Thailand: Aktivister kræver bedre beskyttelse af flygtninge

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I en ny rapport fra Human Rights Watch fremgår det, at flygtninge i Thailand, der opholder sig udenfor landets begrænsede antal flygtningelejre, er i stor fare for at blive arresteret og udvist.

BANGKOK, 13 September 2012 (IRIN): Thailand’s treatment of refugees and asylum seekers is inadequate, with those outside designated refugee camps risking deportation, say activists and rights groups.

“The absence of refugee law in Thailand unfairly exposes refugees and asylum seekers to abuses including exploitation, extortion, arrest, and detention,” said Bill Frelick, Human Rights Watch’s (HRW) refugee programme director and author of a new report released on 13 September.

Beskyttelse ikke en del af thailandsk lovgivning

While 85.977 verified refugees and 966 asylum seekers currently reside in the country, according to the latest estimates from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Thai legislation does not include any protection provisions for refugees.

“Refugees are seen as illegal migrants outside of the camps, and inside the camps they are vulnerable to social problems arising from lack of employment. Neither model is adequate,” said Oliver White, communications and advocacy officer for the Jesuit Refugee Service, an international Catholic NGO.

Nødt til at bevæge sig udenfor flygtningelejrene

Burmese refugees are legally permitted to stay in the kingdom only if they stay in the nine camps along the 1.800 km Thai-Burmese border.

But lack of access to livelihoods often forces breadwinners to leave settlements during the day to find work, putting them at risk of arrest and deportation, activists say.

Læs hele artiklen på
http://www.irinnews.org/Report/96298/THAILAND-Activists-call-for-greater-refugee-protection

Læs videre fra mellemrubrikken: ” Urban refugees”