Thailand Migration Report Highlights Social, Economic Challenges of Migration

Thailand - A new report from Thailand’s UN Thematic Working Group on Migration, comprised of UN agencies and chaired by IOM, notes significant achievements in migration management, but warns that key aspects of Thai migration policy still require attention.

Up to four million migrants live in Thailand, the vast majority from the neighbouring countries of Myanmar, Cambodia and the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Some 3.25 million have come to Thailand to work, 127,000 are displaced persons, and the remainder consist largely of students and retirees from other countries.

The Thailand Migration Report 2014 applauds advances such as the provision of free primary education, the enrolment of migrant workers in Thailand’s Social Security Fund and better access to healthcare.

While the report notes that progress has been made, it also highlights that “bilateral agreements and regularization regimes enacted have yet to wholly fulfil their objectives of instituting a safe and lawful labour migration process.”

The report highlights priority areas identified by UN agencies, including the relationships between migration and social protection, reproductive health, HIV, mobility within ASEAN, children and education, the status of domestic workers and complaint mechanisms for migrant workers. The report identifies changing migration patterns and linkages to migration policy.

“Developing a comprehensive policy concerning international migration would help the Royal Thai Government to continue the progress achieved over the past few years, while addressing the drawbacks,” said Jeffrey Labovitz, IOM’s Chief of Mission in Thailand.

The report can be downloaded in English from: http://th.iom.int/images/report/TMR_2014.pdf

For more information please contact

Jeffrey Labovitz

IOM Thailand

Tel: +668 9890 8702

Email: jlabovitz@iom.int