Backgrounders

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VII. Conclusion

The proposed resettlement of the urban refugeesmany of whom have lived for years in fear for their security and uncertainty about their futuresshould help to improve the situation for Burmese refugees. However, resettlement should not be used as a means to silence the main voice of Burmese dissidents, since those who dare to speak out in Burma itself are routinely persecuted, arrested, and imprisoned. As one skeptical NGO worker put it: “This might be just what the Thai government and the SPDC have wanted to see for years: removing activists from Thailand so they can no longer conduct information sharing across the border and conduct lobbying and advocacy.” The Government of Thailand must respect its obligation to respect the rights of freedom of movement, expression, and assembly of all refugees, wherever they live.

Moreover, the fate of the 142,000 refugees living in the border camps must not be forgotten. “There’s total social control [in the camps] by military groups and problems of sexual and gender-based violence, which women’s groups are afraid to report to the male camp leadership,” one relief worker said. Refugees in the camps, some of whom have lived there for more than a decade, are concerned they will be left out of the resettlement process and increasingly pressured to “voluntarily” repatriate.

Resettlement opportunities must not only be offered to the visible and vocal urban refugees, but refugees in the camps as well. U.N.-monitored voluntary repatriation should be considered as an option for those who decide to return, but not until all factors are in place to ensure that refugees are not pressured to repatriate against their will, and that the process fully complies with international legal standards. UNHCR needs to gain unfettered access to Burma to monitor conditions before, during, and after repatriation, to ensure that safeguards are in place for refugees’ treatment upon return.

Thailand has a longstanding reputation for its humanitarian stance towards refugees from other parts of Southeast Asia, and the government’s agreement to open up resettlement opportunities for Burmese refugees is a positive step. The security of thousands of Burmese will be placed at serious risk, however, if Thailand continues to officially bar newly arriving asylum seekers from status determination procedures, impose increasingly hard-line immigration and labor policies, and reduce its tolerance towards the activities of Burmese political exiles and activists. These policies are being put into place despite the fact that the circumstances causing people to flee from Burma have not abated. In particular, by violating the internationally-recognized principle of non-refoulement,the RoyalThai Government is placing refugees and undocumented asylum seekers in danger of persecution, arrest, economic sanctions, or other reprisals from government authorities upon return to Burma.


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February 2004