TNAG-1542-FCO40-2106-United-Nations-High-Commissioner-for-Refugees-(UNHCR)-Execut-1986 — Page 206

1

CONFIDENTIAL

€1611.

REFUGEES IN THAILAND

(1) NATURE OF REFUGEES

The following groups of refugees and displaced persons are present in Thailand:

Vietnamese Refugees. Vietnamese Refugees. Lowland Lao Refugees. Hilltribe Lao Refugees. Cambodian Refugees.

Land arrivals. Boat arrivals.

(Arrivals prior to 1981

housed at Khao I Dang holding centre).

Cambodian displaced persons. (Housed in UNBRO border

camps).

Cambodian Family and Ration Card Holders (who have

Karen displaced persons.

entered Khao I Dang after 1981 and have not hitherto been eligible for resettlement).

Non-Indochinese Refugees (mostly Iranians and Afghans).

The Thai government does not accord full refugee status to the Cambodian displaced persons who are housed in the UNBRO border camps.

UNHCR does not have access to these persons. UNHCR similarly does not have access to a group of Vietnamese land refugees who are housed within one of the UNBRO camps this group are however eligible for transfer (after preliminary screening) to a UNHCR resettlement processing centre. None

of the UN organisations has access. to those Karen who have fled across the Thai border as a result of fighting between the Burmese Army and Karen resistance forces; these persons are dependant on humanitarian aid from international voluntary agencies.

The non-Indochinese refugees are supported by UNHCR on an individual basis. The Thai Government are sometimes reluctant to recognise these persons' refugee status in which case they are treated as illegal immigrants.

2. The Vietnamese and Lao refugees include those whose refugee status may be regarded as mandatory, i.e. they have a well founded fear of persecution should they return to their country of origin. But a fair number have left for economic or other reasons (e.g. a wish to be reunited with relatives already resettled in third countries.) This probably applies particularly to recent arrivals. Prior to 1985 there was no formal attempt to categorise refugees other than by country of origin or ethnic status. In 1985 UNHCR embarked on a programme to screen new arrivals from Laos to identify those whose motives were primarily economic with a view to arranging their repatriation.

CONFIDENTIAL

/3.