(Photo - Phuket Wan) |
Phil Robertson, Sunai Phasuk, Brad Adams, John Sifton (Human Rights
Watch)
The Nation
January 9, 2013
The Thai government should immediately halt its plan to deport 73 ethnic
Rohingya back to Myanmar. Thai authorities should allow the United
Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency,
unhindered access to these and other boat migrants from Myanmar's Arakan
State, to determine whether they are seeking asylum and whether they
are qualified for refugee status.
On January 1, near Bon Island in Phuket province, Thai authorities
intercepted a boatload of 73 Rohingya migrants - including as many as 20
children, some as young as three - that contained likely
asylum-seekers. After providing food, water and other supplies to the
passengers and refuelling the boat, Thai authorities initially planned
to push the boat back out to sea, en route to Malaysia's Langkawi
Island. When they found that the rickety, overcrowded boat had cracks
and that many passengers were too weak to endure a stormy sea voyage,
the authorities brought the group ashore to the Phuket Immigration
Office. By 4pm on January 2, two trucks with all 73 Rohingya were
heading to Ranong province for deportation back to Myanmar.
The Thai government should scrap its inhumane policy of summarily
deporting Rohingya, who have been brutally persecuted in Myanmar, and
honour their right to seek asylum. The UNHCR should be permitted to
screen all Rohingya arriving in Thailand to identify and assist those
seeking refugee status.
The Thai government's so-called "help on" policy fails to provide
Rohingya asylum-seekers with protection required under international
law, and in some cases increases their risk. Under this policy, the Thai
navy is under orders to intercept Rohingya boats that come close to the
Thai coast. Upon intercepting a boat, officials provide the boat with
fuel, food, water and other supplies on condition that the boats sail
onward to Malaysia or Indonesia. All passengers must remain on their own
boats during the re-supply.
Should a boat land on Thai soil or be found to be unsafe, Thai
immigration officials will step in to enforce deportation by land. This
"soft deportation" process has resulted in Rohingya being sent across
the Thai-Myanmar border at Ranong province, where people smugglers await
deported Rohingya to exact exorbitant fees to transport them to
Malaysia. Those unable to pay the smuggling fees are forced into labour
to pay off the fees, condemning them to situations amounting to human
trafficking.
Thailand has repeatedly stated its commitment to combat human
trafficking, yet by deporting Rohingya into the hands of people
smugglers, they are making them vulnerable to trafficking.
In January 2009, Thailand's National Security Council, led by then-prime
ninister Abhisit Vejjajiva, authorised the navy to intercept incoming
Rohingya boats and detain the passengers before pushing them back to
sea. Later that year, Thai security forces were captured on video towing
boats with Rohingya out to sea, which the government initially denied,
but which Abhisit later conceded, saying, "I have some reason to believe
some of this happened." While the recent "help on" strategy has meant
that intercepted boats are re-provisioned, the Thai navy is still
pushing back to sea boats filled with Rohingya, with some deadly
results.
Thailand's response to arriving Rohingya asylum-seekers contrasts
sharply with the policy in Malaysia, where the authorities have
routinely allowed the UN refugee agency access to arriving Rohingya.
Those recognised by the agency as refugees are released from immigration
detention.
Myanmar authorities have long persecuted the Rohingya, members of a
Muslim minority group who have lived in Myanmar for generations.
Government and military authorities in Arakan State regularly apply
severe restrictions on the Rohingya's freedom of movement, assembly and
association, levy demands for forced labour, engage in religious
persecution, and confiscate land and resources. Myanmar's 1982
Citizenship Law effectively denies the Rohingya citizenship, leaving
them stateless.
Each year hundreds of thousands of Rohingya in Arakan State flee
repression by the Myanmar military and dire poverty. The situation
significantly worsened in late 2012 following communal violence in June
and October targeting Rohingya and other Muslim groups. The arrival of
the 73 Rohingya in Phuket on January 1 was the first acknowledged
interception that included women and children on board. Many more boats
are expected to set sail from Myanmar in the coming months.
Under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, everyone has the right
to seek asylum from persecution. While Thailand is not a party to the
1951 Refugee Convention, under customary international law the Thai
government has an obligation of "non-refoulement" - not to return anyone
to a place where their life or freedom would be at risk.
The Thai government should ensure that its laws and procedures recognise
the protection needs of ethnic Rohingya. The UNHCR has the technical
expertise to screen for refugee status and the mandate to protect
refugees and stateless people. Effective UNHCR screening of all boat
arrivals would help the Thai government determine who is entitled to
refugee status.
Refugee screening is crucial for protecting Rohingya asylum-seekers, and
the Thai government should allow this critical process. Until the UNHCR
is allowed to conduct refugee screening, the Thai government should
halt forcible returns of Rohingya boat people.
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