Thailand

Last Updated: 28 November 2013

Mine Ban Policy

Mine ban policy overview

Mine Ban Treaty status

State Party

National implementation measures

No new implementation measures

Transparency reporting

30 April 2013

Key Developments

Continued use of improvised mines by southern insurgency

Policy

The Kingdom of Thailand signed the Mine Ban Treaty on 3 December 1997 and ratified it on 27 November 1998, becoming a State Party on 1 May 1999. Thailand has not enacted domestic legislation to implement the Mine Ban Treaty. Since 2002, Thailand has attempted to implement the convention by executive measure. This method has been included in its Article 7 report; however, it has never been possible to issue the draft.[1] On 7 September 2012, the representative from the military’s Judge Advocate General’s Office suggested in a meeting of the sub-committee on Facilitating, Monitoring, and Evaluation that the military issue an order for the implementation of the Mine Ban Treaty as it would be less complicated.[2]

Thailand submitted its fifteenth Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report on 30 April 2013, covering calendar year 2012.[3]

Thailand attended the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in Geneva in December 2012, where it was elected as a Vice-President of the meeting and served as co-chair for Resources, Cooperation, and Assistance. Thailand made interventions during sessions on enhancing international cooperation and assistance, on assisting victims, and on its clearance progress since receiving an extension on its Article 5 obligations.

At the intersessional Standing Committee meetings in Geneva in May 2013, in addition to its co-chair role, Thailand provided an update on its clearance progress since receiving an extension on its Article 5 obligations.

Thailand hosted the Bangkok Symposium on Enhancing Cooperation & Assistance: Building Synergy towards Effective Anti-Personnel Mine Ban Convention Implementation from 23–25 June 2013 in Bangkok. The meeting was attended by representatives of 49 governments, including eight states not party to the convention.[4]

On International Mine Action Day 2013, the Thailand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Thailand NGO Network for Humanitarian Disarmament held a photo exhibition in central Bangkok detailing the lives of eight landmine survivors in eastern Thailand.[5]

Thailand is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons (CCW).

Production, transfer, stockpile destruction, and retention

Thailand states that it has never produced or exported antipersonnel mines. Thailand formerly imported antipersonnel mines from China, Italy, the United States, and the former Yugoslavia. It completed destruction of 337,725 stockpiled antipersonnel mines on 24 April 2003.

In its Article 7 report submitted in 2013, Thailand stated that at the end of 2012 it retained 3,350 antipersonnel mines for training purposes, a reduction of 24 mines from the previous year.[6] Twenty-four antipersonnel mines held by the army were transferred for training of new deminers. Thailand has never reported in any detail on the intended purposes and actual uses of mines kept for training—a step agreed upon by States Parties at the Review Conferences in 2004 and 2009.[7] At the end of 2012, the Royal Thai Army retained 2,684 mines, the Royal Thai Air Force retained 581 mines, and the National Police Department retained 85 mines.[8]

In June 2011, Thailand stated, “Inventories of mines retained will continue to be done so that our article 7 submissions accurately reflect mines in official possession.”[9] In June 2010, Thailand said that since the number of mines retained is high compared to the number used each year, it would review its retention and destruction plans.[10]

Thailand is not known to have undertaken physical modifications of its Claymore mine stockpile to ensure use only in command-detonated mode. Officials have previously stated that all units have received orders that Claymore mines are to be used only in command-detonated mode.[11]

Use

The insurgency in southern Thailand has seen extensive use of command-detonated improvised explosive devices (IEDs). There are also reports of increased use of homemade or “craft mines” that function as victim-activated IEDs.[12] Insurgents use these devices as “area-denial” weapons against Buddhist Thais who own rubber and fruit plantations, and also against the Malay Muslims working in those places. On 25 September 2012, a temporary government employee clearing brush from the side of a highway was injured when he stepped on a victim-activated explosive device containing about 1 kilogram of ANFO (ammonium nitrate and fuel oil) on a berm on the side of the road.[13] On 10 September 2012, a man who stopped on a road was injured when he stepped on a victim-activated explosive device on the road berm.[14] Both were assumed to have been placed by the southern insurgency. On 6 September 2012 in Narathiwat’s Ra Ngae district, Jiraporn Ratanawong stepped on a landmine while working in her rubber plantation, which severed her left foot. Rubber plantation worker Maena Latae lost her left leg to a landmine in Narathiwat’s Muang district on 1 September 2012.[15] The Monitor has recorded similar use since 2010.[16]

The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) stated to the Monitor that it doesn’t record incidents in the south in its database “since the weapons used in the south are not anti-personnel landmines, but are IEDs, which are not [banned] under the MBT.”[17]

An incident in October 2008 concerning two Thai soldiers who stepped on antipersonnel mines while on patrol in disputed territory between Thailand and Cambodia, near the World Heritage Site of Preah Vihear, remains unresolved. Thai authorities maintained that the area was previously clear of landmines and that the mines had been newly placed by Cambodian forces. Cambodia denied the charges and stated that the Thai soldiers had entered Cambodian territory in an area known to contain antipersonnel mines and were injured by mines laid during previous armed conflicts.[18] Cambodia and Thailand never reached a resolution on this matter, and other States Parties did not pursue a resolution of this compliance concern.[19]

In May 2012, a Thai soldier on patrol near the disputed border area stepped on a mine which Thai authorities claim was recently laid. According to a media report, government authorities speculated that rogue Cambodian soldiers aiding timber poachers may have laid the mine. The army reportedly asked the Foreign Ministry to file a complaint at the meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty.[20] In March 2013, three Thai soldiers were injured by what the Thai military described as newly planted mines near the Ta Kwai Temple in Phanom Dong Rak district.[21] Cambodia, according to a request made by the ICBL, conducted a fact-finding mission to the site from 10–12 May 2013 and determined that the Thai solders were injured by mines laid during the Cambodian civil war. Cambodia stated that it’s soldiers found indications of the incident on the same day, and provided a GPS reference which was different than the reference stated by the Thai military. They stated that the incident took place to the side of, not on, a specially cleared path used for military-to-military meetings between the Thai and Cambodian military in the area.[22] The Cambodian delegation provided copies of the report at the May 2013 intersessional meeting in Geneva.

 



[1] Interview with Lt.-Gen. Tumrongsak Deemongkol, Director-General, Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC), Bangkok, 25 February 2010. Thailand’s Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports submitted from 2007–2009 state, “The issuing is still in progress.” The 2010 report apparently mistakenly dropped that phrase, as the regulations have not yet been adopted and are still in progress; they had not been entered into the Royal Thai Government Gazette as of late July 2010. TMAC reported in 2009 that the Subcommittee on Administration and Evaluation is responsible for this process and that in early 2009 it was in the process of submitting the draft regulations to the National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action for consideration. The draft was first developed by TMAC in 2002. Thailand has reported that the draft regulations have been pending approval of various entities each year. See previous editions of the Monitor; and Landmine Monitor Report 2009, p. 718.

[2] Response to Monitor written questions by Col. Jirat Seetachan, Deputy Head of Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, 20 May 2013.

[3] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, 30 April 2013. Previous Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 reports were submitted on 30 April 2008–2012, 25 April 2005–2007, 3 May 2004, 22 July 2003, 30 April 2002, 17 April 2001, 2 May 2000, and 10 November 1999.

[4] Lao PDR, Lebanon, Libya, South Korea, Sri Lanka, United Arab Emirates, and Vietnam.

[6] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2013.

[7] The Royal Thai Army, Navy, Air Force, and National Police Department initially retained a total of 4,970 antipersonnel mines for training. In the past 10 years, Thailand has reported that 504 mines have been consumed by its training programs. The number of retained mines did not change from 2001 to 2004. In 2005–2006, Thailand reduced the number of mines retained by 257. There were discrepancies in the reporting on the number of mines. See Landmine Monitor Report 2007, p. 665. In 2007, it reduced the number by another 1,063 mines. It appears that 63 of the mines retained by the National Police Department were consumed during training activities, and all of the 1,000 mines retained by the navy were simply destroyed, presumably because they were no longer deemed necessary. See Landmine Monitor Report 2008, p. 678. In 2008 and 2009, Thailand destroyed another 12 mines per year. In 2010, Thailand reported transferring 200 mines for training, apparently 13 M2, 84 M14, 39 M16, and 64 M26 antipersonnel mines. Statement of Thailand, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on General Status and Operation, Geneva, 20 June 2011; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2011. The types transferred are not noted in the Article 7 report.

[8] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, 30 April 2013.

[9] Statement of Thailand, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on General Status and Operation, Geneva, 24 June 2011; and Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form D, Geneva, 30 April 2011. The number of mines retained by the Air Force remains unchanged since 2006. It is unclear why different services retain mines and whether each has a training program for mine clearance.

[10] Statement of Thailand, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on General Status and Operation, Geneva, 21 June 2010.

[11] Interview with Lt.-Gen. Deemongkol, TMAC, Bangkok, 19 March 2009. TMAC stated this in 2007 as well as in 2008. In its Article 7 report for 1999, Thailand reported that it had 6,117 M18 and M18A1 Claymore mines in stock.

[12] Craft landmines are explosive devices made out of locally available materials that are designed to detonate due to the proximity or activity of a human being. Such devices are banned under the Mine Ban Treaty.

[16] ICBL, “Country Profile: Thailand: Mine Ban Policy,” 8 November 2012; and ICBL, “Country Profile: Thailand: Mine Ban Policy,” 2 November 2012.

[17] Response to Monitor written questions by Col. Seetachan, TMAC, 20 May 2013.

[18] For extensive details, see Landmine Monitor Report 2009, pp. 243–244.

[19] See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Cambodia: Mine Ban Policy,” accessed 24 October 2013.

[20] Govt says Cambodia planting landmines,” Bangkok Post, 5 May 2012.

[21]Army enraged by border mines,” Bangkok Post, 6 March 2013.

[22] Investigation Report on Thailand’s Allegation of New Mines Laid by Cambodia, 17 May 2013. Report copy provided to ICBL, 31 May 2013. Report prepared by a five-person team from the Cambodian Mine Action Authority and the Cambodian National Center for Peacekeeping Forces and ERW Clearance.


Last Updated: 09 September 2013

Cluster Munition Ban Policy

The Kingdom of Thailand has not acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Thailand has indicated that it is considering joining the convention. In September 2012, a Thai official informed States Parties that “During the past few years, we have carried out a series of activities…in order to prepare Thailand for accession to the Convention.”[1] In June 2011, Thailand stated that it hopes to accede to the convention in “the near future.”[2] On 14 February 2011, Thailand’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Kasit Piromya told the UN Security Council: “We are seriously considering joining the Convention on Cluster Munitions.”[3]

Yet at the UN General Assembly (UNGA) First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in October 2012, Thailand stated that it “fully supports the international effort to ban inhumane weapons [including] certain types of cluster munitions.”[4] It is not clear if this emphasis on prohibiting only “certain” cluster munitions represents a new policy.[5]

After Thailand used cluster munitions in early February 2011 during its border conflict with Cambodia, Thailand stated that it “fully understands the concerns raised” by States Parties over its use of cluster munitions and promised to “remain committed to engaging with the international community on this issue”[6] (see section on Use below).

Thailand participated in most of the diplomatic conferences of the Oslo Process that created the Convention on Cluster Munitions, but attended the formal negotiations in May 2008 only as an observer and did not sign the convention when it was opened for signature in Oslo in December 2008.[7]

Since 2008, Thailand has continued to show strong interest in the Convention on Cluster Munitions. It has attended all of the convention’s meetings of States Parties as an observer, including the Third Meeting of States Parties in Oslo, Norway in September 2012, where it made a statement. Thailand has also participated in every intersessional meeting of the convention in Geneva, including those held in April 2013.

Thailand voted in favor of a UNGA resolution on 15 May 2013 that strongly condemned “the use by the Syrian authorities of...cluster munitions.”[8]

On 21 August 2012, Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA) convened a briefing for government officials on the Convention on Cluster Munitions in Bangkok. NPA representatives also distributed an information pack, including a Thai language translation of the convention prepared in collaboration with Thailand’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, to all members of Thailand’s parliament.[9] This followed a two-day interministerial workshop on the convention that was organized by NPA in cooperation with the Thai Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Bangkok in August 2011.[10]

Thailand is a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party to the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Production, transfer, and stockpiling

Thailand is not known to have ever produced or exported cluster munitions.

Thailand possesses a stockpile of cluster munitions, but the composition and status are not known. The United States (US) supplied Thailand with 500 Rockeye and 200 CBU-71 air-dropped cluster bombs at some point between 1970 and 1995.[11] Thailand also possesses French-made 155 mm NR 269 ERFB extended-range artillery projectiles, each containing 56 M42/M46[12] type dual purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions.[13] Based on the types of submunitions identified in Cambodia after artillery strikes, Thailand also possesses a cluster munition that delivers M85 self-destructing DPICM submunitions.

Thailand has said that it does not intend to acquire more stocks of cluster munitions.[14] NPA has been providing the government with advice and information on efficient solutions for the destruction of Thailand’s stockpile of cluster munitions.[15]

Use

In recent years, Thai and Cambodian military forces have engaged in several brief skirmishes over disputed parts of the border near Preah Vihear temple, resulting in claims and counter-claims of new antipersonnel mine use.[16] In February 2011, the Cambodian Mine Action Centre (CMAC), a government entity, claimed that Thai military forces had fired cluster munitions during fighting on the border at Preah Vihear.[17] Separate missions by CMC members in February and April 2011 confirmed that cluster munitions were used by Thailand on Cambodian territory, including M42/M46 and M85-type DPICM submunitions.[18] The CMC has urged Thailand to provide detailed information on the cluster munition strikes and has urged Cambodia and Thailand to join the Convention on Cluster Munitions.

Thailand’s use of cluster munitions elicited a strong international response.[19] Thailand responded that it “strictly adhered to the applicable international humanitarian law that all states are obliged to prevent unnecessary loss of civilian lives.”[20]

 



[1] Statement of Thailand, Convention on Cluster Munitions Third Meeting of States Parties, Oslo, 11 September 2012, www.clusterconvention.org/files/2012/09/Thailand-Statement1.pdf.

[2] Statement of Thailand, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 27 June 2011. Notes by the CMC.

[3] Statement by Kasit Piromya, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kingdom of Thailand, UN Security Council, New York, 14 February 2011.

[4] Statement of Thailand, UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security, New York, 24 October 2012, www.reachingcriticalwill.org/images/documents/Disarmament-fora/1com/1com12/statements/24Oct_Thailand.pdf.

[5] In February 2011, Thai officials initially denied the Thai army’s use of NR269 projectiles containing M42/M46 and M85-type dual-purpose improved conventional munition (DPICM) submunitions. A Thai army spokesperson, Col. Veerachon Sukondhadhpatipak, said Thailand had only deployed conventional artillery and noted, “This is just a normal one, not something against international law or standards.” See “Border still in crosshairs,” Phnom Penh Post, 7 February 2011; and “Sansern: No cluster munitions used,” Bangkok Post, 10 February 2011.

[6] Statement of Thailand, Convention on Cluster Munitions Intersessional Meetings, Geneva, 27 June 2011. Notes by the CMC.

[7] For details on Thailand’s policy and practice regarding cluster munitions through early 2009, see Human Rights Watch and Landmine Action, Banning Cluster Munitions: Government Policy and Practice (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, May 2009), pp. 245–246.

[8] “The situation in the Syrian Arab Republic,” UNGA Resolution A/67/L.63, 15 May 2013, www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2013/ga11372.doc.htm.

[9] Email from Shushira Chonhenchob, Programme and Advocacy Officer, NPA Thailand, 11 July 2013. See Also www.facebook.com/NPAinThailand?ref=hl - !/NPAinThailand.

[10] Monitor meeting with Thailand delegation to the Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 14 September 2011.

[11] US Defense Security Assistance Agency, Department of Defense, “Cluster Bomb Exports under FMS, FY1970–FY1995,” obtained by Human Rights Watch in a Freedom of Information Act request, 28 November 1995.

[12] This specific type of submunition is also called a “grenade.” A certain amount of contradictory information exists publicly about the specific type of DPICM submunition contained in the NR269 projectile. France lists it as an “M42 type” in its initial Article 7 report in January 2011. Other international ammunition reference publications list the type as M46. There is little outward visual difference between the two types: the M46 DPICM is heavier/thicker and has a smooth interior surface. A portion of the interior of the M42 DPICM body is scored for greater fragmentation.

[13] NPA, “Impact Assessment Report: Preah Vihear Province, Cambodia,” undated, but circulated 3 April 2011. Both Canadian and South African companies were involved in the development of this weapon. “155 mm ERFB cargo projectiles,” Janes, articles.janes.com.

[14] Interview with Cherdkiat Atthakor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok, 24 February 2010; and statement of Thailand, Convention on Cluster Munitions Signing Conference, Oslo, 4 December 2008. Notes by Landmine Action.

[15] Email from Lee Moroney, Programme Manager, NPA, 17 August 2010.

[16] See ICBL, Landmine Monitor Report 2009: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2009), pp. 243–244 and pp. 719–710; and ICBL, Landmine Monitor 2010: Toward a Mine-Free World (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2010).

[17] CMAC press release, “CMAC Mine Risk Education (MRE) teams to raise awareness of mines, ERW and Cluster Munitions for the communities in PreahVihear,” 10 February 2011, www.cmac.gov.kh/tblnews.php?id=68.

[18] For full analysis of the 2011 use incident, see CMC, Cluster Munition Monitor 2011 (Ottawa: Mines Action Canada, October 2011), pp. 319–320. The missions were conducted by Cambodia Campaign to Ban Landmines and Cluster Bombs (on 9 February and 12 February) and NPA (1–2 April). CMC press release, “CMC condemns Thai use of cluster munitions in Cambodia,” 5 April 2011.

[19] For example, the Beirut Progress Report issued by the convention’s Second Meeting of States Parties stated: “Several states have reported actions reacting to the instance of use of cluster munitions by Thailand in 2011. This includes individual and joint demarches, support for fact-finding missions and condemnation of the use in public statements. The President of the Convention has also issued a statement, stating his concern over the use of cluster munitions. States and civil society have reported on how they follow up, in terms of actions to increase the understanding and knowledge of the Convention. States and civil society have had a good dialogue with Thailand.” “Draft Beirut Progress Report: Monitoring progress in implementing the Vientiane Action Plan from the First up to the Second Meeting of States Parties,” CCM/MSP/2011/WP.5, 25 August 2011,www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/05/Beirut-Progress-Report-ODS-upload4.pdf.

[20] Statement of Thailand, Convention on Cluster Munitions Second Meeting of States Parties, Beirut, 14 September 2011, www.clusterconvention.org/files/2011/09/statement_thailand_updated.pdf.


Last Updated: 28 November 2013

Mine Action

Contamination and Impact

The Kingdom of Thailand is affected by mines and explosive remnants of war (ERW), including both abandoned explosive ordnance and unexploded ordnance (UXO), the result of conflicts on its borders with Cambodia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, and Myanmar.

Mines

More than a decade after the start of its demining program, Thailand is still without a precise estimate of the extent of its mined areas. A 2001 Landmine Impact Survey (LIS) identified 530 communities in 27 of Thailand’s 76 provinces, and more than 500,000 people, as mine/ERW-affected, estimating total mine/ERW contamination at 2,557 km2.[1]

Thailand’s revised Article 5 deadline extension request, submitted in 2008, claimed it had released 1,355km2 of this area, leaving a total of 1,202km2 of suspected hazardous area (SHA) to be released, including an estimated 528.2km2 of “real minefield” requiring manual clearance.[2] The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) reported in May 2013 that survey and clearance had reduced “the total number of contaminated areas or confirmed hazardous areas” (CHAs) to 524.97km², down from 542.6km² a year earlier.”[3]

Thailand’s 700km-long border with Cambodia, used as a base for Cambodian non-state armed groups (NSAGs) in the 1980s and 1990s, is the worst affected, accounting for three-quarters of the LIS estimate of contamination and 51 of its 69 high-impacted communities.[4] Mine incidents on the Thai-Cambodian border in the last three years have contributed to tensions between the two countries over border demarcation. A Thai soldier was injured by an antipersonnel mine in Sisaket province in May 2012, in addition to eight casualties, including one fatality, suffered by the army as a result of mine blasts in Sisaket province in 2011.

In March 2013, three Thai rangers were injured by mine explosions in the border province of Surin, prompting the Thai military to protest to Cambodia. Defence Minister Sukumpol Sawanatat stated that landmines found at the location of the incident did not belong to Thailand, but said they might have been placed by illegal loggers.[5] Cambodia denied responsibility.[6]

Cluster munition remnants

Thailand cleared the only known cluster munitions contamination in northern Uttaradit province in 2011.[7]

Other explosive remnants of war

Thailand is also contaminated by other ERW, including unexploded artillery and mortar shells, rocket-propelled grenades (RPGs), recoilless rifle ammunition, and hand-grenades.[8] The extent is not known. Much of it is located along the border with Cambodia that was affected by cross-border shelling by Vietnamese and Cambodian government forces; contamination is also located in places where Cambodian guerrilla groups abandoned caches of mortars, RPGs, and ammunition.[9]

Violent conflict in southern—mainly Muslim—provinces has continued since 2004, including use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs), some of them victim-activated.[10] The Monitor identified 23 casualties from mines or ERW in 2012, including 10 military and police casualties recorded in southern Thailand.[11]

Mine Action Program

Key institutions and operators

Body

Situation on 1 January 2012

National Mine Action Authority

National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action (NMAC)

Mine action center

TMAC

International demining operators

Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), APOPO

National demining operators

Thai Civilian Deminers Association (TDA), Peace Road Organisation (PRO)

International risk education (RE) operators

Handicap International

National RE operators

Humanitarian Mine Action Units (HMAUs), COERR

NMAC, set up in 2000, has responsibility for overseeing the national mine action program, but has not met since 2008. TMAC reported plans to arrange a meeting of NMAC in 2011 and 2012, but former Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva, in office since December 2008, did not chair a meeting before his government fell in a general election in July 2011.[12] Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatara, who assumed office on 5 August 2011, had not convened a meeting as of June 2013.

TMAC was established in 1999 under the Armed Forces Supreme Command to coordinate, monitor, and conduct mine/UXO survey, mine clearance, mine/ERW risk education, and victim assistance throughout Thailand. TMAC is also responsible for establishing a program to meet Thailand’s obligations as a State Party to the Mine Ban Treaty.[13] However, TMAC has had to contend with limited funding and, as a military organization, with the regular rotation of personnel at all levels.[14] Lieutenant-General Seehanart Wongsaroj took over as TMAC Director General from Lieutenant-General Chatree Changrien in October 2012, becoming the seventh TMAC director since it was set up in 2000 and the third in the last three years.

TMAC pressed for a change in its status to a civilian organization in 2005, prompted by the slow progress of demining and the armed forces’ limited budget for its operations. The NMAC agreed, in principle, to TMAC becoming a foundation in February 2007 but proposed to keep it under the armed forces. A final decision is still pending. NMAC also decided in February 2007 to establish five sub-committees for victim assistance, coordination with foreign organizations, demining, RE, and monitoring and evaluation. The Victim Assistance sub-committee met twice in 2012.[15] The Demining and Monitoring and Evaluation sub-committees met once in 2012.[16]

TMAC gives priority to increasing land release through non-technical survey (NTS) and technical survey, working with four HMAUs and 287 operations staff, including 221 deminers and 20 explosive ordinance disposal (EOD) technicians.[17] In 2013, TMAC said it was discussing strategy and planned to present a revised strategic plan to the 2013 Meeting of States Parties.[18]

Two international demining NGOs worked in Thailand in 2012. NPA, supporting TMAC since 2011 and working in partnership with TDA, operated a 10-man survey team undertaking technical survey and NTS in Surin province in cooperation with HMAU 3; in March 2012 a second 10-man team was added.[19] APOPO, a Belgian NGO, also began conducting NTS and technical survey in 2011, working in cooperation with PRO in two provinces, Trat and Chanthaburi, both bordering Cambodia. Working with a 25-person team, APOPO completed an NTS and “limited technical” survey of CHAs in Trat in April 2012.[20]

 NPA also continued support to TMAC’s database unit, providing a technician to help consolidate clearance data, and through three visits in 2012 by NPA’s regional information management advisor. NPA support focused on consolidating data and resolving gaps resulting from more than 120 missing clearance reports.[21]

After more than two years of support by NPA, TMAC finally approved Thailand’s first National Mine Action Standards in June 2012.[22]

Land Release

Thailand released a total of 20.6 km2 of mined area in 2012, nearly five times the amount of land released the previous year as a result of land release methodologies adopted by TMAC. Virtually all of it was released through survey in 2012. Clearance accounted for just 288,980m2.[23]

Five-year summary of clearance

Year

Mined area cleared (km2)

Battle area cleared (km2)

2012

0.3

0

2011

2.41

1.14

2010

1.99

0

2009

2.55

0

2008

1.50

0

Totals

8.75

1.14

Survey in 2012

NPA, continuing the NTS it started in 2011, surveyed a 733,000m2 CHA between September 2011 and April 2012, releasing a total of 721,284m2, leaving 11,716m2 to be cleared by HMAU 3. In May 2012, NPA began a third pilot task in Surin, covering an area of 1.2km2, which was completed in August 2012, releasing a total of 1,101,871m2, leaving 123,579m2 to be cleared by HMAU 3. NPA started a fourth CHA pilot task in the same province in October 2012, covering an area of 2.53km2 that was completed by the end of April 2013.

NPA also conducted technical survey on an area of 1,846,832 m2, identifying two defined hazard areas (DHAs) of 337,076 m2 for full clearance by HMAU 3, leaving an area of 346,092m2 that was inaccessible due to border tensions as a CHA for future clearance.[24]

APOPO surveyed 39 CHAs in Trat and Buriram provinces bordering Cambodia in 2012, cancelling 3.97km² but confirming a mine threat in 18.47km² and identifying a further 15.96km² as needing further investigation.[25]

Release of SHAs/CHAs containing mines in 2012[26]

No. of areas released

Area cancelled by NTS (m2)

Area released by TS (m2)

Area cleared (m2)

No. of APMs destroyed

No. of AVMs destroyed

No. of UXO destroyed

45

8,305,226

12,087,006

288,980

1,399

100

1,756

TS = technical survey; APM = antipersonnel landmine; AVM = antivehicle mine

NPA ended its partnership with TDA in January 2013 and also prepared to shift its area of operations. In May 2013, NPA conducted a feasibility and impact assessment with a view to continuing its land release survey in Chiangmai province in areas under the responsibility of HMAU 4, where no NGOs have previously worked. NPA subsequently submitted a request to undertake survey in two CHAs in Mae Ai district of Chiangmai province in June 2013, following positive recommendations of the assessment. As of 7 July 2013, TMAC and HMAU 4 have agreed to this move, with final endorsement by official approval from the Royal Thai Armed Forces Headquarters expected soon.[27]

Mine clearance in 2012

Manual clearance by TMAC’s four HMAUs dropped to 0.3 km2 in 2012 from 2.41km2 in 2011 and 1.99km2 in 2010. Only two of the demining units (HMAUs 3 and 4) conducted full clearance, removing a total of four landmines. The other two units (HMAUs 1 and 2) released land through NTS and technical survey.[28]

Mined area clearance in 2012[29]

Name of operator

No. of mined areas released

Total size of mined area released by clearance (m2)

No. of APMs cleared

No. of AVMs cleared

No. of UXO cleared

TMAC

8

288,980

3

1

6

* APM = antipersonnel mine; AVM = antivehicle mine; U-SUB = unexploded submunition; UXO = unexploded ordnance other than unexploded submunition

Compliance with Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty

Under Article 5 of the Mine Ban Treaty (and in accordance with the nine-and-a-half year extension granted in 2008), Thailand is required to destroy all antipersonnel mines in mined areas under its jurisdiction or control as soon as possible, but not later than 1 November 2018.[30]

Thailand’s extension request estimated the area requiring full clearance at 528.35km². It said Thailand would employ some 900 deminers and clear or release between 40km and 65km a year during the plan period, setting a target of 170km² in the first four years.[31] TMAC, however, has not received the resources to fulfill this plan. In 2012, it employed 221 deminers, and in the first four years of the plan it appears to have released less than one-fifth of that amount. Without a commitment of greater resources and manpower to mine action, Thailand has little chance of fulfilling its treaty obligations.

Article 5 Extension Request: Clearance Targets and Achievements

Year

Mined area cleared (km²)

Total area released (km²)

Extension Request target (km²)

2012

0.29

20.6

41.95

2011

2.41

4.3

41.73

2010

1.99

5.23

43.28

2009

2.55

N/A

43.07

Total

7.24

30.13

170.03

N/A = not applicable

Lack of attention to mine action on the part of political leaders remains a major constraint on progress, resulting in a lack of funds for TMAC and the sector. UNDP has observed that a priority for TMAC was to bring the issue up to the NMAC, chaired by the Prime Minister, for advocacy at the policy-level on the vulnerability of mine-affected people and the need to have all mines cleared by 2018.[32] No prime minister has convened a meeting of NMAC since 2007.

Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatara received a group of mine action NGOs, led by NPA, at her office in June 2013; she expressed support for their work and said she would urge the relevant agencies to clear mine affected areas and provide support to victims, but she did not commit to further action.[33]

In a reference to its border dispute with Cambodia, Thailand has warned that “the unfinished demarcations with neighboring countries may post a delay in our mine clearance progress.” A Thai-Cambodian Joint Working Group, established to agree upon ways to implement an International Court of Justice Order, met on 5 April 2012 and agreed to task TMAC and the Cambodian Mine Action Center to demine required areas in the provisional demilitarized zone.[34] Another meeting in May 2013 agreed to joint demining of the area adjacent to the Preah Vihear temple; the working group planned to meet later in the year to discuss a plan for deployment of deminers.[35]

Quality management

TMAC has one quality control team within its Coordination and Evaluation Unit responsible for monitoring survey and clearance through site visits and analysis of clearance reports.[36]

National mine action standards adopted by TMAC in June 2012 include a chapter on quality management. TMAC also adopted a process of accreditation and in December 2012 appointed an accreditation committee which called for the HMAUs and other operators to submit documents. The committee was due to meet for the first time in May 2013, but as of early August it had not yet accredited any operator.[37]

Safety of demining personnel

TMAC had one demining accident in 2012, causing injuries to two deminers, down from three accidents in 2011 that caused 11 casualties, including four deaths. Two HMAU 2 deminers were injured by a detonation in December 2012 while working in Pong Nam Ron district of Chanthaburi province. The device was not identified.[38]

No demining accident occurred in the first half of 2013.[39]

 



[1] Survey Action Center (SAC) and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Landmine Impact Survey: Kingdom of Thailand,” 2001, pp. 7, 17.

[2] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request (Revision), 7 August 2008, pp. 15, 19.

[3] Statements of Thailand, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 22 May 2012 and 28 May 2013.

[4] SAC and NPA, “Landmine Impact Survey: Kingdom of Thailand,” 2001, pp. 22, 88.

[5] Public Relation Region 4, “Chief of Army Protested to Cambodia at landmines planting to harm Thai Soldiers,” 9 March 2013; “Second Army Chief Protest at Landmines,” Bangkok Post, 9 March 2013; and “Sukumpol Presumed Mines Belong to Logging Group,” MCOT PLC, 7 March 2013.

[6] Statement of Cambodia, Standing Committee on General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 28 May 2013; and Kaing Menghun, “Cambodia Hits Back Over Thai Border Landmine Claims, The Cambodia Daily, 10 March 2013.

[7] Interview with Col. Dusit Purasao, Commander of HMAU 4, TMAC, Bangkok, August 2011.

[8] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Lt.-Gen. Attanop Sirisak, TMAC, 20 May 2011.

[9] Telephone Interview with Suthikiet Sopanik, Director, General Chatichai Choonhavan Foundation (GCCF), 8 June 2006.

[10]Summary of Violence in the South of Thailand from Jan 2004 to February 2012,Deep South Watch, Center for Conflict Studies and Cultural Diversity, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, 1 April 2012. The Center recorded 11,542 violent incidents between January 2004 and February 2012, resulting in 13,571 casualties, including 5,086 deaths. It is not known how many were killed by IEDs.

[11] Based on Monitor analysis of media reports for 2012, including: “Laying Mine to Lure the Police; One lost leg Another Seriously Injured,Thairath, 21 March 2012; “Narathiwas Villagers Stepped on Mine and Lost Two Legs,INN News, 27 October 2012; “Narathiwas Soldiers Stepped on Mine, Four Injured, 1 Lost Leg,INN News, 5 September 2012; “Temporary Staff of the Krue Sor High Way Office Stepped on Mine, One Injured,Matichon, 26 September 2012; and “Unlucky man stopped to Pee, Stepped on Mine and Had Serious Injury - Nine Years Old Boy Lost a Leg,Deep South Watch, 10 September 2012.

[12] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Lt.-Gen. Attanop Sirisak, TMAC, 20 May 2011.

[13]About us: Thailand Mine Action Center,” TMAC website, accessed 14 July 2012.

[14] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Lt.-Gen. Attanop Sirisak, TMAC, 20 May 2011.

[15] E-mail from Chidchanok Suwakon, Manager, Office of Internal Audit, the National Institute for Emergency Medicine (NIEM), 10 May 2013.

[16] Document for the Sub-Committee Meetings; Monitor and Evaluation Subcommittee and Clearance and Demining Sub-Committee on 7 September 2012, at TMAC.

[17] Information provided by the Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 May 2012.

[18] Interview with Col. Nippon Maneesai, Assistant Director-General, TMAC, 23 March 2013.

[19] Interview with Aksel Steen-Nilsen, Programme Manager, NPA, Bangkok, 28 June 2012; and interview with Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, Country Director, NPA Thailand, Bangkok, 5 July 2013.

[20] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report, Form J, 30 April 2013; and APOPO,“Report for APOPO_PRO Survey Work in Trad Province 2011/2012,” Executive Summary, p. 1.

[21] Interview with Aksel Steen-Nilsen, NPA, Bangkok, 2 July 2012.

[22] Information provided by the Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 May 2012.

[23] Statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 28 May 2013.

[24] Information provided by Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, NPA Thailand, Bangkok, 5 July 2013.

[25] Email from Kim Warren, Programme Manager, APOPO Thailand and Cambodia, 28 March 2013.

[26] Information provided by the Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 May 2013.

[27] Interview with Aubrey Sutherland-Pillai, NPA Thailand, Bangkok, 5 July 2013.

[28] Information provided by the Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 20 May 2013; and by the Database Unit, TMAC, 16 August 2013.

[29] Ibid.

[30] Mine Ban Treaty Article 5 deadline Extension Request (Revision), 7 August 2008, p. 7.

[31] Ibid., p. 23.

[32] UNDP Thailand, “Capacity Building to Support Thailand Mine Action Center, Project Review Report,” March 2011, p. 17.

[34] Statement of Thailand, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Mine Clearance, Geneva, 22 May 2012.

[35] Statement of Cambodia, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on the General Status and Operation of the Convention, Geneva, 28 May 2013.

[36] Interview with Col. Terdsak Trirattanakool, Chief of Policy and Plan Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 29 June 2012; and TMAC, “Coordination and Evaluation Unit,” accessed 5 August 2013.

[37] Telephone Interview with Colonel Suchart Chantrawong, Chief of the Coordination and Evaluation Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 5 August 2013.

[38] Information from the Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 30 April 2013.

[39] Ibid., 20 May 2013 and 5 August 2013.


Last Updated: 28 November 2013

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Summary findings

·         Significant progress was made in expanding and then strengthening the community-based rehabilitation (CBR) network; employment, work training, livelihood incentives, and other economic opportunities continued to be areas with the greatest need

·         Government and civil society stakeholders strengthened ties between local survivors’ networks and were in closer consultation with survivor leaders

·         Survivor leaders played a significant role by supporting survivors at the village level

·         The Kingdom of Thailand completed a second master plan for victim assistance and improved interagency coordination among government actors

Victim assistance commitments

Thailand is responsible for landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) survivors. Thailand has made a commitment to victim assistance through the Mine Ban Treaty.

Casualties

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2012

3,537 casualties (1,504 killed; 2,033 injured)

Casualties in 2012

20 (2011: 49)

2012 casualties by outcome

20 injured (2011: 7 killed; 42 injured)

2012 casualties by device type

8 antipersonnel mines; 1 antivehicle mine; 2 ERW; 9 IEDs

Details and Trends

In 2012, the Monitor identified 20 mine/ERW casualties, including casualties from victim-activated improvised explosive devices (IEDs), in Thailand. Eleven casualties were civilians, including at least one child casualty (a nine-year-old boy) and three women. Of the nine casualties among military and police personnel, seven military or police personnel were on other duties and two were military deminers.

The total number of casualties for 2012 represented a decrease from 49 in 2011 and 35 casualties in 2010.[1]

The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) recorded 13 of the casualties in 2012, 24 causalities in 2011, and 23 in 2010.[2] In 2012, all 13 casualties recorded by TMAC occurred on the Thai-Cambodian border.[3] The other seven casualties of improvised mines or similar IEDs in 2012 were recorded in southern Thailand.[4]

The most comprehensive casualty data collection for Thailand remains the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS), which identified at least 3,468 casualties as of May 2001 (1,497 killed; 1,971 injured).[5] From June 1998 to the end of 2012, the Monitor recorded 677 mine/ERW casualties in Thailand: 36 people killed, 281 injured, and 360 of unknown status.[6]

Victim Assistance

In total, at least 1,364 mine/ERW survivors were recorded in Thailand at the end of 2012.[7]

Summary of victim assistance efforts since 1999[8]

Since 1999, the number of services provided to survivors from both government agencies and civil society organizations/NGOs gradually increased. Government responses to ongoing advocacy efforts by NGOs and local survivors’ groups led to improvements in the quality and coverage of services for mine/ERW survivors. In 1999, few government agencies or civil society groups provided services to survivors, yet by 2012 a wide range of victim assistance services were being maintained.

NGOs completed a national mine/ERW survivor survey and needs assessment in 2009. Coordination among governmental bodies responsible for victim assistance has improved steadily since 2000. By 2010, Thailand had strongly linked victim assistance to the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD). The linkages between disability-rights, victim assistance, and CBR on the ground strengthened over time through improved interagency cooperation and identification of focal points in relevant ministries.

Access to free healthcare programs increased through universal health coverage which applied to mine/ERW survivors and other vulnerable persons, provided survivors were Thai nationals or registered refugees. Emergency transportation was widely available and rescue response time improved with training. CBR and its outreach worker network (which covered 99% of the country by 2007) expanded significantly since the early efforts in 1998–1999. Gradual improvements were made in the availability of employment opportunities, social inclusion activities, and accessibility of existing services. Inclusive education programs provided by the government and relevant organizations increased. However, most survivors live in rural areas and work in the agricultural sector; existing employment and training programs generally did not meet their specific needs for economic inclusion.

Victim assistance in 2012

After a slow start in its development. Thailand’s new national Victim Assistance Master Plan was completed before the end of 2012. During the process of creating the plan, relevant government bodies and other key actors improved communication and coordination of victim assistance.

Government support for the strengthening and promotion of local landmine survivor networks was further developed through close consultation with survivors. Inclusion of survivors and other persons with disabilities increased through their participation in the victim assistance master plan and surveys.

Availability of rehabilitation services increased and the CBR network continued to improve services in rural areas. Changes to policy meant that all survivors, including stateless survivors living in Thailand without identification, could have better access to health services.

Assessing victim assistance needs

TMAC and other government agencies demonstrated improved coordination in registering data on each new casualty and following up to ensure that they received assistance and support. The record system had existed in past years but its use improved significantly in 2012.[9]

The National Office for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP) under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) organized six workshops on landmine victim assistance in 2012 and early 2013. These workshops are used as a forum to hear survivors’ concerns through local representatives of survivor groups.[10]

Survivors and people with disabilities wanted access to updated information on their rights and about new services provided by the government.[11] Survivors also identified economic inclusion and micro-credits as their needs. Some of them specified that they would like to receive cattle and livestock for their small farms.[12]

Victim assistance coordination[13]

Government coordinating body/focal point

TMAC and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs

Coordinating mechanism

The National Sub-Committee on Victim Assistance under the National Committee for Humanitarian Mine Action, includes TMAC, relevant government ministries and agencies: foreign affairs, public health, social development and human security, NEP, interior, and labor, as well as NGOs

Plan

The Master Plan for Mine Victim Assistance 2012–2016

The National Sub-Committee on Victim Assistance met twice in 2012; meetings were used to monitor victim assistance activities and to review and finalize the victim assistance plan..[14]

The Master Plan for Mine Victim Assistance 2012–2016 provides five action plans to strengthen victim assistance efforts, in the areas of mine victim database management; physical and psychological rehabilitation; social and economic reintegration; CBR; and sharing of best practices and experience.[15]

Thailand continued to strongly connect its work on victim assistance with the planning and implementation of its obligations under the CRPD.[16]

The Strategy to Promote Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Thailand (2009–2012) of the NEP included the goal of strengthening and monitoring the efficiency of the multisectoral partnerships between government agencies and NGOs in implementing the CRPD in 2012.[17] The National Committee on Promotion and Development of the Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities met three times in 2012 and addressed issues including ways to increase the employment of persons with disabilities in accordance with legislation.[18]

Thailand provided updates on victim assistance activities through statements at the Twelfth Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in December 2012 and at the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2013. Thailand provided information about mine/ERW casualties in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2012.[19] Thailand also made a statement on victim assistance at the Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention on Cluster Munitions in September 2013.[20]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

A mine survivor and community leader of persons with disabilities, working through representative organizations, contributed to the initial discussions to develop the Master Plan for Mine Victim Assistance 2012–2016. By providing information through victim assistance focal points and the civil society mine action network, survivors also collaborated in preparing government Article 7 reports and statements to be presented at international meetings.[21] The president of the Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities International, also a mine survivor, continued to participate in meetings organized by government agencies. The association consulted with persons with disabilities who live in remote areas in 2012.[22]

In 2012, survivor participation continued to increase at the community and provincial levels; several survivors remained active in leadership roles in their communities. Survivor leaders from different communities also met regularly to discuss local advocacy approaches and to share information and services as well as lessons learned, with the support of the Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR).[23] Survivors were involved in a non-technical survey in Chanthaburi and Trad provinces by Apopo-Peace Road Organization (PRO).[24] Survivors and other persons with disabilities continued to participate in provincial coordination meetings in Chanthaburi.[25] Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS) also supported the transportation, accommodation expenses, and other costs for survivor representatives to attend group meetings of survivor leaders.[26]

TMAC Humanitarian Mine Action Units often visited landmine/ERW survivors. Survivors and leaders of survivor networks have been consulted regularly by concerned government agencies and NGOs about their needs.[27]

Through informal networks, survivor leaders assisted other survivors in making referrals, completing paperwork such as registering for benefits or filling in other forms, and liaising with local authorities at the leader or province level.[28]

Based on feedback from local landmine-survivor leaders received by Thailand’s government team of victim assistance experts which indicated that survivors wanted to meet with other leaders in order to share experiences, on 20–21 May 2013 the NEP organized the first formal Meeting of Leaders of Landmine Survivors in Aranyaprathet district, Sakaeo province. Some 20 participants from five provinces along the Thai-Cambodia border shared experiences and visited several local victim-assistance facilities. The president of the Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities International in Thailand provided information about the rights of persons with disabilities and funding opportunities.[29] Two survivor group leaders met with the Prime Minister of Thailand in June 2013.[30]

Service accessibility and effectiveness[31]

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2012

Ministry of Public Health (MoPH)

Government

Operated healthcare facilities in mine-affected areas and a network of emergency response teams

Ongoing

National Health Security Office (NHSO)

Government

Responsible for funding the provision of prosthetic and other mobility devices and managing individual rehabilitation programs for persons with disabilities

Rehabilitation funds decreased slightly (1%), but with little impact on services

MSDHS

Government

Community-based program providing social support for persons with disabilities

Ongoing

Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center

Government

Provided free prostheses, assistive devices, wheelchairs, and other aids for persons with disabilities through hospitals

Ongoing

COERR

National NGO

Supplied basic essentials such as food to persons with disabilities, including mine survivors in Sa Kaeo province

Ongoing

Prostheses Foundation

National NGO

Prostheses and assistive devices provided free-of-charge

Continued to provide mobile prosthetic services to neighboring countries, i.e. Myanmar and Malaysia

JRS

International NGO

Assistance to mine/ERW survivors and their children as part of its broader programs, including visits to mine survivors, and emergency support such as dry food and blankets

Ongoing; stopped providing educational support scholarships, continued through donors directly

Emergency medical care

The National Institute for Emergency Medicine reported in 2012 that it successfully developed community emergency health volunteer groups in every province in Thailand. The institute also  established a number of local administrative units that covered emergency healthcare service in all 77 provinces.[32]

From 1 April 2013, Thailand improved the country’s system of medical emergency service by integration of three main government schemes (medical funds): the National Health Security Fund, the Social Security Fund, and the Government Officials Fund. Emergency patients are to be sent to the nearest hospital without being asked about their eligibility, and patients’ expenses are settled directly at one shared focal point for the three funds without patients first having to pay fees out-of-pocket and then await reimbursement. There are different fee systems depending on whether the hospital is public or private.[33]

In the first quarter of 2012, the MSDHS conducted a series of three victim assistance workshops with support from the Emergency Medical Institute and TMAC. The workshops increased the capacity of the 119 community leaders and 181 volunteers in the health and disability network to assist survivors and other persons with disabilities in accessing entitlements and services. MSDHS reported that at least 800 persons with disabilities and survivors indirectly benefited from the workshops.[34] By May 2013, the MSDHS conducted three more victim assistance workshops to build the capacity of leaders of survivors and relevant parties.[35]

Physical rehabilitation including prosthetics

Continuing a trend ongoing over the past several years, the role of the Sirindhorn Center in providing mobility devices decreased significantly.[36] In 2012, the Sirindhorn Center continued to focus on research, development, and innovation of devices, applying more advanced technology and testing.[37] The NHSO remained responsible for providing funding for rehabilitation and devices.[38]

The NHSO continued to significantly increase its capacity to provide mobility devices for persons with disabilities and more than doubled the number of devices delivered. The number of persons with disabilities who received other services from the NHSO also increased significantly.[39] Government funding budgeted for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities increased by 9% per capita from 2011 to 2012.[40] Disabilities International conducted a recycling drive to collect aluminum for use in prosthetics production.[41]

The NHSO continued to provide mobility devices for persons with disabilities. Government funding budgeted for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities decreased slightly, by around 1% from 2012 to 2013. However, the usage of the funds was broader and more flexible. The NHSO promoted a “matching fund” plan being integrated with the funds managed by other government agency schemes, such as the Disability Fund overseen by the MSDHS, local community organizations’ funding allocated through Ministry of Interior, or provincial budgets. The fund had two operational components. Under the first, not less than 90% of total resources were dedicated to rehabilitation and assistive devices (including equipment, repairs, outpatient rehabilitation services, services in communities, and training). Under the second, not more than 10% of resources were dedicated to support and promotion of service provision, such as the development of service units, of service systems in community, of disabled persons’ organizations, human resources working in rehabilitation, and new models of services and knowledge management.[42]

UNDP established the two prosthesis repair centers in Sa Kaeo province with co-support from subdistrict administrative offices in 2010. In 2012, the repair centers were reportedly struggling but continued operations with limited funding from subdistrict administrative offices and the Provincial Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities through early of 2013. The fund was allocated due to the engagement of the NEP.[43]

Community-based rehabilitation

The national CBR program remained active in all provinces.[44] NEP, with support from CBM (previously Christian Blind Mission), hosted the official launch of the Thai edition of the World Health Organization CBR  guidelines to support and guide the CBR network in implementing disability work that focuses on community participation.[45]

Economic and social inclusion

No improvement in employment opportunities for survivors was reported. However, survivors reported that they received some support from Humanitarian Mine Action Units (HMAUs) for income-generation activities. The HMAUs provided chickens to survivors and families for animal-raising projects.[46]

Having reduced the level of services it provided previously, JRS continued the services it provided in 2012 and focused on facilitating/linking victim assistance activities between the field and the capital.[47] In 2011, it reduced services for survivors, citing a general increase of services by government and a decrease in resources available to the organization due to reprioritization.[48]

The Community Learning Center for People with Disabilities project operated in 30 provinces and began its expansion to all provinces during 2012.[49] The second meeting of the National Committee on Promotion and Development of the Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities in 2012 addressed challenges of enforcing compliance with the legal workplace employment quota of 1% for persons with disabilities in government agencies and in private employment.[50]

The government provided five-year, interest-free, small business loans for persons with disabilities. Some persons with disabilities who found employment were subjected to wage discrimination and some state enterprises continued to have discriminatory hiring policies.[51]

National registration of persons with disabilities was completed by 2011. All survivors were reportedly registered and random monitoring through leaders of survivor groups in several provinces confirmed that their constituents were registered. Persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors who are registered with the government, can receive pensions of 500 Thai Baht (approximately US$15) per month, free medical examinations, and assistive devices.[52] In 2012, the National Committee on Promotion and Development of the Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities started discussion on the possibility of increasing the disability pension from 500 Thai Baht by up to double that amount. The committee agreed to establish a task force to assess and develop the proposal to be submitted to the NEP.[53]

Laws and policies

Thailand has legislation protecting the rights of persons with disabilities; its constitution prohibits discrimination against persons with disabilities and provides for access to services. The constitution also requires newly constructed buildings to have facilities for persons with disabilities, but this was not consistently enforced. Disability rights activists continued to work to amend laws that allow employment discrimination against persons with disabilities.[54]

In 2013, Thailand issued the revised “Person with Disabilities Empowerment Act B.E.2556 (2013).” The key changes include escalating the role of the NEP, introducing focal points for disability with more authority and responsibility to work at the ‘department’ level, and expanding services to the persons with disabilities without legal status in Thailand, particularly stateless persons.[55] In September 2012, Senator Monthian Buntan of Thailand, born with a visual impairment, was elected to the Committee of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[56]

Thailand ratified the CRPD on 29 July 2008.

Mine survivors from Myanmar who went to Thailand for assistance received medical care and rehabilitation at hospitals in refugee camps and in public district hospitals in the Thai-Myanmar border provinces.[57] Hospitals in Thailand also provided medical care and rehabilitation to survivors from Cambodia.[58]

Services for Myanmar nationals

Victim assistance activities on Thai-Myanmar Border and in Thailand for Myanmar nationals

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Thai hospitals

Government

Providing medical care to mine/ERW survivors from Myanmar and Cambodia

Prosthesis Foundation

National NGO

Prostheses and assistive devices provided free-of-charge

The Mae Tao Clinic (MTC)

National NGO

Prosthetics and rehabilitation services, trauma surgery, psychological support, and other health services

Shan Health Committee (SHC)

Community-based organization

Prosthetic services in Pang Ma Pha, Wieng Hang, Mae FaLuang, and Loi Kai Wan; and economic inclusion activities

Care Villa established by the Karen Handicap Welfare Association

Community-based organization

Assistance to blind amputee mine/ERW survivors in Mae La refugee camp

Handicap International (HI) Burmese Border Project

International NGO

Physiotherapy, prosthetics, and accessibility to buildings; social inclusion activities

ICRC

International organization

Covers costs of hospitalization and surgery for war injured people from Myanmar in Thai hospitals

Landmine survivors from Myanmar who go to Thailand to seek asylum can receive medical care and rehabilitation in refugee camps, as well as in public district hospitals in the Thai-Myanmar border provinces.

The MTC, an NGO health facility run by and for Burmese asylum seekers and migrants, provides prosthetic limbs and other medical services near the joint border. The clinic also supports the Back Pack Health Workers Team services for underserved, mine-affected communities across the border in Myanmar. The number of people treated at MTC increased in 2012 compared to 2011; however, the impact of the funding shortfall in the second half of the year actually resulted in a reduction and delay of treatment and services for some patients. To manage the shortfall, MTC made decisions to delay purchases of instruments and equipment and to delay non-emergency surgical treatment. Staff payments were also temporarily reduced by 10–20%. The MTC prosthetics workshop fitted 268 prostheses in 2012; 72% of all cases seen in 2012 were due to landmine injuries and half of new admissions (15) were due to landmine injuries.[59]

The refugee-run Care Villa facility offers special care and assistance to blind amputee landmine/ERW survivors residing in the Mae La refugee camp. HI provides prosthetic limbs, orthotics, and other assistive devices for refugees in some of the camps and has also trained refugees in the Mae La camp to make the prostheses.[60] It was reported that in 2012 Care Villa lost its funding, and residents of Care Villa (mostly landmine survivors that are both amputees and blind) received only very basic rations.[61]

ICRC continued to pay for the surgical treatment in Thai hospitals of weapon-wounded people from Myanmar unable to be treated in their own country.[62] However, the number of people was greatly reduced from 111 in 2011 to 38 in 2012.[63]

Through the first half of 2013, the availability of this assistance in the Thai border camps was increasingly uncertain. Political reforms in Myanmar resulted in the possibility of refugees being returned, leading to a reduction in financial assistance by some donors to NGOs in order to focus on activities within Myanmar.[64]

HI also continued to produce prosthetics and to support rehabilitation in refugee camps as well as to support self-help groups. HI reported that residents of refugee camps are assured that “Handicap International staff will remain their advocates and friends in a time of uncertainty.”[65]

 



[1] See previous editions of the Monitor, www.the-monitor.org.

[2] Information provided by TMAC, Bangkok, 30 April 2013 and 20 May 2013.

[3] Information provided by TMAC, Bangkok, 30 April 2013; and Monitor media monitoring for calendar year 2012.

[4] Based on Monitor analysis of media reports for 2011, National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT), thainews.prd.go.th/; “Laying Mine to Lure the Police; One lost leg the Other One Seriously Injured” (in Thai), Thairath, 21 March 2012, www.thairath.co.th/content/region/247256, accessed 26 May 2013; “Narathiwas Villagers Stepped on Mine and Lost Two Legs,” INN News, 27 October 2012, www.innnews.co.th/shownews/show?newscode=412723, accessed 26 May 2013; “Narathiwas Soldiers Stepped on Mine, Four Injured, 1 Lost Leg” (in Thai), INN News, 5 September 2012, www.innnews.co.th/shownews/show?newscode=402425, accessed 26 May 2013; “Temporary Staff of the Krue Sor High Way Office Stepped on Mine, One Injured” (in Thai), Matichon, 26 September 2012, www.matichon.co.th/news_detail.php?newsid=1348620410&grpid=03&catid=03, accessed 26 May 2013; and “Unlucky man stopped to Pee, Stepped on Mine and Had Serious Injury - Nine Years Old Boy Lost a Leg” (in Thai), Deep South Watch, 10 September 2012, deepsouthwatch.org/dsj/3529, accessed 26 May 2013.

[5] Survey Action Center and Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA), “Landmine Impact Survey: Kingdom of Thailand,” 2001, p. 18.

[6] See previous editions of the Monitor, www.the-monitor.org. The LIS recorded 346 new casualties between June 1998 and May 2001. This total includes some casualties injured in Myanmar and recorded in Thailand, which could not be separated from the data.

[7] A survey completed in the beginning of 2009 identified 1,252 survivors in Thailand; another 50 survivors were identified during 2009 and 2010. See Handicap International (HI), “Mine Victim Survey and Situation Analysis: Findings, Analyses and Recommendations,” Bangkok, June 2009, p. 3. These figures are thought to differ from the high number of injured reported in the LIS, as they include only Thai nationals resident in Thailand.

[8] Unless otherwise noted, information presented in this section is drawn from the Thailand country reports and profiles from 1999 to date, www.the-monitor.org.

[9] TMAC, “Database sheet of casualties and follow up, Special Affairs Unit,” provided to the Monitor by TMAC, Bangkok, 30 April 2013.

[10] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, Disability Specialist, NEP under MSDHS, Bangkok, 1 May 2013.

[11] Ibid.

[12] Telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Head, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Subdistrict, Sa Kaeo province, 1 May 2013; and telephone interview with Chusak Saelee, Head, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pong Nam Ron District, Chanthaburi province, Chanthaburi, 2 May 2013.

[13] Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2011), Form J; statement of Thailand, Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Phnom Penh, 29 November 2011; statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012; and statement of Thailand, Twelfth Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Geneva, 4 December 2012.

[14] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Dr. Prachakvich Lebnak and Chidchanok Suwakhon, National Institute for Emergency Medicine, 10 May 2013.

[15] Thailand’s Master Plan on Anti-Personnel Landmine Victim Assistance 2012–2016.

[16] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, Bangkok, 1 May 2013.

[18] Minutes of the Meeting of National Committee on Promotion and Development Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities (2nd/ 2012), 25 May 2012, www.nep.go.th/upload/modAboutBoard/RB%202-55.pdf, accessed 13 May 2013.

[19] Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2012), Form J; statement of Thailand, Mine Ban Treaty Twelfth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 4 December 2012; and statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 29 May 2013.

[20] Statement of Thailand, Convention on Cluster Munition Fourth Meeting of States Parties, Lusaka, 11 September 2013.

[21] Interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Subdistrict, 24 November 2012; and telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, 1 May 2013.

[22] Telephone interview and email from Sirichai Sapsiri, President of Association of Persons with Physical Disabilities International, 14 June 2012; and www.waddeeja.com (in Thai), accessed 12 May 2013.

[23] Interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Subdistrict, 24 November 2012; telephone interviews with Pinya Siwilai, survivor and Chairperson of the Mai Rood subdistrict Administrative Organization, Klong Yai district, Trad province, 13 June 2012; with Pinya Siwilai, Subdistrict Chairperson, 13 June 2012; with Vichai Pokkapan, Head of Bann Sao Tong Chai, Si Sa Ket province, March 2012.

[24] Telephone interview with Pinya Siwilai, 13 June 2012; and interview with Ruangrit Luenthaisong, Manager, PRO and Tripop Trimunka, Field Operation Officer, PRO, Bangkok, 12 June 2012.

[25] Interview with Chusak Saelee, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pong Nam Ron District, 8 June 2012; and telephone interview with Chusak Saelee on 1 May 2013.

[26] Email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, JRS, 14 October 2013.

[27] Telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Subdistrict, 1 May 2013; and telephone interview with Chusak Saelee, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pong Nam Ron District, 2 May 2013; email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, JRS, 3 May 2013; and email from Chidchanok Suwakhon, NIEM, 10 May 2013.

[28] Interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Subdistrict, 24 November 2012.

[29] Email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, JRS, 23 May 2013.

[30] Ibid., 14 October 2013.

[31] Vajara Rujiwetpongstorn, “The challenge of the relevance, quality and sustainability of prosthetic service in Thailand, the best practice,” Chiang Mai, 17 August 2012, www.prosthesesfoundation.or.th/ispo2013.pdf; email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, JRS, 23 May 2013; interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Sub-district, 24 November 2012; and interviews with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012, and Bangkok, 1 May 2013.

[32] Statement of Thailand, Mine Ban Treaty Twelfth Meeting of States Parties, Geneva, 4 December 2012.

[33] The National Institute for Emergency Medicine, “Documents for the Briefing of Policy: Medical Emergency – Care Services Anywhere-For Everyone” (in Thai), 31 March 2013, www.niems.go.th/th/View/ContentDetails.aspx?CateId=109&ContentId=25550329051246&Page=4, accessed 5 May 2013; and NHSO, “Yingluck gears up towards equality of Vehicle Fund, setting the goal that people can access service quickly, no burden of three health funds” (in Thai), 26 April 2013, www.nhso.go.th/FrontEnd/NewsInformationDetail.aspx?newsid=NjUy, accessed 5 May 2013.

[34] Interviews with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012, and Bangkok 1 May 2013; and “Workshop on Disability Volunteers in Mine-affected Areas” (in Thai), www.nep.go.th/index.php?mod=activities_detail&id=277, accessed 5 May 2012.

[35] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Bangkok, 1 May 2013.

[36] Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center (SNMRC), “Mission” (in Thai), www.snmrc.go.th/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=235&Itemid=109, accessed 13 November 2013.

[37] SNMRC, “Programme and Important Plans according to Four-Year-Plan of Action 2010-2013” (in Thai), www.snmrc.go.th/images/Download/PlantSNMRC/4.plant1.pdf; and notes from Monitor field visit, 22 June 2013.

[38] NHSO, “The Manual for Implementation under the Budget of Medical Rehabilitation Fiscal Year 2013 by NHSO;” and NHSO, “The Fourth Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2011” (in Thai), pp. 163–164, www.nhso.go.th/FrontEnd/page-about_result.aspx.

[39] Overall, persons with disabilities received more assistive devices in the 2010 Thai fiscal year than in the 2009 fiscal year. NHSO, “National Health Security Annual Report Fiscal Year 2010” (in Thai), pp. 59–66, www.nhso.go.th/FrontEnd/page-about_result.aspx, accessed 6 July 2012.

[40] “NHSO allocated 631 million baht for people with disabilities in 2012” (in Thai), Thairath, www.thairath.co.th/content/edu/246326, accessed 13 June 2012.

[41] Telephone interview and email from Sirichai Sapsiri, Association of Persons with Disabilities International, 14 June 2012.

[42] NHSO, “Implementation Manual under the Medical Rehabilitation B.E.2556 (2013),” pp. 163–164.

[43] Presentation by Saichon Koto, Chief Administrator, Tapsadet Subdistrict Administrative Office, to the participants of the Fieldtrip to Humanitarian Mine Action Units, Sa Kaeo and Chanthaburi provinces, 7 June 2012; “Thailand’s Experiences on Victim Assistance” side event presentation, Geneva, 5 December 2013; Thailand’s Subcommittee on Victim Assistance: “Thailand’s Experiences on Victim Assistance,” YouTube, www.youtube.com/watch?v=dabP5yEUdPk; and interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Bangkok, 1 May 2013.

[44] United States (US) Department of State, “2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Thailand,” Washington, DC, 17 April 2013, www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204241 - wrapper.

[45] CBM, “The official launch of CBR Guidelines, Thai edition,” 3 June 2013, www.cbm.org/The-official-launch-of-CBR-Guidelines,-Thai-edition-391243.php.

[46] Telephone interview with Chusak Saelee, Landmine Survivors and Persons with Disabilities Network in Pong Nam Ron District, 3 May 2013.

[47] Email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, JRS, Bangkok, 3 May 2013.

[48] Ibid., 6 July 2012.

[49] US Department of State, “2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Thailand,” Washington, DC, 17 April 2013, www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204241 - wrapper.

[50] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Bangkok, 1 May 2013; and Minutes, the Meeting of National Committee on Promotion and Development Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities (2nd/ 2012), 25 May 2012, www.nep.go.th/upload/modAboutBoard/RB%202-55.pdf, accessed 13 May 2013; and Minutes, the Meeting of National Committee on Promotion and Development Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities (1st / 2012), 10 January 2012, p. 6; and circulated letter from the Office of Civil Service Commission to all government agencies, Nor Ror 1004/Wor 22, dated 23 August 2011, subject “Recruitment of Persons with Disabilities for Government Agencies,” www.nep.go.th/userfiles/circular_notice22.pdf.

[51] US Department of State, “2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Thailand,” Washington, DC, 17 April 2013, www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204241 - wrapper.

[52] Monitor interviews with survivors 1 January to 13 June 2012: Prakaikul Teppanok, Nid Chabathong, Chamroon Pengpis and Lao Sena, in Surin; Chusak Saelee from Chanthaburi; Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Tongsao Soiwijit, Supan Kota and Somkiat Chuesingh from Sa Kaeo, Vichai Pokkapan from Si Sa Ket; Pinya Siwilai from Trad province; and statement by Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011.

[53] Minutes, the Meeting of National Committee on Promotion and Development Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities (2nd/ 2012), 25 May 2012, www.nep.go.th/upload/modAboutBoard/RB%202-55.pdf, accessed 13 May 2013.

[54] US Department of State, “2012 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Thailand,” Washington, DC, 17 April 2013, www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/humanrightsreport/index.htm?year=2012&dlid=204241 - wrapper.

[55] “Person with Disabilities Empowerment Act (Second Revision) B.E.2556 (2013),” Thailand Royal Gazette, Volume 130, 29 March 2013, p. 6, para 30; and interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, NEP under MSDHS, Bangkok, 1 May 2013.

[56] Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, press release, “Senator Monthian Buntan of Thailand elected to the Committee of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities with the highest score,” 13 September 2012, www.mfa.go.th/main/en/media-center/14/27553-Senator-Monthian-Buntan-of-Thailand-elected-to-the.html, accessed 5 May 2013.

[57] See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Myanmar/Burma,” www.the-monitor.org/index.php/cp/display/region_profiles/find_profile/MM/2013.

[58] Presentation by Aranyapratet Hospital to the participants of the Field Trip to Humanitarian Mine Action Units, Sa Kaeo and Chanthaburi provinces, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012.

[59] MTC, “Annual report 2012,” p. 5.

[60] Edward Winter, “A Refuge for Myanmar’s Disabled Refugees,” Reliefweb, 1 February 2013, reliefweb.int/report/thailand/refuge-myanmar%E2%80%99s-disabled-refugees.

[61] Hanna Hindstrom, “Reforms cloud future for Burma’s landmine victims,” Reliefweb, 16 Feb 2012, reliefweb.int/report/myanmar/reforms-cloud-future-burma’s-landmine-victims.

[62] ICRC, “Annual Report 2012,” Geneva, May 2013, p. 251.

[63] ICRC, “Annual Report 2011,” Geneva, June 2012, pp. 251, 253.

[64] “Under pressure: refugees feel welcome has worn out,” Bangkok Post, 26 May 2013, www.bangkokpost.com/news/investigation/351848/under-pressure-refugees-feel-welcome-has-worn-out.

[65] Edward Winter, “A Refuge for Myanmar’s Disabled Refugees,” Reliefweb, 1 Feb 2013, reliefweb.int/report/thailand/refuge-myanmar’s-disabled-refugees.


Last Updated: 22 November 2013

Support for Mine Action

The Kingdom of Thailand has not reported any national contributions to its mine action program since 2008.

Since 2010, Norway has been Thailand’s sole international mine action donor, contributing NOK8,200,000 (US$1,428,061) towards clearance activities. In 2012, Norway contributed NOK4 million ($687,510) through Norwegian People’s Aid.[1]

Summary of national and international contributions: 2008–2012[2]

Year

National contributions (THB)

National contributions ($)

International contributions (national currency)

International contributions ($)

Total contribution ($)

2012

N/R

N/R

NOK4,000,000

687,510

687,510

2011

N/R

N/R

NOK3,500,000

624,755

624,755

2010

N/R

N/R

NOK700,000

115,796

115,796

2009

N/R

N/R

N/R

N/R

N/R

2008

106,000,000

3,215,824

N/R

N/R

3,215,824

Total

106,000,000

3,215,824

 NOK8,200,000

1,428,061

4,643,885

N/R = not reported

 



[1] Response to Monitor questionnaire by Ingunn Vatne, Senior Advisor, Department for Human Rights, Democracy and Humanitarian Assistance, Norwegian Ministry of Foreign Affairs, 11 April 2013. Average exchange rate for 2012: NOK5.8181=US$1. US Federal Reserve, “List of Exchange Rates (Annual),” 3 January 2013.

[2] ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Thailand: Support for Mine Action,” 10 September 2012.