UN worries over deportation of Hmongs
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed concern over the deportation of 53 ethnic Hmongs, including a newborn, to Laos.
Authorities in Nong Khai province deported the group as illegal migrants on Wednesday and guaranteed them safe arrival in Laos. "Every government has the right to deport irregular migrants, but UNHCR is seriously concerned that there may have been within this group genuine refugees who were in need of international protection and could face persecution in Laos," said Giuseppe de Vincentis, acting representative of UNHCR in Thailand. "We have no access to these people once they are returned to Laos, and there have been no guarantees that they will be properly treated on their return to Laos," he said in a statement. Their forced return was tantamount to refoulement, contrary to international humanitarian law. The principle of "nonrefoulement" says that no refugee or asylum seeker whose case has not yet been properly assessed can be forcibly returned to a country where their life or liberty could be in danger. UNHCR has repeatedly asked the government for access to the Lao Hmong in detention in Thailand to determine whether any were in need of international protection. "The UN refugee agency has made several representations to the Royal Thai Government not to carry out deportations of Lao Hmong and has renewed its offer to assist the Thai government to find viable solutions for the roughly 6,000 Hmong living in makeshift camps near Huay Nam Khao village in Petchabun province," De Vincentis said. UNHCR does not have access to this mixed group, which has been in Thailand for almost a year and a half. De Vincentis also recalled that Thailand deported 26 Hmong children to Laos in December 2005 and there had been no trace of them since despite efforts by UNHCR and the Thai government to determine their fate. The
|
