Thursday August 31, 2006
Bangkok- Thailand, which has offered asylum to millions of refugees from its less-well-off neighbours over the past three decades, agreed on Thursday to a "new vision" that would see its refugee population closely incorporated into the economy. "I think this is a major step forward," said United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Antonio Guterres, after winding up talks with the Thai government, including with caretaker Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.
Thailand has been a magnet for millions of refugees fleeing from its less stable neighbours - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) - since the mid-1970s, and even today continues to host 150,000 refugees from Myanmar's Karen ethnic group in nine camps along the border.
Thailand's refugee hub status has often earned it criticism from international agencies and humanitarian groups for past governments' interference with aid programmes and occasional threats to repatriate refugees when resettlement options dry up.
Now the Thai government has made a major concession in allowing existing refugee populations to be granted IDs, paving the way for them to seek local employment, said Guterres.
"There was clear commitment from the government that every person living in Thailand will receive in the near future an ID card, including the refugees in the camps," Guterres told a press conference.
The ID cards, which the UNHCR hopes to be available by year-end, would provide the 150,000 Karen refugees semi-legal status and allow them the chance to legally seek jobs in Thailand.
"This corresponds to a new vision ... a vision in which the presence of refugees in Thailand is considered an element that can not only contribute to the better fulfilment of their lives, but can also give an important contribution to the economy and the society," said Guterres.
He added that Thaksin had also agreed to consider allowing refugees to benefit from Thailand's national HIV/AIDS programme, which provides free anti-viral drugs to the needy.
Guterres was in Thailand to launch a new resettlement scheme for the Karen refugees, some of whom have lingered in Thai camps for the past ten years, but the UNHCR chief acknowledged that even when underway the programme would only resettle about 6,000 refugees a year.
Thai government in the past have often complained that while international agencies criticize them for mistreating refugee populations, they have often fallen short in achieving their resettlement promises.
The estimated 150,000 ethnic Karens living in temporary camps along the Thai-Myannar (Burmese) border have sought refuge from military offensives by the Myanmar army to wipe out their five-decade struggle for the autonomy of the Karen State.
Thailand has been a magnet for millions of refugees fleeing from its less stable neighbours - Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Myanmar (Burma) - since the mid-1970s, and even today continues to host 150,000 refugees from Myanmar's Karen ethnic group in nine camps along the border.
Thailand's refugee hub status has often earned it criticism from international agencies and humanitarian groups for past governments' interference with aid programmes and occasional threats to repatriate refugees when resettlement options dry up.
Now the Thai government has made a major concession in allowing existing refugee populations to be granted IDs, paving the way for them to seek local employment, said Guterres.
"There was clear commitment from the government that every person living in Thailand will receive in the near future an ID card, including the refugees in the camps," Guterres told a press conference.
The ID cards, which the UNHCR hopes to be available by year-end, would provide the 150,000 Karen refugees semi-legal status and allow them the chance to legally seek jobs in Thailand.
"This corresponds to a new vision ... a vision in which the presence of refugees in Thailand is considered an element that can not only contribute to the better fulfilment of their lives, but can also give an important contribution to the economy and the society," said Guterres.
He added that Thaksin had also agreed to consider allowing refugees to benefit from Thailand's national HIV/AIDS programme, which provides free anti-viral drugs to the needy.
Guterres was in Thailand to launch a new resettlement scheme for the Karen refugees, some of whom have lingered in Thai camps for the past ten years, but the UNHCR chief acknowledged that even when underway the programme would only resettle about 6,000 refugees a year.
Thai government in the past have often complained that while international agencies criticize them for mistreating refugee populations, they have often fallen short in achieving their resettlement promises.
The estimated 150,000 ethnic Karens living in temporary camps along the Thai-Myannar (Burmese) border have sought refuge from military offensives by the Myanmar army to wipe out their five-decade struggle for the autonomy of the Karen State.
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