Adequate Security and Assistance Needed Before Refugees Return

Members of the European Burma Network are deeply concerned that refugees from Burma living in camps in Thailand are being pressured to return to Burma prematurely because of cuts in aid […]

Dr Cynthia Maung Receives Honorary Doctorate in Medicine from Ubon Ratchathani University, Thailand

On the 18th December Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presented Dr Cynthia Maung, Director of Mae Tao Clinic with an honorary doctorate in medicine from Ubon Ratchathani University (UBU). This is the first time that an academic institution in Thailand has provided […]

Secret Camps Holding Rohingya Refugees Must Be Closed Immediately

On International Migrants Day the Mekong Migration Network Calls for Urgent Action To Protect Asylum Seekers

The Mekong Migration Network (MMN) strongly condemns the abusive treatment of the Rohingya in Myanmar and in Thailand. Members of MMN who represent civil society groups working on labour, women and migration issues in all of the countries of the Mekong subregion, are shocked by the treatment of the Rohingya people […]

New Investment in Dawei Project Must Follow International Best Practices

Ahead of this week’s Japan-ASEAN summit, the Dawei Development Association calls on the Japanese government, development agencies and investors to refrain from investing in the Dawei Special Economic Zone (SEZ) in Tanintharyi Region until international best practices are firmly […]

Thailand: Ensure Access to Justice and Protection for Rohingya Asylum-Seekers

Thai authorities must ensure the investigation into the alleged rape of a Rohingya asylum-seeker from Myanmar is impartial and that all those involved, including the police, are held accountable in a trial that meets international standards of fairness. Thailand has a responsibility to ensure effective protection, both in law and practice, of asylum-seekers and migrants arriving at its shores and living within its borders […]

Open Letter on the Treatment of Rohingya Asylum-Seekers and Migrants

Dear Minister,

I am writing on behalf of Amnesty International to express concerns about the treatment of asylum-seekers and migrants, in particular those from  Myanmar ’s Rohingya minority community, who have arrived or made attempts to arrive in Thailand by sea in recent months […]

Thailand: End Inhumane Detention of Rohingya

Provide Asylum Seekers Access to UN Refugee Agency The Thai government should immediately end the detention under inhumane conditions of more than 1,700 ethnic Rohingya from Burma, Human Rights Watch said today. Rohingya asylum seekers should be transferred from overcrowded cells in immigration detention centers to get screening and protection from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees […]

Sold to the Sea: Human Trafficking in Thailand’s Fishing Industry

Human trafficking is a global problem. It is estimated that as many as 27 million men, women and children are currently victims of human trafficking around the world.

Thailand is the 32nd largest economy in the world, with a GDP of $377 billion and a growth rate of 5.5 per cent in 2012.2/3 It also has one of the lowest unemployment rates globally, at 0.5 per cent in December 2012.

Thailand’s economy is heavily reliant on labour-intensive industries. However, growing economic prosperity since the late 1980s has seen a decline in the available Thai workforce needed to meet the labour demand.5 In 2009, Thailand’s Ministry of Labour estimated that an additional 116,000 workers would be needed to address the labour-market imbalance […]

Current Status of Dam Projects on Burma’s Salween River

In late February 2013, Burma’s Deputy Minister of Electric Power informed Parliament that six dam projects on the Salween River in Shan State, Kayah State (Karenni) and Karen State had gained approval. With a combined installed capacity of 15,000 MW, the projects will include the Upper Salween or Kunlong Dam, Mai Tong or Tasang Dam, Nong Pha Dam, Mantawng Dam (on a tributary), Ywathit Dam, and Hatgyi Dam. The investment will come from five Chinese corporations, Thailand’s Electricity Generation Authority of Thailand (EGAT) International Co. Ltd and three Burmese corporations.

Thailand: Don’t Deport Rohingya ‘Boat People’

The Thai government should immediately halt its plan to deport 73 ethnic Rohingya back to Burma, Human Rights Watch said today. Thai authorities should allow the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency […]