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Refugees

Although Thailand is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention, Thailand is highly committed to balancing between maintaining security and adhering to humanitarian principles. 

To ensure that the Royal Thai Government can provide help to those in genuine need of protection, concerned Thai agencies have been working on the drafting of the Prime Minister’s Office Administrative Measure on the Screening of Foreigners Who Enter the Kingdom and Cannot Return to the Country of Origin. The draft stipulates details on the establishment of a screening system to differentiate those in genuine need of protection from other groups such, as illegal economic migrants or victim of trafficking in persons who would be processed under other existing legal frameworks, and provide necessary protection while waiting for durable solutions including the third country resettlement. Once finalized, the draft will be submitted to the cabinet for consideration.

For displaced persons from Myanmar who reside along Thai-Myanmar border, the Royal Thai Government facilitates and allows international organizations and NGOs to enter temporary shelters to provide basic health care services.  In case of emergency for all cases, patients are immediately referred to general hospitals for immediate treatments at no cost.

Cross-border, disaster and climate related displacement

For migrants, the government, in cooperation with employers in the private sectors, has developed affordable health insurance scheme to ensure their access to health services. Since March 2016, the yearly premium for Compulsory Migrant Health Insurance (CMHI) was reduced from THB 2,200 to THB 1,600 or approximately USD 44. The CMHI also provides health insurance coverage for migrants' dependents and children aged under the age of 7 years old with low insurance premium at THB 365 or USD 11 per capita per year. This covers wide range of medical services, including maternal and child health, health promotion activities, and vaccination for preventable diseases.  The benefit package is similar to the Public Health insurance benefit package for the Thai population.

Empowerment of women and girls

Thailand’s disaster management under the current National Disaster Prevention and Mitigation Plan (2015-2019) is inclusive of vulnerable groups, i.e. women, girls, the elderly, persons with disabilities, migrant workers and displaced persons. Disaster needs assessment were conducted taking into account the specific needs of vulnerable groups.  The sick, elder persons, women, children and persons with disabilities were prioritized to be evacuated first when disasters hit.

Civil society organizations have also been active in this regard. For example, an NGO called “Luk Riang” conducted training courses on disaster management in 36 primary and secondary schools in Southern borders provinces of Thailand, which have benefited more than 7,000 teachers and students. They have learned how to make disaster risk assessments (flash flood, fire, air pollution, etc.) and how to draw up disaster preparedness and response plan accordingly.

The Thai Red Cross Society (TRCS) continually provides free training on first aid and health care for women and girls as well as other vulnerable groups, such as prisoners, and the elderly. These training courses include training on mother and child care and child delivery for female prisoners nationwide. Similar trainings are provided for staff and abused or prematurely pregnant women at the Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women’s emergency shelter in Don Mueang District, Bangkok.

Building community resilience

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) has created a platform where all humanitarian actors, be they from public or private sectors, NGOs, foundations, etc., can share information and exchange experiences in dealing with disasters. The DDPM conducted several training courses in humanitarian assistance and disaster preparedness and response so that they are in a better position to respond to crisis. By doing so, a network of humanitarian actors is strengthened and they can be called to perform duty rapidly.

An integrated database on disaster management between the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation, the Ministry of Public Health and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) was created to prepare for possible emergencies.

The Thai Red Cross Society (TRCS) created an application called “GIS Application Pon Pai (Out of Danger)”, which is used as a tool to map the existing humanitarian and national services network who take part in crises response. It allows the authorities to know the scale of disaster and the needs of affected people in a timely manner. Its 3D mapping helps facilitate logistic arrangement and trace whereabouts of the assistance provided in each particular case.

Joined-up humanitarian-development analysis and planning towards collective outcomes

The Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation (DDPM) is Thailand’s focal point for disaster management and has co-chaired the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) Committee on Disaster Management (ACDM) Working Group on Prevention and Mitigation. The Working Group meeting was conducted under the ASEAN Agreement on Disaster Management and Emergency Response (AADMER) Work Programme.

Thailand participated in the 7th ASEAN Regional Disaster Emergency Response Simulation Exercise (ARDEX) in November 2018 in Cilegon City, Indonesia. The exercise aims to test and evaluate the interoperability of ASEAN mechanisms in information-sharing, coordination, and emergency response at times of disasters. ARDEX also analyses the roles of the ASEAN Coordinating Centre for Humanitarian Assistance on Disaster Management (AHA Centre) as the implementing agency to operationalize the ASEAN’s vision embodied in the Declaration on One ASEAN One Response: ASEAN Responding as One in the Region and Outside the Region.

The DDPM also took part in ASEAN Safe School Initiative (ASSI), which aims to strengthen the implementation and promotion of a comprehensive disaster management in the schools in ASEAN. This initiative is developed in partnership with disaster management agencies and education sector, and supported by civil society organizations. Around 10,000 schools in Thailand participate in this initiative.