‘Halt abuse of migrant workers in Thailand’: HRW

Wednesday, 24 February 2010 18:14 Usa Pichai

Chiang Mai (Mizzima) -A rights group has made a fervent appeal to the Thai government to halt abuses by the police and withdraw discriminatory laws and policies against migrant workers from neighbouring countries.

The New York-based, Human Rights Watch released a report on Tuesday detailing the widespread and severe human rights abuses faced by migrant workers in Thailand. Abuses include killings, torture in detention, extortion, sexual abuse, and labour rights abuses such as trafficking, forced labour, and restrictions on organizations.

The 124-page report, "From the Tiger to the Crocodile: Abuse of Migrant Workers in Thailand," is based on 82 interviews with migrants from neighbouring Burma, Cambodia, and Laos.

Brad Adams, Asia Director of Human Rights Watch said that migrant workers make huge contributions to Thailand's economy, but receive little protection from abuse and exploitation. "Those from Burma, Cambodia, and Laos suffer horribly at the hands of corrupt civil servants and police, unscrupulous employers, and violent thugs, who all realize they can abuse migrants with little fear of consequences," he said, according to a press statement released on Tuesday.

HRW said police abuse migrants with impunity. A Burmese migrant told HRW that she witnessed two Thai policemen in Ranong repeatedly kick a Burmese youth in the chest, killing him, because he did not respond to their queries in Thai.

"Many Burmese watched but nobody went and helped because they were afraid of the police. Nobody said anything about the killing, and nobody informed the police station," said the eyewitness. "When I saw this [killing], I felt that we Burmese people always have to be humble and have to be afraid of the Thai police. I feel that there is no security for Burmese people [in Thailand]."

HRW noted that migrant workers face an imminent threat from the Thai government's decision that all migrants must go through the national verification process by February 28, or face arrest and deportation. Eighty percent of the migrant workers in Thailand are from Burma.

The report documented that migrants live in constant fear of extortion by the police, who demand money or valuables from migrants held in police custody in exchange for their release. It is not uncommon for a migrant to lose the equivalent of one to several months' pay in one extortion incident.

In addition, local police and officials frequently ignore or fail to effectively investigate complaints. Provincial decrees and national laws prohibit migrants from establishing their own organizations to assert their rights, while restrictions in policy on changing employers, moving outside designated areas, and convening meetings with more than a handful of persons leave migrants vulnerable to exploitation and ill-treatment.

HRW also called on the Thai government to establish an independent and impartial commission to investigate allegations of abuse by police and other authorities against migrants.

“Such a commission should have the power to subpoena, require presentation of evidence, and recommend criminal and civil charges against abusers. It should make public reports on a periodic basis,” HRW added.