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Human Rights Developments
Defending Human Rights
The Role of the International CommunityIn March, Thai Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai came to the U.S. for a high-profile tour; it was the first such visit by a Thai leader since the Asian economic crisis hit. He met with U.S. President Clinton, as well as members of Congress and officials of theInternational Monetary Fund (IMF), which had just approved payment of U.S.$270 million of a $17.2 billion rescue package for Thailand. Refugee concerns were on the agenda of at least some of his congressional meetings. In his July confirmation hearing before the U.S. Senate and in response to questions submitted by the U.S. Senate, Richard Hecklinger, the new ambassador to Thailand, highlighted the role of the U.S. embassy there in ensuring protection of Burmese refugees through regular visits to the border; he also expressed support for any decision by the UNHCR to open a field office in the border area. He praised the new Thai law on trafficking and said the U.S. did not “knowingly provide training to members of the Thai police who may be traffickers.” At the same time, the State Department said it would unveil, at the ASEAN ministerial meeting in Manila, plans to contribute funding to a regional program to return trafficked women and children, many of them in Thailand, to their countries of origin. |
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