OPINION

A new era for refugee protection in Thailand?

News, Published on 19/03/2020

» On Sept 26, 2016, Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha pledged to establish a national screening mechanism to distinguish people in need of international protection from other migrants in Thailand, implicitly acknowledging Thailand's responsibility towards refugees for the first time. Now, in 2020, Thailand is poised to make good on the commendable commitments made. The National Screening Mechanism will come into effect in June, legally recognising, for the first time, a category of non-citizens who would be at risk if deported. Human rights advocates, refugees and Thai civil society are cautiously optimistic that the much-anticipated policy could usher in a new era of humanitarianism in Thai immigration policy.