[Tlc] TL: fyi, Urgent Action on Arbitrary Arrest of Refugees in Thailand (UA 324/06)]

Sun Aug 19 17:55:50 PDT 2007

Dear TLC list members,
You may be interested in the following Urgent Action from Amnesty
International USA.
Very best wishes,
tyrell haberkorn

-------- Original Message --------  Subject: Urgent Action on Arbitrary
Arrest of Refugees in Thailand (UA 324/06)  Date: Fri, 17 Aug 2007 16:11:12
-0400  From: Andrea Solomon <asolomon at aiusa.org> <asolomon at aiusa.org>
To: Urgent
Action Network <uanetwork at aiusa.org> <uanetwork at aiusa.org>

URGENT ACTION APPEAL
- From Amnesty International USA

To read the current Urgent Action newsletter, go to
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/newslett.html
----------------------------------
For a print-friendly version of this Urgent Action (PDF):
http://www.amnestyusa.org/actioncenter/actions/uaa32406.pdf

Note: Please write on behalf of these persons even though
you may not have received the original UA when issued on July 6, 2007.
Thanks!

17 August 2007
Further Information on UA 324/06 (29 November 2006) and
follow-up (8 December 2006; 19 January 2007; 29 January
2007; 31 January 2007) – Fear of forcible return/arbitrary
arrest/health concern

THAILAND
149 Lao Hmong refugees, including 77 children
and nine infants

The 149 Lao Hmong refugees detained at Nong Khai Immigration
Detention Center (IDC) began a hunger-strike at midday on 16
August in protest at their continued detention in appalling
conditions. There are grave concerns for their welfare,
particularly as more than half of them are children and some
are already suffering from health problems made worse by the
conditions at the detention centre and the fact that they
have been detained for a prolonged period.

Conditions at the Nong Khai IDC have deteriorated recently.
Since June the refugees are confined to two small, hot,
windowless, overcrowded cells, which they are not allowed to
leave, in what the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has
described as ''deplorable'' conditions. They reportedly have
no access to clean drinking water, have not been allowed to
wash their clothes, and have had their mosquito netting and
blankets removed. This is reportedly in response to the
escape of seven of the group in June, two of whom were
recaptured and returned.

The 149, who are recognized as refugees by the UNHCR, have
been detained for the last nine months. They were arrested
in mid-November 2006 and initially detained at the IDC in
Bangkok. On 7 December they were transported to Nong Khai,
on the border with Laos.

The Thai authorities attempted to forcibly return the group
to Laos on 30 January, but met with international
condemnation after immigration officials dragged the women
and children from their cell, loaded them onto buses and
took them to the Lao border. The authorities attempted to
force the men and boys from their cell, where they had
barricaded themselves. The unlawful deportation attempt was
abandoned, and since then Prime Minister Surayong Chulanont
has stated that the group will not be forcibly returned to
Laos, and will be allowed to resettle in third countries.
Four countries have accepted all of them for resettlement,
but the Thai authorities have not yet allowed the refugees
to leave.

Despite repeated calls from UNHCR and other members of the
international community, including Amnesty International,
the 149 recognized refugees in Nong Khai IDC have not been
released and allowed to proceed with their resettlement.

BACKGROUND INFORMATION
Around 8,000 ethnic Hmong Lao asylum-seekers are living in a
camp at Huay Nam Khao in Phetchabun province. Lao Hmong
started arriving at the camp in large numbers in 2004,
seeking refugee status. In addition, an unknown number are
held at police detention facilities in the province.

These individuals claim to have been persecuted in Laos
because of their connection with ethnic Hmong armed
resistance groups, who fought alongside the USA against the
communist Lao forces during the Viet Nam war (1965-1975) and
its spill-over fighting in Laos.

So far, the UNHCR has not been allowed access to the Lao
Hmong in Huay Nam Khao in order to determine their
protection needs, and the Thai authorities have not
introduced a fair and satisfactory procedure to enable these
individuals to claim asylum and a durable solution to their
plight. In early June a group of 163 asylum-seekers were
forcibly returned under a bilateral agreement between
Thailand and Laos, in breach of international human rights
law and standards.

RECOMMENDED ACTION: Please send appeals to arrive as quickly
as possible:
- expressing concern that 149 Lao Hmong refugees, including
children and infants, remain in prolonged detention in
overcrowded and unsanitary conditions in Nong Khai
Immigration Detention Center;
- expressing concern that the refugees are already in poor
health, and that this is likely to deteriorate further as
they embark on a protest hunger strike, and urging the
authorities to immediately provide the refugees with
adequate medical care;
- calling on the authorities to take immediate steps to
improve the conditions at the IDC and the treatment of the
refugees, in accordance with UN Standard Minimum Rules for
the Treatment of Prisoners;
- urging the authorities to arrange the speedy resettlement
of the refugees to a third country;
- urging the authorities to ensure that UNHCR and other
relevant independent humanitarian agencies are given
immediate access to all asylum seekers, including new
arrivals, in Huay Nam Khao and other facilities in
Phetchabun province.

APPEALS TO:
Head of agency with responsibilities for border areas and
refugees:
Secretary-General
Prakit Prachonpachanuk
National Security Council
Government House, Phitsanulok Road
Dusit, Bangkok, 10300
THAILAND
Fax:        011 66 2282 5131
Salutation:  Dear Secretary-General

Prime Minister:
General Surayud Chulanont
Office of the Prime Minister
Government House, Phitsanulok Road
Dusit, Bangkok, 10300
THAILAND
Fax:        011 66 2282 5131
Email: opm at opm.go.th
      spokesman at thaigov.go.th
Salutation:  Dear Prime Minister

Minister of Foreign Affairs:
Nitya Pibulsonggram
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Wang Saranrom, Bangkok 10200
THAILAND
Fax:        011 66 2 643 5320
Email: minister at mfa.go.th
      permsec at mfa.go.th
Salutation:  Dear Minister

COPIES TO:
Ambassador Krit Garnjana-Goonchorn
Embassy of Thailand
1024 Wisconsin Ave. NW
Washington DC 20007
Fax:         1 202 944 3611
Email: info at thaiembdc.org

PLEASE SEND APPEALS IMMEDIATELY.
Check with the AIUSA Urgent Action office if sending appeals
after 28 September 2007.

----------------------------------
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to continue your activism. You can browse book
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Amnesty International is a worldwide grassroots movement
that promotes and defends human rights.

This Urgent Action may be reposted if kept intact, including
contact information and stop action date (if applicable).
Thank you for your help with this appeal.

Urgent Action Network
Amnesty International USA
600 Pennsylvania Ave SE 5th fl
Washington DC 20003
Email: uan at aiusa.org
http://www.amnestyusa.org/urgent/
Phone: 202.544.0200
Fax:     202.675.8566

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END OF URGENT ACTION APPEAL
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