Nationality Verification deadline passes; deportations begin

Days after the 2 March deadline for registering intent to complete the Nationality Verification process, Thai authorities are already scaling up deportations of migrant workers.

According to a spokesperson from Yaung Chi Oo Workers Association (YCOWA), there has been a sudden spike in the detention and deportation of migrants today in the Thai-Burma border town of Mae Sot. […]

Message from Mae Tao Clinic

Dr. Cynthia Maung, of Mae Tao Clinic discusses food security, child protection, and public health challenges and possible solutions along the Thai Burma Border. In this clip, she responds to a recent article in the Bangkok Post.

A Burma Plan for Mr. Obama

By Aung Din
Wall Street Journal

The news from Burma, my home country, seems to only go from bad to worse. Last week, Nobel Peace Prize winner Aung San Suu Kyi was denied yet another appeal and will remain under house arrest. Last month, Burmese-American human-rights activist Kyaw Zaw Lwin, also known as Nyi Nyi Aung, was sentenced to three years in prison on trumped up fraud and forgery charges. […]

Rejection of Daw Suu Appeal Bodes Ill for “Democratic” Elections

On 26 February, Burma’s Supreme Court rejected Daw Aung San Suu Kyi’s appeal to end her house arrest, giving no reason for the decision. However, Daw Suu’s lawyers are not giving up. Nyan Win said they are preparing for a special appeal, asking the chief justice of Burma to convene a panel of judges to […]

Nationality Verification deadline extended

According to internal documents, the Thai government has extended the deadline for migrant workers to submit their completed Nationality Verification application from the original 28 February deadline until 31 March. Migrant workers have been given until 2 March to register at local employment departments and sign an agreement to complete the process. Any migrant workers […]

International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women of Burma – March 2nd, 2010

The International Tribunal on Crimes Against Women in Burma starts on March 2nd in New York City.
Visit the blog. Watch the webcast. Follow it on Twitter and Facebook.

Hong Kong Groups Protest Nationality Verification Deadline

Rising Concerns as Migrant Workers’ Nationality Verification Deadline Approaches

Human rights and migrant worker organizations are concerned that over 1.3 million migrant workers—the majority of whom are Burmese—could be deported from Thailand if they fail to enter the nationality verification process before 28 February.

In January, the Thai Cabinet passed a resolution allowing for a two-year extension of work permits for the migrants provided that they were willing to submit biographical information to their home governments prior to 28 February. […]

Burma Partnership’s Website Launch Party

Last night, we hosted a party to celebrate the launch of Burma Partnership’s brand new website. We invited friends and colleagues including our Working Group members – the Students and Youth Congress of Burma (SYCB), Nationalities Youth Forum (NY Forum), and Forum for Democracy in Burma (FDB) – and different organizations to join us for […]

UN Rapporteur Quintana’s Visit to Burma

United Nations Special Rapporteur on Human Rights, Tomas Ojea Quintana, was in Burma this past week, the first international visit to the country since the US State Department delegation trip in November. On 16 and 17 February, Quintana visited Sittwe in Burma’s Arakan State and traveled another 3 hours by boat to reach Buthidaung prison, […]