Chiang Mai: Rohingya teens missing from government-run shelter
The fate of six teenagers from Rakhine State in Myanmar is unknown since 21 March. They were detained last December after traffickers brought them to Thailand. This case highlights Bangkok's failure to protect underage asylum seekers. For Fortify Rights, “every refugee child” should be “protected – not punished – for seeking safety.”
Bangkok (AsiaNews) – Six underage Rohingya brought to Thailand by human traffickers have been missing since 21 March after they were placed in a government-run shelter in the city of Chiang Mai.
Detained in December 2024, the six teens, aged 14 to 17, had fled Myanmar's Rakhine state where the persecution of Rohingya Muslims is the worst, paying the equivalent of US$ 2,800 to get to Thailand, but once there, their families could not meet further demands for money from traffickers.
When they were still in police custody, Juvenile and Family Court Chiang Mai issued an expulsion order on 5 March against them for "illegal entry" into the country.
Thailand is not a signatory of the 1951 Refugee Convention, leaving refugees in a legal limbo, as evinced by the lack of protection for members of certain ethnic groups (especially Rohingya, Uyghurs or North Koreans persecuted at home).
No reliable data are available on the presence of minors among asylum seekers in government detention; however, a rough estimate by UNICEF and the Thai National Commission for Human Rights put the total number at 3,693 unaccompanied or separated minors last year, held in 99 care facilities in the three northern provinces of Tak, Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai.
According to the study, each care facility holds on average of 37 unaccompanied Myanmar children, a 38 per cent increase over 2019. Thus, new arrivals can expect to languish along with those already present for years without rights nor prospects for freedom and security.
Fortify Rights, a human rights group particularly involved in Southeast Asia, notes that Thailand ratified the Convention on the Rights of the Child in 1992. Under Article 22, it is required to ensure that young refugees, accompanied or unaccompanied, receive “appropriate protection”.
Thailand maintained a reservation with respect to Article 22 until 30 August 2024, on security grounds. Thus, “By failing to provide refugee children with legal status and protection, the Thai government is exposing them to exploitation, abuse, and even disappearance,” said Matthew Smith, founder of Fortify Rights.
“Thailand,” Smith added, “has an opportunity to show regional leadership by upholding its human rights obligations and ensuring every refugee child is protected – not punished – for seeking safety.”
Photo: IOM 2024/Anushma Shrestha
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