The Situation of Refugees on the Thai-Burma Border

By Burma Partnership • December 11, 2012

Thailand has been home for approximately 160,000 refugees from Burma for decades. With reforms beginning to be implemented by the Burma government in the last year and a half, the return of these refugees is being discussed and planned at a high level between the governments of Burma and Thailand, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and donor countries.

This briefing paper looks at the current situation in Burma’s ethnic areas, the areas that refugees would be returned to, and shows how the conditions are not yet in place for their return. Furthermore, it highlights the need for the refugees to be included in these processes and lays out refugees and community-based organization’s preconditions for their return.

The briefing paper was produced to provide additional information to our short documentary, entitled “Nothing About Us Without Us: Refugees’ Voices About their Return to Burma.” The film highlights refugees’ voices about repatriation from camps along the Thailand border back into Burma.

Download the briefing paper here.