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‘Ripe for abuse’: fears over new Thai refugee screening

In Bangkok, Vietnamese refugees gather for a church service amid fears of arrest or deportation.

Thailand, not a UN Refugee Convention signatory, plans a new screening system to distinguish vulnerable cases, but concerns exist over potential abuse and security loopholes.

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1 year ago

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BANGKOK, THAILAND — In a church on the edge of Thai capital Bangkok, dozens of Vietnamese refugees sing at a joyful service, sharing a moment of respite from their lives in fear of arrest or deportation.

Not a signatory to the UN Refugee Convention, Thailand does not distinguish between refugees and other migrants, and thousands of people live in the country under the radar.

Later this month, a new system will come into force, which authorities say will allow them to discern between people for whom it would be too dangerous to return home, and others living in Thailand illegally.

Refugees and rights activists are wary, however, saying the system could be used unfairly, and even help expedite deportations for those deemed ineligible for asylum.

“All of us are worried and afraid as we live illegally,” Vietnamese pastor Sung Seo Hoa told AFP.

A member of Vietnam’s Hmong minority, the Christian pastor said he fled his country’s highlands 12 years ago after coming under pressure from the communist government.

Hoa said he and others in his community lead a life of fear.

“We are afraid of police arrest, being put in jail and deported back to Vietnam. That’s what we are very afraid of, 24 hours a day,” he said.

Hoa does not intend to go through the new screening process.

“There are risks if we apply… they also have the right to deport us back to Vietnam. I don’t think I will apply for it,” he said.

‘Fox in chicken coop’

Under the new National Screening Mechanism, set to be introduced on September 22, Thai police will begin screening 5,000 mostly urban refugees and asylum seekers.

Applicants who are granted “protected person” status will be given temporary residence permits, as well as access to healthcare and schools — but not the right to work.

Naiyana Thanawattho from Asylum Access Thailand, which provides legal assistance, says the scheme is “a step in a good direction” but could be “used as a screen-out process, not a screen-in”.

A key area of concern is what Phil Robertson, Human Rights Watch’s deputy director for Asia, called a “national security escape hatch”.

“There are very broad undefined provisions connected to national security which the government could say ‘for national security reasons we don’t want to screen that person as a refugee and we don’t need to tell you why’,” Robertson said.

This could affect particular groups such as Uyghurs from China, the Rohingya Muslim minority from Myanmar, and North Koreans, he added.

The new system could be “ripe for abuse”, Robertson said, as police will be heading the screening committee.

“This is like putting the fox in charge of the chicken coop.”

The Thai Immigration Bureau is still working on details of the scheme — including whether applicants will be placed in immigration detention.

“There is going to end up being a certain pay-to-play game going on. Once the system gets going people will be able to get status if they have money,” Robertson said.

The screening process will include criminal background checks, which Patrick Phongsathorn of campaign group Fortify Rights said risked ensnaring Myanmar anti-coup activists who have “unfounded criminal charges against their names”.

‘Dissident swap shop’

Thailand’s track record on deporting refugees — including 109 Uyghurs to China in 2015 — was also a source of distrust, Phongsathorn added.

“We see there is a cooperation between repressive governments in this region in terms of taking out each other’s dissidents — a swap shop if you will,” he said.

In 2019 a Vietnamese journalist and government critic disappeared from a Bangkok shopping mall, resurfacing in Vietnam where he was sentenced to 10 years in prison, according to US monitoring group Freedom House.

Four Cambodian dissidents deported from Thailand in 2021 were also arrested upon return.

Asked whether applicants’ information would be shared with foreign governments, the Thai Department of International Organisations said “respect for privacy and confidentiality” are core principles.

“We have a decades-long humanitarian tradition,” the department said, adding that under the customary principle of non-refoulement it would not return failed applicants to their countries.

It also said applicants could appeal against a rejection within 90 days.

Under the current system, the UN refugee agency UNHCR has carried out screenings, but it is not clear how much longer that will continue.

The agency says it has been working with Thailand to “establish a fair, efficient and transparent protection mechanism in line with international standards”.

— AFP

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Crime

Indonesian woman returns paralyzed from Riyadh sparks human trafficking suspicions

Budi Hartini, a paralyzed Indonesian migrant worker returning from Riyadh, prompts a human trafficking investigation, raising concerns about migrant worker safety.

Published

12 months ago

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27 September 2023

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INDONESIA: In a shocking turn of events, a 39-year-old woman identified as Budi Hartini hailing from Teniga Village in the Tanjung District of North Lombok, West Nusa Tenggara (NTB), has been left paralyzed after her return from Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in September 2022.

Authorities suspect that she may have fallen victim to human trafficking.

Hartini’s condition is currently dire, as she is unable to speak and is confined to a wheelchair. Disturbingly, there are visible stitches on her head and scars on her throat.

Muhammad Saleh, the Chairperson of the Migrant Workers Legal Aid Center, revealed, “When she was brought back (picked up in Jakarta), she was already paralyzed, her head had already been fractured but had been stitched back together. Her body is now paralyzed; she can’t speak, can’t do anything, and no one seems to be taking responsibility.”

Budi Hartini has filed a report on her alleged human trafficking ordeal with the North Lombok Regional Police.

Accompanied by her family, the village head, the Legal Aid Center, and migrant worker protection advocates, she submitted her complaint to the Directorate of General Crime Investigation (Dit Reskrimum) at the NTB Regional Police headquarters.

According to Saleh, Hartini’s case goes beyond the usual human trafficking cases and involves potential violations of human rights.

“Because this case is not just a regular human trafficking case, but it involves human rights violations. The victim’s head was fractured, allegedly from a fall at the airport. But we do not yet know if this occurred at the airport,” he explained.

Saleh added that if the victim did fall at the airport, there should be an official statement from airport authorities or a local hospital.

“Because the airport is a highly accountable place. So, if someone falls, there should be a letter from the airport authorities, perhaps if she was still under the airline’s responsibility, there should also be a letter from the local police, a letter from the hospital, including the local government,” Saleh emphasized.

Novita Sari, a Migrant Worker Advocate, recounted that the incident began when Hartini registered as a domestic worker intending to go to the Middle East in May 2022, through an intermediary known as SY.

Shortly afterwards, Hartini was processed and sent to a shelter in Jakarta. After one week in Jakarta, she was then provided with a ticket to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

From the moment BD left for Riyadh, her family in Lombok received no further information.

“Based on the information we received, she had an accident at Riyadh Airport. According to what we heard, she had a head injury and underwent surgery,” Novita explained.

Throughout the surgical and medical treatment processes, the family received no communication whatsoever.

“During this process, there was no information given to the family, neither at the time of the incident nor during her treatment,” Novita stated.

Three months after Hartini’s alleged fall at Riyadh Airport, the family was informed that Hartini would be repatriated due to her illness.

“They only mentioned she was sick, without specifying the nature of her illness,” Novita added.

Upon Hartini’s return on 3 September 2022, the family was shocked and devastated. Budi Hartini, who had departed as a healthy migrant worker, returned in a pitiful condition.

Her hair had been shaved due to surgery, and there were visible stitches on her head from a surgical procedure. She also had scars on her throat, rendering her unable to speak, relying solely on gestures. Hartini’s condition remains far from stable.

Accompanied by her family, Hartini has reported the alleged human trafficking case to the NTB Regional Police in hopes of obtaining justice.

“Our hope is to achieve justice because this has led to permanent disability and to deter other intermediaries,” Novita remarked.

Ni Made Pujewati, the Head of Subdirectorate IV at the West Nusa Tenggara (NTB) Regional Police’s Directorate of General Crime Investigation. (Photo: TribunNews.com)

In response to the case, Ni Made Pujewati, the Head of Subdirectorate IV at the NTB Regional Police’s Directorate of General Crime Investigation, stated that they would thoroughly investigate the recruitment process of victims sent to work in Saudi Arabia.

“We will delve into the facts of what the victim actually experienced, starting from the recruitment process, this is a fragment that needs to be explored,” Pujawati said on Monday, September 25, 2023.

The NTB Regional Police’s Human Trafficking Task Force, in collaboration with district police departments, has already uncovered 31 cases in 2023 involving hundreds of Indonesian migrant workers.

Among these cases, Hartini’s condition has been described as the most severe.

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ASEAN

ASEAN nations unite with UNODC to combat organized crime and human trafficking in Southeast Asia

Southeast Asian nations, in partnership with UNODC, have initiated a groundbreaking strategy to combat organized crime and human trafficking.

A UN policy report has exposed the pervasive presence of these criminal groups in Myanmar’s border regions, making it challenging for law enforcement to intervene, while trafficking victims remain trapped in remote areas vulnerable to online scams.

Published

12 months ago

on

27 September 2023

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BANGKOK, THAILAND: Southeast Asian nations, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), have launched a groundbreaking strategy aimed at tackling organized crime and human trafficking in the region.

The initiative, announced in the Thai capital, Bangkok, is set to target criminal activities primarily linked to casinos, while also addressing money laundering and cybercrime.

Officials from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), joined by China, and representatives from UNODC, unveiled the comprehensive plan of action.

The new plan aims to strengthen preventative measures and enhance the capabilities of law enforcement agencies to combat international organized crime and human trafficking on a regional scale.

“Trafficking in persons connected to casinos and scam operations run by organized crime has mushroomed across Southeast Asia, particularly in the Mekong” remarked Jeremy Douglas, UNODC Regional Representative to Southeast Asia and the Pacific.

“There is an urgent need for regional cooperation to address these increasingly integrated and interlinked crimes in the region, as well as the ecosystem they exist in.”

Human trafficking, often utilized to recruit victims into criminal activities, is just one facet of transnational organized crime, as highlighted in a policy report released by UNODC on Tuesday (26 Sep).

This criminal activity is closely associated with border casinos, large-scale money laundering operations, cybercrimes, and an array of other illicit offenses. The report also documented credible instances of torture and extortion within these criminal operations over the past year.

Profits generated by criminal organizations in the region have reached unprecedented levels, with illicit funds increasingly funneled through the regional casino industry and other cash-intensive businesses, including the surge in cryptocurrency usage.

“Organized crime groups are converging in the region where they see vulnerabilities,” Mr. Douglas commented.

Billions siphoned equal to half of a Nation’s GDP

He added that “operations against syndicates in some countries like the Philippines have caused a partial displacement, and we have seen criminals moving infrastructure into places where they see opportunity – basically where they expect they will be able to take advantage and not be held to account, to remote and border areas of the Mekong,” he said.

According to the report, scam operations in one Southeast Asian country are estimated to generate a staggering US$7.5 and US$12.5 billion, or half the value of that country’s GDP.

“One group of trafficking victims can generate hundreds of thousands of US dollars in a week for traffickers,” the report noted.

UN Policy Report highlights transnational crime gangs establishing remote bases in Myanmar

The UN’s policy report has shed light on the alarming presence of organized crime gangs operating in the border areas of Myanmar, adjacent to China.

These remote locations, often inaccessible to law enforcement, serve as operational hubs for criminal syndicates perpetrating online scams, leaving trafficking victims with scant chances of escape.

Powerful Chinese and Taiwanese criminal organizations, operating primarily in the Mekong region and the Philippines, have orchestrated a “scamdemic” resulting in billions of dollars being siphoned off through tactics that include romance scams, extortion, and investment pyramid schemes.

While certain crackdowns have been executed in Cambodia and the Philippines, these criminal groups are evolving and perfecting their fraudulent activities from fortified compounds located within the protective umbrella of ethnic rebel groups in the conflict-ridden terrain of Myanmar.

Locations of casinos and scam centres in Cambodia, Lao PDR, and Myanmar (source: UN report)

In Myanmar, a significant hub for criminal activities has flourished in the Myawaddy region, situated just across a small river from the western Thai border town of Mae Sot.

Another network of compounds stretches along Myanmar’s eastern border with China, extending northward through Shan State, passing through the special administrative area of Wa State, and reaching Kokang, which shares a border with China’s Yunnan province.

Transnational crime syndicates operating openly and forming unusual alliances

The report has found that, rather than operating in the shadows, transnational organised crime groups there can be remarkably open, in some cases presenting themselves as legitimate business entities or even philanthropic organisations.

Some organised crime chiefs have developed public alliances with influential business leaders and officials.

Co-chaired by the Philippines and UNODC, the new plan is finalised and will be tabled by the Philippines at the next ASEAN Senior Officials Meeting on Transnational Crime.

“Addressing this issue in one or a few countries’ domestic contexts, while necessary and welcome, will not have a significant impact,” warned Rebecca Miller, UNODC Regional Advisor on Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling.

“The plan the region has agreed to, includes practical and targeted actions to address transnational crime comprehensively and strategically.  Progress is being made, but more needs to be done and UNODC stands ready to support,” she added.

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