NO STATUS: MIGRATION, TRAFFICKING & EXPLOITATION OF WOMEN IN THAILAND Health and HIV/AIDS Risks for Burmese and Hill Tribe Women and Girls A Report by Physicians for Human Rights © Physicians for Human Rights, Boston, MA June 2004 Printed in the United States of America. All rights reserved Report Design: Visual Communications/www.vizcom.org Cover Photo: Paula Bronstein/Liaison CONTENTS Acknowledgments .......................................................................v Glossary ....................................................................................vii I. Executive Summary ...........................................................1 II. Introduction.......................................................................7 III. Thailand Background......................................................11 IV. Burma Background..........................................................19 V. Project Methodology .......................................................25 VI. Findings...........................................................................27 Hill Tribe Women and Girls in Thailand..........................28 Burmese Migrant Women and Girls in Thailand..............33 VII. Law and Policy – Thailand..............................................45 VIII. Applicable International Human Rights Law ..................51 IX. Law and Policy – United States .......................................55 X. Conclusion and Expanded Recommendations .................59 iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This report was written by Karen Leiter, JD, MPH, Guerry, BA, MHS, as well as others who documented Senior Research Associate, Physicians for Human testimonies, for their valuable contribution to the report. Rights; Ingrid Tamm, MA, Research Associate, Physi- The report was reviewed by Leonard Rubenstein, JD, cians for Human Rights; Chris Beyrer, MD, MPH, Asso- PHR’s Executive Director; Susannah Sirkin, MEd, PHR’s ciate Research Professor, Johns Hopkins School of Deputy Director; Gina Cummings, PHR’s Director of Public Health; Moh Wit, Johns Hopkins School of Pub- Constituency Outreach; Barbara Ayotte, PHR’s Director lic Health; and Vincent Iacopino, MD, PhD, Research of Communications; Ms. Burkhalter; and Ms. Reis. The Director, Physicians for Human Rights. Holly Burkhal- authors are indebted to these reviewers and to others ter, PHR’s US Policy Director, contributed to the US Law who provided comments on the Executive Summary for and Policy section of the report. Chen Reis, JD, MPH, their thoughtful feedback and suggestions. Ms. Ayotte former Senior Research Associate, Physicians for Human and Jan Reiss prepared this document for production. Rights, contributed to the Introduction and Applicable The authors are deeply grateful to the individual International Human Rights Law sections. PHR thanks women and the many nongovernmental and interna- law student interns Vincent Herman and Sandra Berty tional organizations working in Thailand who shared and volunteer Jennifer Danek, MD, for their assistance their time, their insights, and especially their stories for with background research and writing. this report. This report is based on fieldwork conducted in Support for this research was provided by the Reebok March, April, and May 2004 by Ms. Leiter, Dr. Beyrer, Human Rights Foundation and the Moriah Fund. and Mr. Wit. PHR is very grateful to Christopher v GLOSSARY Use of Terms in This Report Migrant – In this report, the term migrant refers to both foreign persons and undocumented persons born in Child – The Convention on the Rights of the Child Thailand (e.g., from the hill tribes). defines a child as “every human being below the age of Migration – A description of the process of the move- eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the ment of persons, and thus includes those forced or com- child, majority is attained earlier” (art. 1). pelled to leave their homes, such as the movement of Burmese – The Burman are the largest single ethnic refugees, displaced persons, and uprooted people, as group in Burma and dominate the army and current mil- well as economic migrants.1 Unsafe migration refers to a itary leadership. Most of Burma’s ethnic minorities situation in which the movement of persons is insecure, inhabit areas along the country’s mountainous frontiers; particularly for those who are undocumented, because the largest are the Karen and Shan groups. In this report, of the unscrupulous behavior of border officials, traf- the term Burmese migrants refers generally to migrants fickers, and others and a lack of information with which from Burma, most of whom are ethnic minorities. to make choices and assess risks. Exploitation – The Trafficking in Persons Protocol Prostitution – In this report, used to refer specifically to defines exploitation to include, at a minimum, “the the criminal offense under Thai law. exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms Sex Work – As used in this report, sex work refers to the of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery commercial provision of sexual services and encom- or practices similar to slavery, servitude, or the removal passes a wide spectrum of coercion and/or force, from of organs” (art. 3a). The ILO Forced Labour Conven- very little to extreme in nature and duration. This use is tion (ILO No. 29) defines forced or compulsory labour intended to recognize that the nature, degree, or exis- as “all work or service which is exacted from any person tence of sexual and other forms of exploitation to which under the menace of any penalty and for which the said an individual in sex work is subject, and that individual’s person has not offered himself voluntarily” (art. 2). perspective, may vary over time. In this report, PHR Hill Tribes – In Thailand, the term hill tribes refers to a refers to women as sex workers rather than prostitutes subset of the country’s ethnic minorities, most of whom not wanting to further stigmatize individuals and to live in the remote northern highland areas of the coun- emphasize the importance of promoting their health, try. Members of these ethnic groups are also found var- well-being, and rights. This is in no way to diminish the iously in parts of China, Laos, Vietnam, and Burma. recognition that commercial sexual exploitation of chil- Many are indigenous peoples going back many genera- dren is criminal and violates human rights and that tions; others are more recent arrivals. The direct trans- measures to end the trafficking of women and children lation from the Thai, mountain people, is infrequently into the sex industry must be a priority for the interna- used; some prefer the term highlanders, but that is tional community. somewhat imprecise, as many lowlanders from Thai- (Human) Smuggling – The Migrant Smuggling Protocol land and neighboring countries have also relocated to defines the smuggling of migrants as “the procurement, the highlands. in order to obtain, directly or indirectly, a financial or Irregular or Undocumented Migrants or Workers – other material benefit, of the illegal entry of a person Noncitizens who enter or travel or work within a coun- into a country of which the person is not a national or a try without the necessary visa/travel documents and res- permanent resident” (art. 3a). The chief distinction idency/work permits. between smuggling and trafficking, for adults, is that persons consent to be smuggled. vii (Human) Trafficking – The Trafficking Protocol defines Acronyms Used trafficking in persons as “the recruitment, transporta- tion, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons, by MOU – Memorandum of understanding means of the threat or use of force or other forms of NGO – Nongovernmental organization coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the PHR – Physicians for Human Rights giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the SPDC – State Peace and Development Council of Burma consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation.” The recruitment, trans- STI – Sexually transmitted infection portation, transfer, harboring, or receipt of a child for the purpose of exploitation is considered trafficking regardless of the means used. viii I. EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Description of Study and Report Although the trafficking of children is an extraordinarily serious human rights concern, it is beyond the scope and This study was designed to provide critical insight and contribution of this study. The close nexus that this remedial recommendations on the manner in which report describes, however, between violations of human human rights violations committed against Burmese rights, in particular trafficking, and sexual exploitation migrant and hill tribe women and girls in Thailand ren- and HIV/AIDS, may be useful as well for understanding, der them vulnerable to trafficking,2 unsafe migration, preventing, and remedying the untenable situation of exploitative labor, and sexual exploitation and, conse- trafficked children in Thailand and elsewhere.3 quently, through these additional violations, to The findings of this study are not intended to be rep- HIV/AIDS. This report describes the policy failures of resentative of the attitudes and experience of all migrant the government of Thailand, despite a program widely and hill tribe women and girls in Thailand, nor is the hailed as a model of HIV prevention for the region. study able to establish causal associations with scientific Physicians for Human