Contributors:
Asylum Access Thailand (AAT), established in 2007, is a non-governmental organization working to advance the protection of refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand. AAT provides legal assistance and community support to refugee communities in Bangkok and across Thailand, helping them navigate complex legal and administrative processes and access essential services through partnerships with local organizations. The organization also promotes refugee leadership and empowerment through training and community initiatives. In addition, AAT engages in policy advocacy and collaborates with Thai and regional civil society organizations to promote legal and policy reforms that enhance the protection, rights, and dignity of refugees in Thailand.
Refugee-Led Network (RLN) in Thailand is a refugee leadership initiative established under the supervision and support of AAT. The network brings together refugee and asylum-seeker leaders to promote refugee rights, legal awareness, and community empowerment. Through training, mentorship, and community engagement, refugee leaders are equipped to advocate for their own rights and those of their communities, drawing on their lived experiences of displacement. They also monitor human rights conditions, promote legal awareness within refugee communities, and contribute to policy dialogue on refugee protection in Thailand. RLN provides a platform for refugees to collectively advocate for their rights and participate in discussions affecting displaced communities, ensuring that advocacy efforts reflect the lived experiences and priorities of refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand.
Rights Beyond Border (RBB) is a child rights-based organization established in 2016 to promote and protect the rights of children on the move along the Thailand and Myanmar border. RBB’s work is guided by three interrelated pillars. First, it seeks to safeguard children on the move from violations and exploitation through the development and implementation of child safeguarding policies in schools. Second, it works with children on the move to empower them as agents of change, supporting their engagement in child-led advocacy through participatory workshops and related initiatives. Third, it contributes to the strengthening of the protection mechanism for children on the move by enhancing the capacity of relevant Thai government stakeholders. In addition, RBB has played a key role in supporting children on the move from Myanmar affected by the 2021 coup.
Thailand is not a State Party to the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees or its 1967 Protocol. However, Thailand is a party to several other international human rights instruments relevant to the protection of asylum seekers and refugees, as discussed below. This submission focuses on the human rights situation of urban refugees and asylum seekers, as well as the specific situation of refugee children in Thailand. The information presented is based on community consultations, legal aid case data collected by AAT and RBB, and the lived experiences and contributions of members of RLN. It also draws on AAT’s direct operational experience supporting refugees through the National Screening Mechanism (NSM) and alternatives to immigration detention processes, as well as a desk review of relevant laws, policies, and practices in Thailand.