in effect despite being contrary to the provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, to which the government of Thailand is a State Party.

There has not been progress to respond to demands to have this directives revoked in accordance with the article 2 (c) of the Convention which requires a "review [on] governmental, national and local policies, and to amend, rescind or nullify any laws and regulations which have the effect of creating or perpetuating racial discrimination wherever it exists". The Convention also obliges the government to ensure equal treatment, including the migrant workers, of people living and working in their country.

Apart from this, I have also learned that local radio stations in the northern part of Thailand which broadcast minority languages have been ordered to stop from broadcasting on the pretext of "security reasons". Though the broadcasters have properly explained that the content of their programmes is about health, education and other social matters, and that their use of the said languages helps in effectively communicating with their target audience, the army officers ignored their pleas in allowing them to continue their work.

I therefore urge you to ensue without delay that these discriminatory directives are revoked and the government will refrain from taking needless actions against migrant workers. As State Party to the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, the government of Thailand has international obligations to ensure that it affords equal protection to persons working and living in Thailand, regardless of country of origin and race. It is disappointing that the government has instead failed to live up to these obligations.

Also, I urge the government to refrain from implementing laws and policies in dealing with the migrant workers on the pretext of "national security". I am gravely concerned regarding the military's actions in which matters purely about affording migrant workers social services are being exploited for nationalist and political purposes. It is disappointing that instead of taking appropriate measures to adequately address their needs, the government sees fit to resolve this simply by way of deportation. I urge the government to take responsibility for the welfare of migrant workers. Appropriate and adequate measures should be taken to provide responsible long term solutions.

Yours sincerely,

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PLEASE SEND YOUR LETTERS TO:

1. General Surayud Chulanont
Interim Prime Minister
c/o Government House
Pitsanulok Road, Dusit District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 280 1404/ 3000
Fax: +662 282 8631/ 280 1589/ 629 8213
E-mail: spokesman@thaigov.go.th

2. Mr. Chaikasem Nitisiri
Attorney General
Office of the Attorney General
Lukmuang Building
Nahuppei Road
Prabraromrachawang, Pranakorn
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224 1563/ 222 8121-30
Fax: +662 224 0162/ 1448/ 221 0858
E-mail: ag@ago.go.th or oag@ago.go.th

3. Mr. Charnchai Likitjitta
Interim Minister of Justice
Office of the Ministry of Justice
Ministry of Justice Building
22nd Floor Software Park Building,
Chaeng Wattana Road
Pakkred, Nonthaburi
Bangkok 11120
THAILAND
Tel: +662 502 6776/ 8223
Fax: +662 502 6699/ 6734 / 6884
E-mail: om@moj.go.th

4. Mr. Aree Wongaraya
Interim Minister of Interior
Office of the Ministry of Interior
Atsadang Road
Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Tel: +662 224-6320/ 6341
Fax: +662 226 4371/ 222 8866
E-mail: om@moi.go.th


5. Professor Saneh Chamarik
Chairperson
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand
422 Phya Thai Road
Pathum Wan District
Bangkok 10300
THAILAND
Tel: +662 219 2980
Fax: +662 219 2940
E-mail: commission@nhrc.or.th

6. Mr. Apai Chantanajulaka
Interim Minister of Labour
Office of Ministry of Labour
Khweng Din Daeng
Bangkok 10400
THAILAND
Tel: +66 2 245 4310-4
Fax: +66 2 643 4457 or 232 1433 (for Deputy Minister) or 232 1009 (for Secretary)

Thank you.

Urgent Appeals Programme
Asian Human Rights Commission (ua@ahrchk.org)

Document Type :
Urgent Appeal General
Document ID :
UG-009-2007
Countries :
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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.