Overview and challenges
Situation Increased economic prosperity, improved legislation and better provision of services have led to a more protective environment for the majority of children in Thailand. However, too many have been excluded from social and economic improvements – particularly the children of ethnic and religious minorities, of migrant families and of the 10 per cent of the population who remain below the poverty line. One of the major problems facing such children is their lack of birth registration. Some 5 per cent of births are not registered each year, and an estimated 1 million children currently have no registration papers and therefore no citizenship. As a result they have very limited access to services such as education, health care and legal protection from abuse. In northern Thailand, where many unregistered and minority group children live, there are serious problems of children being trafficked for sexual purposes within Thailand and beyond. Increasing numbers of children from neighbouring countries are victims of trafficking within Thailand. Some are forced to work as beggars or in local sex establishments, while others are trafficked to more developed countries. In such situations, children are subject to severe physical and emotional abuse and can die or suffer lifelong physical and mental difficulties. Recovery is difficult, expensive and sometimes impossible.
There are roughly 1,000 children being held in adult prisons in contravention of international law. A further 29,000 are being held in juvenile detention centres despite new guidelines in Thailand that call for detention as a very last resort. Out of this number, around 1,000 of them are being held in adult detention centres because they are awaiting trial in provinces with no dedicated facilities for young people in conflict with the law. Along the border areas, children are still at risk of death from landmines and of forced recruitment as soldiers or porters for armed groups in Myanmar, while in the deep south, more and more children are suffering from the effects of violence.
Key facts • Unregistered children and the children of minorities and migrants are especially vulnerable to exploitation, including trafficking for child labour and sexual abuse |
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