Statelessness
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The rights of non-citizens
Individual Documents
| Title: | | The Rights of Non-citizens |
| Date of publication: | | 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | Introduction: "All persons should, by virtue of their essential humanity, enjoy all human rights. Exceptional distinctions, for example between citizens and non-citizens, can be made only if they serve a legitimate State objective and are proportional to the achievement of that objective.
Citizens are persons who have been recognized by a State as having an effective link with it. International law generally leaves to each State the authority to determine who qualifies as a citizen. Citizenship can ordinarily be acquired by being born in the country (known as jus soli or the law of the place), being born to a parent who is a citizen of the country (known as jus sanguinis or the law of blood), naturalization or a combination of these approaches.
A non-citizen is a person who has not been recognized as having these effective links to the country where he or she is located. There are different groups of non-citizens, including permanent residents, migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, victims of trafficking, foreign students, temporary visitors, other kinds of non-immigrants and stateless people. While each of these groups may have rights based on separate legal regimes, the problems faced by most, if not all, non-citizens are very similar. These common concerns affect approximately 175 million individuals worldwide—or 3 per cent of the world’s population.
Non-citizens should have freedom from arbitrary killing, inhuman treatment, slavery, arbitrary arrest, unfair trial, invasions of privacy, refoulement, forced labour, child labour and violations of humanitarian law. They also have the right to marry; protection as minors; peaceful association and assembly; equality; freedom of religion and belief; social, cultural and economic rights; labour rights (for example, as to collective bargaining, workers’ compensation, healthy and safe working conditions); and consular protection. While all human beings are entitled to equality in dignity and rights, States may narrowly draw distinctions between citizens and non-citizens with respect to political rights explicitly guaranteed to citizens and freedom of movement.
For non-citizens, there is, nevertheless, a large gap between the rights that international human rights law guarantees to them and the realities that they face. In many countries, there are institutional and pervasive problems confronting non-citizens. Nearly all categories of non-citizens face official and non-official discrimination. While in some countries there may be legal guarantees of equal treatment and recognition of the importance of non-citizens in achieving economic prosperity, non-citizens face hostile social and practical realities. They experience xenophobia, racism and sexism; language barriers and unfamiliar customs; lack of political representation; difficulty realizing their economic, social and cultural rights—particularly the right to work, the right to education and the right to health care; difficulty obtaining identity documents; and lack of means to
challenge violations of their human rights effectively or to have them remedied. Some non-citizens are subjected to arbitrary and often indefinite detention. They may have been traumatized by experiences of persecution or abuse in their countries of origin, but are detained side by side with criminals in prisons, which are frequently overcrowded, unhygienic and dangerous. In addition, detained non-citizens may be denied contact with their families, access to legal assistance and the opportunity to challenge their detention. Official hostility—often expressed in national legislation—has been especially flagrant during periods of war, racial animosity and high unemployment. For example, the situation has worsened since 11 September 2001, as some Governments have detained non-citizens in response to fears of terrorism. The narrow exceptions to the principle of non-discrimination that are permitted by international human rights law do not justify such pervasive violations of non-citizens’ rights.
The principal objective of this publication is to highlight all the diverse sources of international law and emerging international standards protecting the rights of non-citizens, especially:
The relevant provisions of the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination and other human rights treaties;
The general comments, country conclusions and adjudications by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination and other treaty bodies;
The reports of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights thematic procedures on the human rights of migrants and racism;
The relevant work of such other global institutions as the International Labour Organization and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees; and
The reports of regional institutions, such as the European Commission against Racism and Intolerance." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations |
| Format/size: | | pdf (636K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The rights of non-citizens: Final report - Addendum 1, "United Nations activities" |
| Date of publication: | | 26 May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. David Weissbrodt,
submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission decision 2000/103,
Commission resolution 2000/104 and Economic and Social Council
decision 2000/283
Addendum
United Nations activities*..."This addendum (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23/Add.1) to the final report of the Special
Rapporteur on the rights of non-citizens (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23) supplements the 2002
addendum (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/25/Add.1) to the progress report of the Special Rapporteur
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/25) and the 2001 addendum (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/20/Add.1) to the
preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/20) by providing updated
jurisprudence and concluding observations with respect to the rights of non-citizens. This
addendum also includes a new section on the relevant jurisprudence of the Committee Against
Torture. The jurisprudence and concluding observations in this addendum cover
treaty-monitoring body sessions from March 2002 through March 2003..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Weissbrodt |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23/Add.1) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (87K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The rights of non-citizens: Final report - Addendum 2 - "Regional activities" |
| Date of publication: | | 26 May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. David Weissbrodt,
submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission decision 2000/103,
Commission resolution 2000/104 and Economic and Social
Council decision 2000/283
Addendum
Regional activities..."This addendum (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23/Add.2) to the final report of the Special
Rapporteur on the rights of non-citizens (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23) supplements the
2002 addendum (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/25/Add.2) to the progress report of the Special Rapporteur
(E/CN.4/Sub.2/2002/25) and the 2001 addendum (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/20/Add.1) to the
preliminary report of the Special Rapporteur (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/20) by updating the expanded
examination of the rights of non-citizens within regional human rights bodies. The addendum
updates the jurisprudence of those regional bodies that have adopted recent decisions related to
the rights of non-citizens, including the European Court of Human Rights and the
Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. It also contains a new section on the European
Social Committee. Finally, it again discusses the Framework Convention on National
Minorities, adopted under the auspices of the Council of Europe, and include recent decision
based on that instrument..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Weissbrodt |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23/Add.2) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (88K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The rights of non-citizens: Final report - Addendum 3, "Examples of practices in regard to non-citizens" |
| Date of publication: | | 26 May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | The rights of non-citizens
Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. David Weissbrodt,
submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission decision 2000/103,
Commission resolution 2000/104 and Economic and Social
Council decision 2000/283
Addendum
Examples of practices in regard to non-citizens..."While the main report (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23) summarizes the norms that protect the
rights of non-citizens, in many countries non-citizens do not actually enjoy those rights. One of
the most common problems human rights treaty bodies have encountered in reviewing States'
reports is that some national constitutions guarantee rights to "citizens" whereas international
human rights law would â“ with the exception of the rights of public participation, of movement,4
and of economic rights in developing countries5 â“ provide rights to all persons.6 Of the countries
responding to the questionnaire, however, most countries extended constitutionally protected
human rights to every person7 or specifically to non-citizens.8 Other countries protect the rights
of non-citizens, including refugees, by statute9 or by incorporating treaties into national law.10
Constitutions in some countries, however, inappropriately distinguish between the rights granted
to persons who obtained their citizenship by birth and other citizens.11 Furthermore, the mere
statement of the general principle of non-discrimination in a constitution is not a sufficient
response to the requirements of human rights law..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Weissbrodt, |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23/Add.3) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (88K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 August 2012 |
|
| Title: | | The rights of non-citizens: Final report - Addendum 4, "Summary of Comments Received from U.N. Member States to Special Rapporteur's Questionnaire" |
| Date of publication: | | 26 May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. David Weissbrodt,
submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission decision 2000/103,
Commission resolution 2000/104 and Economic and Social Council
decision 2000/283
Addendum
Summary of Comments Received from U.N. Member States to
Special Rapporteur's Questionnaire..."This Addendum IV summarizes1 the comments received from 22 Member States in
response to the questionnaire prepared by the Special Rapporteur and disseminated pursuant to
Commission decision 2002/107 of 25 April 2002. For reasons of expense and length it was not
possible to reproduce the full text of the responses received from all Member States. Hence,
this summary was prepared to express particular appreciation for the quite substantial number
of responses received and to give others a sense of the substance contained in the replies.
The Special Rapporteur also received responses from 7 intergovernmental organizations
and 4 nongovernmental organizations, plus the Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination and the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrants.2 The
Special Rapporteur on the human rights of non-citizens took into account all of the responses in
preparing the final report and other addenda and is extremely grateful for all the assistance
afforded in those responses..." Includes replies from Thailand and India. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23/Add.4) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (101K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 25 May 2005 |
|
| Title: | | The rights of non-citizens: Final report |
| Date of publication: | | 23 May 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Final report of the Special Rapporteur, Mr. David Weissbrodt,
submitted in accordance with Sub-Commission decision 2000/103,
Commission resolution 2000/104 and Economic and Social
Council decision 2000/283..."Based on a review of international human rights law, the Special Rapporteur has
concluded that all persons should by virtue of their essential humanity enjoy all human rights
unless exceptional distinctions, for example, between citizens and non-citizens, serve a
legitimate State objective and are proportional to the achievement of that objective. For
example, non-citizens should enjoy freedom from arbitrary killing, inhuman treatment slavery,
forced labour, child labour, arbitrary arrest, unfair trial, invasions of privacy, refoulement and
violations of humanitarian law. They also have the right to marry, protection as minors, peaceful
association and assembly, equality, freedom of religion and belief, social, cultural, and economic
rights in general, labour rights (for example, as to collective bargaining, workersâ�⢠compensation,
social security, appropriate working conditions and environment, etc.) and consular protection..." |
| Author/creator: | | David Weissbrodt |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/23) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (83K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 August 2012 |
|
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Burmese and other stateless people in Burma, Bangladesh and India
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Burning Homes, Sinking Lives - A situation report on violence against stateless Rohingya in Myanmar and their refoulement from Bangladesh |
| Date of publication: | | 02 July 2012 |
| Description/subject: | | "...this report documents the severity of the human rights abuses suffered by Rohingya within Myanmar – including mass violence, killings and attacks, the burning and destruction of property, arbitrary arrests, detention and disappearances, the deprivation of emergency healthcare and humanitarian aid. Such human rights abuses are being carried out with impunity by civilians and agents of the state alike. The organised and widespread nature of this state sponsored violence raises serious questions of crimes against humanity being committed by Myanmar.
This report also documents the refoulement of Rohingya refugees from Bangladesh and related human rights violations, including the push-back of boats carrying Rohingya into dangerous waters and the failure to provide refuge, shelter and humanitarian aid to those fleeing persecution. Historically, the Rohingya have faced acute discrimination and human rights abuse in Myanmar, and Rohingya refugees fleeing persecution to Bangladesh have faced severe hardships including the lack of humanitarian aid, shelter and security. This present crisis is a tragic reminder of the vulnerabilities of stateless people when their countries of habitual residence and the international community fail to protect them. Urgent action is required to end the violence, protect the victims and bring those responsible to justice. Of equal importance is the need for a long-term process of reinstating Myanmar nationality to Rohingya who were arbitrarily deprived of a nationality in 1982, resolving ethnic conflicts and protecting the human rights and freedoms of Rohingya within Myanmar and in other countries.
The Equal Rights Trust makes the following urgent and long-term recommendations to the governments of Myanmar and Bangladesh and to the UNHCR and international community..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Equal Rights Trust |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.4MB-OBL version; 2.26MB-original) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.equalrightstrust.org/ertdocumentbank/The%20Equal%20Rights%20Trust%20-%20Burning%20Homes%... |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 July 2012 |
|
| Title: | | North Arakan: an open prison for the Rohingya in Burma |
| Date of publication: | | April 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Many minorities, including the Rohingya of Burma, are
persecuted by being rendered stateless...Hundreds of thousands have fled
to Bangladesh and further afield
to escape oppression or in order to
survive. There were mass exoduses
to Bangladesh in 1978 and again in
1991-92. Each time, international
pressure persuaded Burma to
accept them back and repatriation
followed, often under coercion.
But the outflow continues.
The Rohingya are an ethnic, linguistic
and religious minority group mainly
concentrated in North Arakan (or
Rakhine’) State in Burma, adjacent
to Bangladesh, where their number
is estimated at 725,000. Of South
Asian descent, they are related to
the Chittagonian Bengalis just across
the border in Bangladesh, whose
language is also related. They profess
Sunni Islam and are distinct from
the majority Burmese population
who are of East Asian stock and
mostly Buddhists.
Since Burma’s
independence in 1948,
the Rohingya have
gradually been excluded
from the process of
nation-building..." |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Lewa |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Forced Migration Review No. 32 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (486K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | We have no soil under our feet |
| Date of publication: | | April 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "In the muddy setting of an
overcrowded camp in Bangladesh,
Jhora Shama tells me her
story. Jhora is an unregistered
refugee, a Rohingya, who
has been living illegally in
Bangladesh for 16 years.
She fled to Bangladesh from
Arakan [Rakhine] State in
Burma after her family’s farm
was ransacked, their livestock
confiscated and her husband
tortured. He now works in
Malaysia and sends money to
her but it is never enough and
her family often goes to bed
fighting hunger pains. Because
she lives in Bangladesh illegally,
she cannot work and must
go out to beg for money. She
hopes to find a family to take
her children as housekeepers
because there is no food here..." |
| Author/creator: | | Kristy Crabtree |
| Language: | | English, Français, Español, Russian, Arabic |
| Source/publisher: | | Forced Migration Review No. 32 |
| Format/size: | | pdf (323K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 20 February 2010 |
|
| Title: | | ISSUES TO BE RAISED CONCERNING THE SITUATION OF STATELESS ROHINGYA WOMEN IN MYANMAR (BURMA) |
| Date of publication: | | October 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | SUBMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE ELIMINATION OF DISCRIMINATION AGAINST WOMEN (CEDAW)
For the Examination of the combined 2nd and 3rd periodic State party Reports (CEDAW/C/MMR/3)
-MYANMAR-....."...Rohingya women and girls suffer from the devastating consequences of brutal government policies implemented against their minority group but also from socio-religious norms imposed on them by their community, the combined impact of which dramatically impinges on their physical and mental well-being, with long-term effects on their development.
a) State-sponsored persecution:
The 1982 Citizenship Law renders the Rohingya stateless, thereby supporting arbitrary and discriminatory measures against them. Their freedom of movement
is severely limited; they are barred from government employment; marriage restrictions are imposed on them; they are disproportionately subject to forced labour, extortion and other coercive measures. Public services such as health and education are appallingly neglected. Illiteracy is estimated at 80%. The compounded impact of these human right violations also results in household impoverishment and food insecurity, increasing the vulnerability of women and children....Rohingya women and girls are also subject to serious gender-based restrictions due to societal attitudes and conservative interpretation of religious norms in their male-dominated community. The birth of a son is always favoured. Girls’ education is not valued and they are invariably taken out of school at puberty. Women and adolescent girls are usually confined to their homes and discouraged from participating in the economic sphere. They are systematically excluded from decision-making in community matters. Divorced women and widows are looked down upon, exposed to sexual violence and abandoned with little community support..." |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Lewa |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | The Arakan Project |
| Format/size: | | pdf (179K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 30 January 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Lives on Hold - The Human Costs of Statelessness |
| Date of publication: | | February 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "Lives on Hold: The Human Costs of Statelessness is Refugees International's new 50-page report that highlights the difficulties faced by an estimated 11 million individuals worldwide who have no citizenship or effective nationality. These stateless people are international orphans who have fallen through the cracks of the United Nations. They regularly cannot participate in the political process of any country and are guaranteed no legal protections. Because of their status, millions of stateless people have difficulty in obtaining jobs and owning property, receive inadequate access to healthcare and education, and suffer sexual and physical violence.
The report documents the human costs of the problem in more than 70 countries with particular emphasis on groups in Bangladesh, Estonia and the United Arab Emirates, and provides recommendations to the international community on what must be done by the UN, individual states and donor governments like the United States." |
| Author/creator: | | M. Lynch |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Refugees International |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.49MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 16 February 2005 |
|
| Title: | | ISSUES TO BE RAISED CONCERNING THE SITUATION OF ROHINGYA CHILDREN IN MYANMAR (BURMA) |
| Date of publication: | | November 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | SUBMISSION TO THE COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF THE CHILD
For the Examination of the 2nd periodic State Party Report of Myanmar... Conclusion: "Rohingya children bear the full brunt of the military regime’s policies of exclusion and discrimination towards the Muslim population of Rakhine State. The combination of the factors listed above, which deny them fundamental human rights, gravely damage their childhood development and will affect the future of the Rohingya community.
With regard to Rohingya children, the State Peace and Development Council has failed to implement most of the rights enshrined in the Convention on the Rights of the Child, which Myanmar ratified in 1991. The Government has also ignored the suggestions and recommendations provided by the Committee in 1997, in particular, paragraph 28 in which “The Committee recommends that the Citizenship Act be repealed” and paragraph 34 which stated: “In the field of the right to citizenship, the Committee is of the view that the State Party should, in light of articles 2 (non-discrimination) and 3 (best interests of the child), abolish the categorization of citizens
” and that “all possibility of stigmatisation and denial of rights recognized by the Convention should be avoided”" |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Lewa |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Forum Asia |
| Format/size: | | pdf (151.35 KB) html (280K) , Word (224K) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.36/myanmar_ForumAsia_ngo_report.pdf
http://www.ibiblio.org/obl/docs/Lewa-CRC2004.doc |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 July 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Bangladesh-Myanmar Relations and the Stateless Rohingyas |
| Date of publication: | | June 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "I have lately been disturbed by two developments. Firstly, at the very moment when 'realism' has lost its post-Westphalian glories and is suffering from disrepute, the stateless people continue to be at the mercy of the state. In the case of the Rohingyas it is even more pathetic for their refuge across the border brought no change to their sufferings. On the contrary, as camped and non-camped refugees, they ended up becoming victims of yet another state power, this time of Bangladesh. Secondly, when the power of the state has been eroded considerably, particularly in the wake of misgovernance and globalization, the state is brought in to resolve the issue of statelessness. Indeed, the Rohingyas were sent home, amidst criticism of 'involuntary' repatriation, with the hope that the government of Myanmar (GOM) after over half-a-century would change its position and make them all worthy citizens of Myanmar. What we have is a representation of a dialectic in the constitution of the state, that is, state as usurper and state as salvation, without of course realizing that the former cancels the latter and vice versa.
It is against this background that I intend to discuss the Bangladesh-Myanmar relations and that again, from the standpoint of the stateless Rohingyas. Two questions, I believe, are pertinent. One, how do stateless people view the state/s? And two, what impact does the stateless people have on the state-to-state relationship? Few will dispute that the discussion requires a sound understanding of the 'stateless,' which in our case are the Rohingyas..." |
| Author/creator: | | Imtiaz Ahmed |
| Language: | | English |
| Format/size: | | html (26K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 July 2003 |
|
| Title: | | The Rohingya: Forced Migration and Statelessness |
| Date of publication: | | 28 February 2001 |
| Description/subject: | | "Forced Migration in the South Asian Region:
Displacement, Human Rights and Conflict Resolution"
Paper submitted for publication in a book edited by Omprakash Mishra on "Forced Migration in South Asian Region", Centre for Refugee studies Jadavpur University, Calcutta and Brookings Institution Project on Internal Displacement.
"In the eyes of the media and the general public, whether in Bangladesh or further afield, the situation of the Rohingya from Burma[ii] is usually referred to as a ?refugee problem?. Over the last two decades, Bangladesh has born the brunt of two mass exoduses, each of more then 200,000 people, placing them among the largest in Asia. Each of these massive outflows of refugees was followed by mass repatriation to Burma. Repatriation has been considered the preferred solution to the refugee crisis. However, this has not proved a durable solution, since the influx of Rohingyas over international borders has never ceased. And it is unlikely that it will stop, so long as the root causes of this unprecedented exodus are not effectively remedied. The international community has often focussed its attention on the deplorable conditions in the refugee camps in Bangladesh, rather than on the root causes of the problem, namely the denial of legal status and other basic human rights to the Rohingya in Burma. This approach doubtless stems from the practical difficulty of confronting an intractable military regime which refuses to recognise the Rohingya as citizens of Burma, and of working out solutions acceptable to all parties involved. The actual plight and continuous exodus of the Rohingya people has been rendered invisible. Though they continue to cross international borders, they are also denied the right of asylum, being labelled ?economic migrants?. The international community has preferred to ignore the extent of this massive forced migration, which has affected not only Bangladesh, but also other countries such as Pakistan, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, etc..." |
| Author/creator: | | Chris Lewa |
| Language: | | English |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
| Title: | | Stateless and unregistered children |
| Date of publication: | | 1998 |
| Description/subject: | | Box 6.4 of the chapter on Statelessness and Citizenship from the 1997 "The State of the World's Refugees". "In most countries, babies are registered with the relevant authorities soon after
they are born, enabling them to receive a birth certificate. Without such a
certificate, it can be very difficult for a person to lay claim to a nationality or to
exercise the rights associated with citizenship. Individuals who lack a birth
certificate may, for example, find it impossible to leave or return to their own
country, register as a voter or gain access to public health and education
services..." Includes a para on the Rohingyas. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 03 June 2003 |
|
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Birth registration
Lack of birth registration is a major cause of statelessness and makes people, especially children, vulnerable to trafficking.
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Birth registration in Thailand
This sub-section contains documents on the developing Thai policies towards registration at birth of children of migrants, refugees and hill tribe communities.
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Articles and reports relating to birth registration in Thailand from inter-governmental, non-governmental and media sources
Individual Documents
| Title: | | No Country to Call Their Own |
| Date of publication: | | August 2009 |
| Description/subject: | | "Stateless Burmese children in Thailand are still being denied basic rights such as access to education and health services, and they are vulnerable to many kinds of exploitation and abuse, according to migrant rights advocates.
It's estimated that there are about 1 million stateless children in Thailand, with about two-thirds thought to be children of Burmese migrant workers who come in search of a better life.
In 2008, the Thai government amended the country's law on civil registration to allow all children born in Thailand, regardless of the legal status of their parents, to receive birth certificates. The change has been greeted by many in the international aid community as an important step forward.
"Efforts are underway to ensure that the system is accessible and well known to parents, including stateless parents, local officials and communities," said Amanda Bissex, chief of the Child Protection Section of UNICEF Thailand.
Under the revised law, the Thai government, which ratified the 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), has instructed all state hospitals to issue birth registration documents to any baby born to any parents, regardless of their background.
However, rights advocates say that in practice, hospitals often fail to issue birth certificates to the children of migrants. This is partly due to the fact that many parents simply don't ask for these documents because they don't realize how important they are for their children's futures..." |
| Author/creator: | | Thawdar |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | "The Irrawaddy" Vol. 17, No. 5 |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Date of entry/update: | | 26 December 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Citizenship Manual - Capacity-Building on Birth Registration and Citizenship in Thailand (English) |
| Date of publication: | | 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | THIS MANUAL IS BEING UPDATED FOLLOWING CHANGES IN THAI LEGISLATION AND POLICY...
Table of Contents:
Basic Knowledge:
• Basic Information about Ethnic Groups in Thailand
Chapter;
Birth Registration for People Born in Thailand
• The Birth Registration Process in Thailand;
• Retroactive Birth Registration;
• Birth Registration Forms...
Management of the Personal Legal Status of Ethnic Groups in Thailand:
• Adding Names to Household Registration (Tor Ror 13) 29;
• Legal Assistance for Highlanders of Thai Nationality;
• Legal Assistance for Alien Migrants;
• Legal Assistance for Highlanders
Born in Thailand but Ineligible for Thai Nationality Due to Immigrant Parents...
Surveying and Issuing Identification Cards for People without Thai Nationality
(Pink-Colour Card)...
Surveying, Issuing Identification Cards, and Registering Undocumented Persons...
Basic Rights of Ethnic Groups in Thailand:
• The Right to Movement;
• The Right to Start a Family (Marriage Registration);
• The Right to Education;
• The Right to Work...
• Annex 1: Civil Registration Act (No. 2) 2008 (B.E. 2551) ...
• Annex 2: Nationality Act (No. 4) 2008 (B.E. 2551)...
• Annex 3: Official Letters on Residence Relocation (MoI) ...
• Annex 4: Strategy on Legal Status and Rights Management |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | UNESCO |
| Format/size: | | pdf (6.9MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 24 December 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Citizenship Manual - Capacity-Building on Birth Registration and Citizenship in Thailand (Thai) |
| Date of publication: | | 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | THIS MANUAL IS BEING UPDATED FOLLOWING CHANGES IN THAI LEGISLATION AND POLICY... Table of Contents: Basic Knowledge: • Basic Information about Ethnic Groups in Thailand Chapter; Birth Registration for People Born in Thailand • The Birth Registration Process in Thailand; • Retroactive Birth Registration; • Birth Registration Forms... Management of the Personal Legal Status of Ethnic Groups in Thailand: • Adding Names to Household Registration (Tor Ror 13) 29; • Legal Assistance for Highlanders of Thai Nationality; • Legal Assistance for Alien Migrants; • Legal Assistance for Highlanders Born in Thailand but Ineligible for Thai Nationality Due to Immigrant Parents... Surveying and Issuing Identification Cards for People without Thai Nationality (Pink-Colour Card)... Surveying, Issuing Identification Cards, and Registering Undocumented Persons... Basic Rights of Ethnic Groups in Thailand: • The Right to Movement; • The Right to Start a Family (Marriage Registration); • The Right to Education; • The Right to Work... • Annex 1: Civil Registration Act (No. 2) 2008 (B.E. 2551) ... • Annex 2: Nationality Act (No. 4) 2008 (B.E. 2551)... • Annex 3: Official Letters on Residence Relocation (MoI) ... • Annex 4: Strategy on Legal Status and Rights Management |
| Language: | | Thai |
| Source/publisher: | | UNESCO |
| Format/size: | | pdf (1.9MB) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 14 October 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Committee on the Rights of the Child, Thailand 2006 -- Concluding Observations |
| Date of publication: | | 27 January 2006 |
| Description/subject: | | These concluding observations contain a number of comments and recommendations on refugee and other migrant children in Thailand, including the question of birth registration, the situation of domestic migrant workers etc. |
| Language: | | English, French, Spanish |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations |
| Format/size: | | pdf (96K - English; 176K - Spanish; 186K - French) |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/%28Symbol%29/CRC.C.THA.CO.2.En?Opendocument
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/88a0d5457061da2fc125715e0048d5f9/$FILE/G0640937.pdf (French)
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/898586b1dc7b4043c1256a450044f331/1fb69816b0194a92c125715e0048d66d/$FILE/G0640939.pdf (Spanish) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 17 November 2010 |
|
| Title: | | Selected documents on low levels of birth registration for certain groups in Thailand -- Submission to the Committee on the Rights of the Child regarding Articles 7 and 22 of the CRC. |
| Date of publication: | | April 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | CONTENTS:
A. Background:
Birth registration and the Hill Tribes, Burmese migrants and trafficking...
1) Vulnerability of children lacking birth registration in Thailand;
2) Birth registration of hill tribe communities in Thailand ;
3) Extracts on Thailand from "Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness”;
4) Extracts from “No Status: Migration, Trafficking & Exploitation of Women in Thailand”;
5) Extracts from an NGO document on Burmese migrants;
6) An article from the Bangkok Post on birth registration;
7) UN and NGO letter on birth registration and trafficking to the Minister of Foreign Affairs...
Thai Government Proposals:
1) Stateless People: Govt. to revamp processing of nationality applications;
2) Registering babies is just a start in life...
B. Analysis:
Birth Registration of Migrant Children Born in Thailand...
C. Suggestions for the List of Issues...
Annexes:
A) Relevant Thai legislation (links to selected texts):
1) Thailand’s Nationality Act;
2) The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand;
3) Immigration Act of 1979;
4) Links to other Thai legislation...
B) Thailand’s initial report to the Human Rights Committee -
The section on Article 24 (paras 612-623)...
C) The Committee on the Rights of the Child: its concerns about birth registration in Thailand:
1) Thailand’s reservation on Article 7;
2) The CRC on the reservation;
3) Discussion of the reservation in Thailand’s 2nd report to the CRC. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Peace Foundation |
| Format/size: | | pdf (320K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 August 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Submission to the Human Rights Committee regarding Article 24 of the ICCPR - Selected documents on low levels of birth registration for certain groups in Thailand |
| Date of publication: | | March 2005 |
| Description/subject: | | "This preliminary collection of documents is submitted to the Human Rights Committee in advance of its examination of Thailand’s initial report, to raise the issue of the groups in Thailand whose children, in violation of Article 24 of the Covenant, tend not to be registered at birth, and are thus exposed to statelessness and many forms of difficulties and abuse...
CONTENTS:
A. Background:
Birth registration and the Hill Tribes, Burmese migrants and trafficking;
1) Vulnerability of children lacking birth registration in Thailand;
2) Birth registration of hill tribe communities in Thailand ;
3) Extracts on Thailand from "Lives on Hold: The Human Cost of Statelessness”;
4) Extracts from “No Status: Migration, Trafficking & Exploitation of Women in Thailand”;
5) Extracts from an NGO document on Burmese migrants;
6) An article from the Bangkok Post on birth registration;
7) UN and NGO letter on birth registration and trafficking to the Minister of Foreign Affairs...
Thai Government Proposals:
1) Stateless People: Govt. to revamp processing of nationality applications;
2) Registering babies is just a start in life...
B. Analysis:
Birth Registration of Migrant Children Born in Thailand...
C. Suggested orientation of the question(s) for the List of Issues...
Annexes:
A) Relevant Thai legislation (links to selected texts);
1) Thailand’s Nationality Act;
2) The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand;
3) Immigration Act of 1979;
4) Links to other Thai legislation...
B) Thailand’s initial report to the Human Rights Committee
-- The section on Article 24 (paras 612-623)...
C) The Committee on the Rights of the Child: its concerns about birth registration in Thailand;
1) Thailand’s reservation on Article 7;
2) The CRC on the reservation;
3) Discussion of the reservation in Thailand’s 2nd report to the CRC. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Burma Peace Foundation |
| Format/size: | | pdf (321K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 21 August 2006 |
|
| Title: | | Registering babies is just a start in life |
| Date of publication: | | 30 July 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Stateless people can look forward to some light at the end of the tunnel following Deputy
Prime Minister Chaturon Chaisaeng's proposal that their children be issued with birth
certificates. This step would help secure basic rights, on health and education, for hundreds
of thousands of babies languishing in limbo in the border provinces because their existence
has not been acknowledged by the state. It also would help Thailand fulfil its commitment as a
signatory to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which calls for every child
to be registered ''immediately after birth..." |
| Author/creator: | | Editorial |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Bangkok Post |
| Format/size: | | pdf (78K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | BIRTH REGISTRATION Concern over kin of illegal Burmese -- Govt unable to verify number of newborns |
| Date of publication: | | 10 January 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | The government has lost track of the number of newborn babies in the country as illegal
foreign labourers do not register births with authorities, an Interior Ministry official
said yesterday at the end of a conference co-organised by the UN Children's Fund. |
| Author/creator: | | Saritdet Marukatat |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Bangkok Post |
| Format/size: | | pdf (19K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on Thailand's 1st report |
| Date of publication: | | 26 October 1998 |
| Language: | | English, French, Francais, Espanol, Spanish |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (CRC/C/15/Add.97) |
| Format/size: | | html |
| Alternate URLs: | | http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CRC.C.15.Add.97.Fr?Opendocument (Francais)
http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CRC.C.15.Add.97.Sp?Opendocument
(Espanol) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 August 2004 |
|
-
Thai legislation and other official documents relating to birth registration in Thailand
Individual Documents
| Title: | | Thailand's Nationality Act (No.4) 2008 (B.E. 2551) |
| Date of publication: | | 19 February 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Given on the 19th day of February 2008 (B.E. 2551) Being the 63rd Year of the Present Reign |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Govt. of Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (79K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand's Civil Registration Act (No.2) B.E. 2551 |
| Date of publication: | | 15 February 2008 |
| Description/subject: | | Given on the 15th Being the 63th Year of the Present Reign |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | Govt. of Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (32K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 01 March 2009 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand's initial report to the Human Rights Committee |
| Date of publication: | | 24 June 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | "Thailand has prepared this report to implement Art.40 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights 1966. It deals with the legislative, administrative and judicial process that serve to efficiently implement various provisions of the Covenant and shall be in accordance to the spirit of the Covenant. This report should be read together with the core document of Thailand which already narrates the general conditions of Thailand on geographical, economical, political, governmental aspects, including the legal system and judicial process in detail..." |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (CCPR/C/THA/2004/1) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (491K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 18 August 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand’s Second State Party Report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child |
| Date of publication: | | 07 June 2004 |
| Description/subject: | | Thailand’s Second Report
On
The Implementation of the Convention
On the Rights of the Child
Submitted to
The United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child...
by
The Sub-committee on the Rights of the Child;
The National Youth Commission;
The Office of Welfare Promotion, Protection and Empowerment of Vulnerable Groups;
Ministry of Social Development and Human Security...
Contents:
Introduction;
1. General Measures of Implementation;
2. Definition of the Child;
3. General Principles;
4. Civil Rights and Freedoms;
5. Family Environment and Alternative Care;
6. Basic Health and Welfare;
7. Education, Leisure and Cultural Activities;
8. Special Protection Measures. |
| Language: | | English |
| Source/publisher: | | United Nations (CRC/C/83/Add.15) |
| Format/size: | | pdf (923K), Word (884K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 10 August 2004 |
|
| Title: | | Thailand's Child Protection Act of 2003 (Burmese) |
| Date of publication: | | 24 September 2003 |
| Description/subject: | | Unofficial translation (by UNICEF) |
| Language: | | Burmese/ ျမန္မာဘာသာ |
| Source/publisher: | | Government of Thailand |
| Format/size: | | pdf (112K) |
| Date of entry/update: | | 16 January 2013 |
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