Rights for Refugees?

A refugee crisis is brewing in the Southeast Asian nation of Myanmar. The ruling military junta has destroyed thousands of homes, forcing more and more Burmese to flee the country every day. Many seek asylum across the border in Thailand; as of August 2009, there are roughly 133,000 documented refugees living in 9 camps. The Thai government has tried to ignore the problem and, when confronted with pleas to give more support to the refugees, it argues that some of its own citizens are living in worse conditions. Yet Thailand is actually one of the more accommodating countries in the region, accepting more refugees than any other Southeast Asian country. Most of the aid for the camps must therefore come from NGOs like the Thailand Burma Border Consortium (TBBC).

The Thai government offers little to no protection for the refugees, leaving matters in the hands of the office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The huge influx of Burmese refugees means that the UNHCR has been given a greater role along the Thai-Burmese border. They are the only organization to focus on refugee protection, but due to a rocky relationship with the Thai government, even this goal is difficult to achieve. Thai authorities believes that the UNHCR is overstepped its boundaries; furthermore, Thailand is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention, a key legal document that defines refugee rights. The Thai government has never given the UNHCR access to other groups in need, such as the Lao refugees at the Huai Nam Khao camp. In Thailand, local integration has never been possible; locals regard the refugees as illegal immigrants. Although the refugees’ basic needs are met, they do not have much freedom. It is illegal for them to leave the camps, which overflow with problems like domestic violence and substance abuse. If the refugees do leave, they are subject to arrest and deportation by Thai authorities. The UNHCR is helpless to do anything about this, as the Thai government has control over the camps and over immigration policy

The plight of the Burmese illustrates the enormous problems facing the UNHCR. Because refugee camps around the globe are in dire need of resources, and because the UN is supposed to remain neutral, the UNHCR must pick and choose which refugees will receive aid—and which will go hungry. There is also a money problem: UNHCR only receives 1% of its funding from the General Assembly, while 99% comes from other donors. The United States is one of UNHCR’s primary sources of funding, which has led to fears that the UN will favor American policy on refugees. Others fear that the refugees will become dependent on aid from the UN. Some camps have better living conditions than the refugees would receive in their home countries.

In order to provide protection for the Burmese refugees, UNHCR’s goal is to provide third-country resettlement, as repatriation to Myanmar is not possible. They also seek to reduce violence in the camps and to make it easier for non-Burmese asylum seekers to obtain refugee status. There is still much to be done regarding the refugee situation in Thailand. Other nearby countries such as China are only now realizing the gravity of the situation; they have to face the sobering fact that the end to this crisis is not near.

For Further Information on UNHCR: http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home

LUCY EMERSON