A life in waiting: Thai citizenship and stateless youth along the Thailand–Myanmar border

Abstract

Many of the stateless children and youth who were born on the Thai side of the border to Myanmar parents have not been granted any legal status in either Thailand or Myanmar. Thus, they remain stateless. Their lack of human security is morally unacceptable especially in a world where cross border activities are natural and human rights are serious concerns for the global community. This research analyses the situation of statelessness in Thailand, identifies some of the key problems resulting from the lack of citizenship and its impact on stateless young adults in areas along the Thailand–Myanmar border. It sets out key challenges facing the Royal Thai Government (RTG) in relation to the concepts of Thai national security, human rights, and human security with regard to stateless young adults of Myanmar parents. The research has employed mixed (qualitative and quantitative) methods to obtain a more comprehensive understanding of social facts regarding statelessness in Thailand. The research focuses on young adults aged between 18–24 years old who were born and live along the Thailand–Myanmar border in Chiang Mai province and Tak province. Qualitative methods such as participatory observation, focus group discussions (FGD) and in-depth interviews with some stateless youth, parents, teachers, NGO representatives and the Thai authorities were conducted in order to identify the problems resulting from lack of citizenship and its impact on stateless youth. Quantitative methods such as a set of questionnaires were employed to investigate the opinions of Thai respondents towards the stateless children and youth in Thailand. The qualitative data discuss the causes and the impact of statelessness in Thailand concerning the concept of Thai citizenship and the dynamics of the Thai’s national security policies towards stateless people. The data also suggest that stateless youth who were born in Thailand to migrant parents from Myanmar and who have lived in Thailand their whole lives, or at least for more than 10 years, would prefer to remain in Thailand and obtain Thai citizenship. During their stay, stateless youth have to negotiate their rights with the Thai government through four different aspects of life such as access to education and health care service, legal protection and the right to move which are limited by Thai law. Moreover, the application process to obtain Thai citizenship is difficult, complex and seemingly endless. It requires complicated supporting documentation and depends heavily on the whims of local authorities. Importantly, this application process does not guarantee that an application for citizenship will be successful. In addition, the qualitative data demonstrate that most Thai respondents support these stateless youth being granted Thai citizenship, because they believe that granting Thai citizenship will assist stateless youth have more secure lives. Finally, the research presents the results followed by policy recommendations from four perspectives: the legal perspective, the national security perspective, the human security perspective and the perspective of the respondents. The research recommends that the Thai state amend its national security policy concerning the stateless youth who live along the Thailand–Myanmar border in order to achieve better outcomes for this vulnerable group. Show more