Call For Urgent Inquiry as Nationality Verification of Burmese Migrants Begins

Call For Urgent Inquiry as Nationality
Verification of Burmese Migrants Begins
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Tomorrow (16th Sept. 2009), the State Enterprise Workers Relations
Confederation (SERC), the Human Rights and Development Foundation (HRDF)
and the Thai Labour Solidarity Committee (TLSC) will petition the United
Nations Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants calling for an
urgent inquiry into the commencement of a nationality verification process
for Burmese migrants in Thailand. Subsequently, a set of recommendations
will be submitted to the Royal Thai Government. The process, occurring both
on Thai and Burmese soil, and on which the Thai Government has disseminated
little information, is likely to be ineffective and places 2 million
migrants at high risk of exploitation.
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There are an estimated three million migrant workers currently in Thailand.
The majority of these migrants are from Burma, and entered Thailand
‘illegally.’ In 2004, the Royal Thai Government (RTG) and the Burmese
military junta signed a Memorandum of Understanding providing for
nationality verification of these migrants so they could become
‘legal.’ The process was not implemented as the Burmese junta insisted
nationality verification take place in Burma, whilst the RTG said it should
take place in Thailand. The stalemate continued until late 2008 when RTG
agreed for nationality verification to take place in Burma in three main
border towns. The RTG then announced that no migrants would remain
‘illegally’ in Thailand after 28th February 2010, as all registered
Burmese migrants must undertake nationality verification before this time,
by means of a 13-stage process involving both governments, or face
deportation.

In past weeks, the nationality verification process has begun. Tour buses
carrying migrants to border processing centres are leaving main migrant
population centres in Thailand and migrants are then crossing borders to
Burma and returning at varying costs with temporary Burmese passports and
visas. Information is spreading in migrant communities on these
developments, but the RTG has not yet conducted public relations campaigns
with migrants, NGOs or labour organisations. The only information
publically disseminated is from the Burmese government about processes on
its side of the border. However, private brokers are springing up and
providing answers and services at unreasonably high costs.

The nationality verification process is two-track. Migrants can either
submit their biographical information to brokers to get nationality
verified and obtain a passport within months, or submit this information
formally to employment offices and receive a slow response. The formal
government costs are low (approx. 600 to 2, 100 baht/US$17- 60) but broker
fees are unregulated and getting higher (starting costs approx. 7, 500
baht/US$200). In Samut Sakorn Province, with the largest Burmese migrant
population in Thailand, recently officials announced to employers that the
use of ‘recommended’ brokers in nationality verification processes was
necessary to cope with the large number of migrants involved and to speed
things up.

Certain ethnic groups, especially the Shan, are increasingly fearful of
providing personal information as rumors of negative effects for their
families surface once this information reaches the Burmese junta. Rumors
are also spreading that Burma intends to catch political activists through
the process, and Muslims are excluded. Many migrant workers are paying
brokers only to report they disappear without providing services.

Sawit Keawan, SERC’s General Secretary, today said: ‘SERC, HRDF and
TLSC are increasingly concerned as a result of these developments. We fear
for the safety of Burmese migrants in Thailand and are disturbed at what
appears to be another wave of exploitation affecting them. Nationality
verification, which we view as a positive yet sensitive issue, is beginning
at unreasonable costs to migrants, and just weeks after a previous
registration period ended and migrants endured high costs related to this.
There has been little information provided by the RTG on the processes,
especially to migrants.’

Gothom Arya, HRDF’s President, adds: ‘HRDF, SERC and TLSC will call on
the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Rights of Migrants to urgently set
up an inquiry into the commencement of this nationality verification
process. We will also send a set of recommendations to the RTG, including a
request that the RTG should continue to strongly urge the Burmese
government that the process take place here in Thailand. This will reduce
the unreasonable costs being borne by migrants, speed up the process, and
importantly increase the safety of migrants whilst reducing unnecessary use
of exploitative brokers. If the process continues as it is, it is likely to
be ineffective and we fear Burmese migrants may once again become victims
of exploitation, suffer increased debt bondage, and perhaps even becomes
victims of trafficking as they travel with unregulated brokers to border
areas.’

*SERC is a national confederation of 43 state enterprise unions in Thailand
representing over 170, 000 registered members and affiliated to the
International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC). HRDF is a registered Thai
Foundation working to strengthen standards on human rights, democracy and
peace in Thailand. TLSC is a committee consisting of 24 labour federations,
unions and NGOs campaigning on labour issues in Thailand.