Thailand: Migrants' Deaths Spotlight Exploitation
Government Should End Discriminatory Policies and Improve Protection
(New York, April 11, 2008) - The suffocation deaths on April 10 of 54
Burmese migrants is a somber wake-up call that should prompt Thai
authorities to end discriminatory policies and improve protection for
migrants, Human Rights Watch said today.
Thai policies to date have done little to protect the rights of
migrant workers. With few avenues to migrate legally and safely for
work, many Burmese migrant workers living in Thailand are vulnerable
to arrest and extortion by corrupt officials, and risk exploitation,
abuse, and death.
On April 10, 2008, 37 women and 17 men suffocated in an unventilated
truck while traveling in the Ranong province of southern Thailand not
far from Kawthaung town in Burma. They were allegedly moving to an
unspecified work site. Sixty-seven migrants survived the journey, and
are now being held in prison for illegal entry. The driver of the
truck fled the scene.
"These preventable deaths are the tragic result of people fleeing
repression and poverty in Burma, only to find abuse and exploitation
in Thailand," said Elaine Pearson, deputy Asia director at Human
Rights Watch. "Thai policies denying migrants basic rights contribute
to such tragedies and urgently need to be revised or scrapped. These
deaths put Thai authorities squarely on notice that reform cannot
wait."
Human Rights Watch called on the Thai government to immediately
investigate the deaths in Ranong province and the serious situation of
trade in human smuggling across Thailand's border. It also called on
the Thai government to provide assistance to the victims on
humanitarian grounds rather than detaining and de****ting them back to
Burma, and to ensure that all migrants enjoy basic rights such as
freedom of movement, association, and assembly.
The death of the 54 Burmese migrants is only the latest in a series of
serious incidents involving migrants. Since the start of 2008, scores
of Rohingya Muslims from Burma have drowned in the Andaman Sea trying
to reach southern Thailand, a gateway to Malaysia. Instead of offering
protection, Thai Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has recently
announced he will detain them on a deserted island to deter more
arrivals.
Despite the fact that the Thai economy depends heavily on the
availability of cheap labor from Burma and other neighboring
countries, in the past two years, Thailand has been increasing
restrictions on the rights of migrant workers.A series of provincial
decrees in Ranong, Rayong, and Pang Nga provinces have made it
unlawful for migrants to go out at night, carry mobile phones, and
ride motorbikes. Thai authorities have indicated the decrees may be
extended to other provinces which are home to many Burmese migrants.
Prime Minister Samak has called migrant workers from Burma a "national
security" issue, especially in those provinces such as Ranong, Tak,
and Chiang Mai where Burmese workers constitute a high percentage of
the population. This position has been put in place since the time of
Thaksin ****nawatra's administration.
"These deaths show what a deadly mishmash of illegality and regulation
Thailand's migrant labor law regime is," Pearson said. "It's a
pressing humanitarian issue but it's also in Thailand's own interests:
these workers are vital to the country's economy."
Last year's nationwide protests and brutal crackdowns by the ruling
State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) increased political and
economic hard****ps in Burma. The difficulties forced millions of
Burmese to seek a better life in Thailand. However, only a fraction of
an estimated 2 million Burmese migrants living in Thailand are legally
registered to work.
According to Thailand's Migrant Assistance Program in Chiang Mai, at
the end of 2007, a total of 616,272 migrant workers from Burma, Laos,
and Cambodia were registered to work in Thailand. Of that number
367,834 were from Burma. Registered workers have access to basic
health care and carry registration cards to avoid arrest by police,
but must also restrict themselves to one employer and location in
Thailand. Unregistered migrant workers often face poor working
conditions, low wages, exploitation by employees, and are prey to
extortion by authorities and de****tation to Burma if caught. While
there is a bilateral agreement between the Thai and Burmese
governments on managing labor migration, it has yet to be fully
implemented, and the formal process is slow, expensive, and
restrictive to certain occupations.
"If Thailand's labor laws were followed across the board, fewer
migrants would resort to illegal crossings or be susceptible to
trafficking, and could travel and work with basic rights under law,"
said Pearson. "It's time for the Thai and Burmese governments to
implement transparent measures that protect the lives and basic rights
of migrant workers."
|
