Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09CHIANGMAI75
2009-06-04 09:49:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Consulate Chiang Mai
Cable title:
NGOS ASSIST HILL TRIBES IN DIVERSE WAYS, BUT CAPACITY
how-toVZCZCXRO0259 PP RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM DE RUEHCHI #0075/01 1550949 ZNR UUUUU ZZH P 040949Z JUN 09 FM AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1057 INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 1139
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 CHIANG MAI 000075
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SMIG PREF PREL KWMN BM TH
SUBJECT: NGOS ASSIST HILL TRIBES IN DIVERSE WAYS, BUT CAPACITY
STRETCHED THIN
REF: A. 08 CHIANG MAI 140 (HILL TRIBE RELOCATIONS)
B. 08 CHIANG MAI 192 (HILL TRIBE STATELESSNESS TRENDS)
C. CHIANG MAI 2 (CITIZENSHIP MANUAL)
CHIANG MAI 00000075 001.2 OF 004
-------------------
Summary and Comment
-------------------
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 CHIANG MAI 000075
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SMIG PREF PREL KWMN BM TH
SUBJECT: NGOS ASSIST HILL TRIBES IN DIVERSE WAYS, BUT CAPACITY
STRETCHED THIN
REF: A. 08 CHIANG MAI 140 (HILL TRIBE RELOCATIONS)
B. 08 CHIANG MAI 192 (HILL TRIBE STATELESSNESS TRENDS)
C. CHIANG MAI 2 (CITIZENSHIP MANUAL)
CHIANG MAI 00000075 001.2 OF 004
--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------
1. (U) Although the Royal Thai Government (RTG) passed two
laws in 2008 that improved citizenship eligibility, stateless
persons living in northern Thailand still face a host of legal,
administrative, and practical obstacles to citizenship.
Recognizing the many disadvantages confronting stateless
persons, the many NGOs, academics, and faith-based groups who
work with ethnic hill tribe minorities in the North have
responded to these challenges in diverse ways. Examples include
providing legal advice about the citizenship process, appealing
cases of revoked citizenship, improving livelihoods in the face
of resource constraints, exposing corruption among local
officials responsible for processing citizenship applications,
and educating government authorities about the issues faced by
stateless persons. Post will continue its outreach to groups
working on hill tribe citizenship issues, with the aim of
creating linkages between groups and increasing awareness of
issues related to statelessness.
2. (SBU) Comment: Although there is no doubt that NGOs and
legal organizations have helped a great number of highlanders
obtain citizenship, the scale of the problem remains daunting.
Struggling to meet the growing demand for legal assistance, NGOs
have reached a turning point where aiding each individual in the
preparation of his or her case is no longer feasible. Instead,
NGOs have begun to advise groups on how to proceed with their
own citizenship claims and have encouraged them to assist others
with similar concerns. There is evidence that, with just a
little guidance, many highlanders can successfully obtain
citizenship on their own. For those with more complicated
cases, however, navigating the complex waters of Thai
citizenship law may still require more hands-on assistance from
legal experts. End Summary and Comment.
-------------- --------------
Legislation Improved, but Implementation Still Problematic
-------------- --------------
3. (U) Approximately half of Thailand's ethnic hill tribe
minorities remain stateless and continue to face many problems
associated with this lack of citizenship (refs A and B). The
most recent survey of the highland population, conducted in
1999, revealed that at least 378,000 highlanders were still
without Thai citizenship or permanent residency. While some of
these non-citizens may have obtained citizenship since 1999,
there are still many highlanders in need of official
documentation.
4. (U) The Nationality Act of 2008 expanded citizenship
eligibility to some previously ineligible individuals, and the
Civil Registration Act of 2008 amended earlier laws regarding
household registration and birth certificate procedures (ref B).
While these recent legislative changes have ostensibly improved
citizenship eligibility, ambiguities regarding the
implementation of these laws still remain. This cable will
focus on the ways in which NGOs, faith-based groups, and legal
organizations continue to address the problem of hill tribe
statelessness.
--------------
The Barefoot Lawyers
--------------
5. (U) In 2002, the Mae Ai district office of northern Chiang
Mai province revoked the citizenship of over 1,200 highlanders
CHIANG MAI 00000075 002.2 OF 004
there based on suspicion that some individuals had obtained
their citizenship fraudulently. As a result, the citizenship of
their children was also automatically rescinded. Several
organizations, including the National Human Rights Commission,
Payap University, and the Law Society of Thailand, helped the
newly stateless take their case to the Chiang Mai Administrative
Court. Three years later, the Court ordered the Ministry of the
Interior to reinstate their citizenship. This victory was
tempered by the fact that the citizenship of their children was
not automatically reinstated.
6. (U) Several of the people who had their citizenship revoked
in 2002 became staff members at the Mae Ai Legal Clinic. Known
as the "barefoot lawyers," they use their own experiences to
advise others on the citizenship process. The clinic was
founded and is operated by Chiang Mai's Payap University and is
funded by UNICEF.
7. (U) The success of the clinic has attracted more and more
clients, including many not linked to the 2002 case. As a
result, the volume of legal inquiries now exceeds the clinic's
capacity. As such, the clinic has changed its approach to legal
assistance. While staff members previously counseled
individuals on a case-by-case basis, the clinic is now equipping
groups to act on their own behalf. The clinic instructs one
hundred people at a time, separated into five groups based on
their category of citizenship eligibility, via a three day
"citizenship crash course" at the clinic. Each of the
participants is required to research his or her family
background and prepare the necessary legal documents. Once a
"student" completes the course, he/she is able to advise others
facing similar legal hurdles to citizenship. In addition, law
professors from Payap University are producing a manual that
individuals with citizenship concerns can reference.
8. (SBU) Staff members at the Mae Ai Legal Clinic note that
while corruption among local registrar authorities is still
prevalent (ref B),outright dismissals of citizenship
applications have decreased, as the local officials seem to
realize that many villagers are now quite knowledgeable about
the new citizenship laws.
--------------
Administrative and Practical Obstacles
--------------
9. (SBU) Staff members at the Mae Ai Legal Clinic describe the
following administrative and practical obstacles to citizenship
(see also ref B):
--When babies are delivered in a village (and not in a
hospital),the village head is required to register the birth at
the district office. However, because many communities find it
difficult to pay for the village head's transportation costs,
some births go unregistered.
--Local registrar authorities often request expensive DNA tests
when parents apply for citizenship for their children. Requests
for DNA tests are often made even when witnesses can confirm a
child's place of birth and parentage.
--When Thai-citizen mothers attempt to register the birth of a
child, their own citizenship may be questioned by local
authorities. As a result, a child's citizenship application
could possibly put the mother's citizenship at risk of
revocation.
--Timely processing of citizenship applications often requires
the payment of bribes to local authorities.
CHIANG MAI 00000075 003.2 OF 004
--------------
Give a Man a Fish...
--------------
10. (U) While some NGOs focus on providing legal advice to
stateless highlanders, other groups enhance the livelihoods of
hill tribe communities. The Upland Holistic Development Project
(UHDP),an American faith-based NGO, teaches hill tribe
households how to support themselves on small plots of land.
Specializing in both subsistence and cash crop backyard farming
methods, UHDP is currently advising 21 communities in upper
Chiang Mai province on projects related to sanitation,
sustainable agriculture, and alternative fuels. In order to
balance the goals of conservationists and forestry officials
with the livelihood needs of hill tribe communities, UHDP is
also developing innovative agroforestry techniques which
emphasize crop diversification and the use of indigenous
species.
11. (U) Staff members at UHDP note that citizenship remains the
top priority for the communities in which they work. While
highlanders are certainly interested in learning new
agricultural techniques, many find it difficult to invest in
their land and resources, knowing that without citizenship they
could be relocated or deported at any time.
12. (SBU) UHDP staff members express concern about land tenure
rights in hill tribe communities. In the past, RTG forestry
officials have moved highlanders from their homes in order to
establish national parks (ref A). In order to prevent future
relocations, UHDP helps local communities map their land use
with geographic information systems. Community mapping is
especially important in communities that rely on agroforestry.
Unlike traditional rice paddies, agroforestry plots appear to be
intact (and therefore unused) forest ecosystems. As such,
farmers face the risk of being displaced by officials seeking
"pristine" forests for national parks. As one staff member
notes, "Your success [as an agroforesty farmer] can be your
undoing."
-------------- --------------
Tension Grows between NGOs and Local Authorities
-------------- --------------
13. (SBU) Staff members from a legal aid organization in Chiang
Rai province's Mae Suai district say that local authorities
continue to solicit bribes at various points in the citizenship
application process (ref B). They also note that some local
officials see the recent increase in the number of citizenship
applications as an opportunity for greater personal profit.
14. (SBU) Legal organizations who assist hill tribe communities
contend that the relationship between local government
authorities and NGOs working with highlanders has deteriorated
in recent years. In the past, local officials viewed these NGOs
as partners, but accusations by NGOS of government corruption
may have soured this relationship. Local officials were
particularly angry about a 2001 bribery complaint lodged by one
NGO with the Ministry of the Interior. Sources report that
witnesses were intimidated during the investigation and that
activists feared for their lives. Although the case was
referred to the Office of the National Counter-Corruption
Commission, it was eventually dismissed.
15. (SBU) The deterioration in the relationship between local
officials and NGOs assisting highlanders has also been
detrimental to those applying for citizenship. NGOs report that
local officials may deliberately hold up citizenship
applications received from NGOs. As a result, applications
filed by NGOs take longer to process than those submitted by
individuals.
CHIANG MAI 00000075 004.2 OF 004
--------------
Education and Collaboration
--------------
16. (U) The law faculty at Naresuan University's branch campus
in the northern city of Phayao has established a Legal Aid
Center that primarily serves highlanders who face citizenship
and other problems. The Center is committed to the education of
both law students and local authorities, and adopts a joint
consultative strategy in its dealings with government officials.
Instead of working at cross purposes with authorities, this
public school's Legal Aid Center collaborates with them on
issues related to hill tribe statelessness.
17. (U) The Center familiarizes its law students with the
problems faced by stateless persons and encourages community
service in hill tribe communities. A recent survey conducted by
the University's law students collected data on over 1,200
stateless persons in just two days. The school then passed the
data to a local NGO, which used it to assist the individuals
with citizenship applications.
18. (U) The Center also sponsors programs aimed at educating
local authorities about the new citizenship laws. Twice a year,
the Center organizes a public-private seminar on citizenship
matters attended by police, lawyers, local authorities, and
officials from the National Security Council and the Ministry of
the Interior. The Center also conducts mobile seminars in rural
areas.
--------------
Scale of Problem Still Daunting
--------------
19. (U) Many NGOs make large impacts in the local highland
communities where they work. However, hundreds of thousands of
highlanders still lack citizenship, and existing NGOs struggle
to meet the growing demand for legal assistance. Often, their
efforts are piecemeal rather than broadly coordinated.
Furthermore, stateless persons who live in remote areas beyond
the reach of local NGOs may be unable to obtain even modest
amounts of legal guidance, making it difficult for them to
pursue citizenship.
MORROW
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM ECON SMIG PREF PREL KWMN BM TH
SUBJECT: NGOS ASSIST HILL TRIBES IN DIVERSE WAYS, BUT CAPACITY
STRETCHED THIN
REF: A. 08 CHIANG MAI 140 (HILL TRIBE RELOCATIONS)
B. 08 CHIANG MAI 192 (HILL TRIBE STATELESSNESS TRENDS)
C. CHIANG MAI 2 (CITIZENSHIP MANUAL)
CHIANG MAI 00000075 001.2 OF 004
--------------
Summary and Comment
--------------
1. (U) Although the Royal Thai Government (RTG) passed two
laws in 2008 that improved citizenship eligibility, stateless
persons living in northern Thailand still face a host of legal,
administrative, and practical obstacles to citizenship.
Recognizing the many disadvantages confronting stateless
persons, the many NGOs, academics, and faith-based groups who
work with ethnic hill tribe minorities in the North have
responded to these challenges in diverse ways. Examples include
providing legal advice about the citizenship process, appealing
cases of revoked citizenship, improving livelihoods in the face
of resource constraints, exposing corruption among local
officials responsible for processing citizenship applications,
and educating government authorities about the issues faced by
stateless persons. Post will continue its outreach to groups
working on hill tribe citizenship issues, with the aim of
creating linkages between groups and increasing awareness of
issues related to statelessness.
2. (SBU) Comment: Although there is no doubt that NGOs and
legal organizations have helped a great number of highlanders
obtain citizenship, the scale of the problem remains daunting.
Struggling to meet the growing demand for legal assistance, NGOs
have reached a turning point where aiding each individual in the
preparation of his or her case is no longer feasible. Instead,
NGOs have begun to advise groups on how to proceed with their
own citizenship claims and have encouraged them to assist others
with similar concerns. There is evidence that, with just a
little guidance, many highlanders can successfully obtain
citizenship on their own. For those with more complicated
cases, however, navigating the complex waters of Thai
citizenship law may still require more hands-on assistance from
legal experts. End Summary and Comment.
-------------- --------------
Legislation Improved, but Implementation Still Problematic
-------------- --------------
3. (U) Approximately half of Thailand's ethnic hill tribe
minorities remain stateless and continue to face many problems
associated with this lack of citizenship (refs A and B). The
most recent survey of the highland population, conducted in
1999, revealed that at least 378,000 highlanders were still
without Thai citizenship or permanent residency. While some of
these non-citizens may have obtained citizenship since 1999,
there are still many highlanders in need of official
documentation.
4. (U) The Nationality Act of 2008 expanded citizenship
eligibility to some previously ineligible individuals, and the
Civil Registration Act of 2008 amended earlier laws regarding
household registration and birth certificate procedures (ref B).
While these recent legislative changes have ostensibly improved
citizenship eligibility, ambiguities regarding the
implementation of these laws still remain. This cable will
focus on the ways in which NGOs, faith-based groups, and legal
organizations continue to address the problem of hill tribe
statelessness.
--------------
The Barefoot Lawyers
--------------
5. (U) In 2002, the Mae Ai district office of northern Chiang
Mai province revoked the citizenship of over 1,200 highlanders
CHIANG MAI 00000075 002.2 OF 004
there based on suspicion that some individuals had obtained
their citizenship fraudulently. As a result, the citizenship of
their children was also automatically rescinded. Several
organizations, including the National Human Rights Commission,
Payap University, and the Law Society of Thailand, helped the
newly stateless take their case to the Chiang Mai Administrative
Court. Three years later, the Court ordered the Ministry of the
Interior to reinstate their citizenship. This victory was
tempered by the fact that the citizenship of their children was
not automatically reinstated.
6. (U) Several of the people who had their citizenship revoked
in 2002 became staff members at the Mae Ai Legal Clinic. Known
as the "barefoot lawyers," they use their own experiences to
advise others on the citizenship process. The clinic was
founded and is operated by Chiang Mai's Payap University and is
funded by UNICEF.
7. (U) The success of the clinic has attracted more and more
clients, including many not linked to the 2002 case. As a
result, the volume of legal inquiries now exceeds the clinic's
capacity. As such, the clinic has changed its approach to legal
assistance. While staff members previously counseled
individuals on a case-by-case basis, the clinic is now equipping
groups to act on their own behalf. The clinic instructs one
hundred people at a time, separated into five groups based on
their category of citizenship eligibility, via a three day
"citizenship crash course" at the clinic. Each of the
participants is required to research his or her family
background and prepare the necessary legal documents. Once a
"student" completes the course, he/she is able to advise others
facing similar legal hurdles to citizenship. In addition, law
professors from Payap University are producing a manual that
individuals with citizenship concerns can reference.
8. (SBU) Staff members at the Mae Ai Legal Clinic note that
while corruption among local registrar authorities is still
prevalent (ref B),outright dismissals of citizenship
applications have decreased, as the local officials seem to
realize that many villagers are now quite knowledgeable about
the new citizenship laws.
--------------
Administrative and Practical Obstacles
--------------
9. (SBU) Staff members at the Mae Ai Legal Clinic describe the
following administrative and practical obstacles to citizenship
(see also ref B):
--When babies are delivered in a village (and not in a
hospital),the village head is required to register the birth at
the district office. However, because many communities find it
difficult to pay for the village head's transportation costs,
some births go unregistered.
--Local registrar authorities often request expensive DNA tests
when parents apply for citizenship for their children. Requests
for DNA tests are often made even when witnesses can confirm a
child's place of birth and parentage.
--When Thai-citizen mothers attempt to register the birth of a
child, their own citizenship may be questioned by local
authorities. As a result, a child's citizenship application
could possibly put the mother's citizenship at risk of
revocation.
--Timely processing of citizenship applications often requires
the payment of bribes to local authorities.
CHIANG MAI 00000075 003.2 OF 004
--------------
Give a Man a Fish...
--------------
10. (U) While some NGOs focus on providing legal advice to
stateless highlanders, other groups enhance the livelihoods of
hill tribe communities. The Upland Holistic Development Project
(UHDP),an American faith-based NGO, teaches hill tribe
households how to support themselves on small plots of land.
Specializing in both subsistence and cash crop backyard farming
methods, UHDP is currently advising 21 communities in upper
Chiang Mai province on projects related to sanitation,
sustainable agriculture, and alternative fuels. In order to
balance the goals of conservationists and forestry officials
with the livelihood needs of hill tribe communities, UHDP is
also developing innovative agroforestry techniques which
emphasize crop diversification and the use of indigenous
species.
11. (U) Staff members at UHDP note that citizenship remains the
top priority for the communities in which they work. While
highlanders are certainly interested in learning new
agricultural techniques, many find it difficult to invest in
their land and resources, knowing that without citizenship they
could be relocated or deported at any time.
12. (SBU) UHDP staff members express concern about land tenure
rights in hill tribe communities. In the past, RTG forestry
officials have moved highlanders from their homes in order to
establish national parks (ref A). In order to prevent future
relocations, UHDP helps local communities map their land use
with geographic information systems. Community mapping is
especially important in communities that rely on agroforestry.
Unlike traditional rice paddies, agroforestry plots appear to be
intact (and therefore unused) forest ecosystems. As such,
farmers face the risk of being displaced by officials seeking
"pristine" forests for national parks. As one staff member
notes, "Your success [as an agroforesty farmer] can be your
undoing."
-------------- --------------
Tension Grows between NGOs and Local Authorities
-------------- --------------
13. (SBU) Staff members from a legal aid organization in Chiang
Rai province's Mae Suai district say that local authorities
continue to solicit bribes at various points in the citizenship
application process (ref B). They also note that some local
officials see the recent increase in the number of citizenship
applications as an opportunity for greater personal profit.
14. (SBU) Legal organizations who assist hill tribe communities
contend that the relationship between local government
authorities and NGOs working with highlanders has deteriorated
in recent years. In the past, local officials viewed these NGOs
as partners, but accusations by NGOS of government corruption
may have soured this relationship. Local officials were
particularly angry about a 2001 bribery complaint lodged by one
NGO with the Ministry of the Interior. Sources report that
witnesses were intimidated during the investigation and that
activists feared for their lives. Although the case was
referred to the Office of the National Counter-Corruption
Commission, it was eventually dismissed.
15. (SBU) The deterioration in the relationship between local
officials and NGOs assisting highlanders has also been
detrimental to those applying for citizenship. NGOs report that
local officials may deliberately hold up citizenship
applications received from NGOs. As a result, applications
filed by NGOs take longer to process than those submitted by
individuals.
CHIANG MAI 00000075 004.2 OF 004
--------------
Education and Collaboration
--------------
16. (U) The law faculty at Naresuan University's branch campus
in the northern city of Phayao has established a Legal Aid
Center that primarily serves highlanders who face citizenship
and other problems. The Center is committed to the education of
both law students and local authorities, and adopts a joint
consultative strategy in its dealings with government officials.
Instead of working at cross purposes with authorities, this
public school's Legal Aid Center collaborates with them on
issues related to hill tribe statelessness.
17. (U) The Center familiarizes its law students with the
problems faced by stateless persons and encourages community
service in hill tribe communities. A recent survey conducted by
the University's law students collected data on over 1,200
stateless persons in just two days. The school then passed the
data to a local NGO, which used it to assist the individuals
with citizenship applications.
18. (U) The Center also sponsors programs aimed at educating
local authorities about the new citizenship laws. Twice a year,
the Center organizes a public-private seminar on citizenship
matters attended by police, lawyers, local authorities, and
officials from the National Security Council and the Ministry of
the Interior. The Center also conducts mobile seminars in rural
areas.
--------------
Scale of Problem Still Daunting
--------------
19. (U) Many NGOs make large impacts in the local highland
communities where they work. However, hundreds of thousands of
highlanders still lack citizenship, and existing NGOs struggle
to meet the growing demand for legal assistance. Often, their
efforts are piecemeal rather than broadly coordinated.
Furthermore, stateless persons who live in remote areas beyond
the reach of local NGOs may be unable to obtain even modest
amounts of legal guidance, making it difficult for them to
pursue citizenship.
MORROW