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Thailand

Last Updated: 26 October 2012

Casualties and Victim Assistance

Casualties Overview

All known casualties by end 2011

3,517 casualties (1,504 killed; 2,013 injured)

Casualties in 2011

49 (2010: 35)

2011 casualties by outcome

7 killed; 42 injured (2010: 3 killed; 32 injured)

2011 casualties by device type

Antipersonnel mines 17; Antivehicle mines 5; ERW 2; IED 25

Details and Trends

In 2011, the Monitor identified 49 mine/explosive remnants of war (ERW) casualties in Thailand. 47 casualties were men, including 22 casualties among military and police personnel; of the 16 civilian casualties reported one was a woman and one casualty was a boy from Russia. . Another 11 casualties were among military humanitarian deminers which occurred during accidents, including four deminers killed in a single antivehicle mine incident.[1] The total number of casualties for 2011 represented a continuing increase from 35 casualties in 2010 and 18 casualties in 2009.[2] The Thailand Mine Action Center (TMAC) reported 24 of the casualties in 2011;[3] 23 in 2010, and 13 for 2009.[4]

In 2011, all 24 casualties recorded by TMAC occurred on the Thai-Cambodian border.[5] The other 25 casualties of improvised mines or similar improvised explosive devices in 2011 were recorded in southern Thailand.[6]

The most comprehensive casualty data collection for Thailand remains the Landmine Impact Survey (LIS), which identified at least 3,468 casualties to May 2001 (1,497 killed; 1,971 injured).[7]

From June 1998 to the end of 2011, the Monitor recorded 657 mine/ERW casualties in Thailand: 36 people killed, 261 injured, and 360 of unknown status.[8]

Victim Assistance

In total at least 1,344 mine/ERW survivors were recorded in Thailand at the end of 2011.[9]

Summary of victim assistance efforts since 1999[10]

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 2011 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 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).

Access to free healthcare programs increased, provided survivors were Thai nationals or registered refugees. Emergency transportation was widely available and rescue timing improved with training. Community-based rehabilitation (CBR) and its network (which covered 99% of the country by 2007) expanded significantly since the early efforts in 1998-99. 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 2011

Progress in the development of a new victim assistance plan had slowed by 2012.[11] However, inclusion of survivors and other persons with disabilities increased through their participation in surveys and land release.[12] Availability of rehabilitation services increased and CBR continued to improve services.[13] By the end of the year, all known eligible persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors, had been registered by the government.[14] This had been a recommendation by survivors.[15]

Assessing victim assistance needs

In early 2011, the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) conducted a survey of survivor needs in Sa Kaeo province using an in-depth interview method. Findings showed that survivors needed more information on services and wanted resources and capacity to strengthen local self-help groups.[16]

Victim assistance coordination[17]

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 (foreign affairs, public health, social development and human security, interior, and labor), and NGOs

Plan

The Master Plan for Mine Victim Assistance 2007–2011

The full National Sub-Committee on Victim Assistance did not meet in 2011, although there were ad hoc sub-group meetings.[18] Thailand continued to strongly connect its work on victim assistance with the planning and implementation of its obligations under the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities.[19] The Strategy to Promote Human Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Thailand (2009-2012) of the National Office for the Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities under the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security include the following goals: implementing the CRPD in provincial administrative areas in 2011 and strengthening and monitoring the efficiency of the multi-sectoral partnership between government agencies and NGOs in implementing the CRPD in 2012.[20]

Thailand provided updates on victim assistance activities in reporting and statements at the Eleventh Meeting of States Parties to the Mine Ban Treaty in November–December 2011 and the Mine Ban Treaty intersessional Standing Committee meetings in May 2012. Thailand provided information about mine/ERW casualties in its Mine Ban Treaty Article 7 report for calendar year 2011.[21]

Inclusion and participation in victim assistance

In 2011, a mine survivor and community leader of persons with disabilities participated in the initial discussions to develop a Master Plan for Mine Victim Assistance 2012–2016.[22] The president of the Association of Persons with 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 2011.[23]

In 2011, survivor participation increased at the community and provincial levels; several survivors remained active in leadership roles in their communities.[24] Survivors were involved in a non-technical survey in Chanthaburi and Trad provinces by Apopo-Peace Road Organization (PRO).[25] Survivors also participated in a Norwegian Peoples Aid Land Release project in Surin province.[26] Survivors and other persons with disabilities continued to participate in provincial coordination meetings in Chanthaburi.[27]

Service accessibility and effectiveness[28]

Name of organization

Type of organization

Type of activity

Changes in quality/coverage of service in 2011

MoPH

Government

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

Ongoing; increased emergency response capacity

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

Increase in the allocation of prosthetic devices and services to persons with disabilities during the Thai fiscal year

MSDHS

Government

Community-based program providing social support for persons with disabilities

Expanded and increased services; increased the number of volunteers and geographical coverage; reached agreement with Myanmar to provide CBR training in support of national disability scheme

Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center

Government

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

The center continued to focus on improving the quality of prostheses and other devices

Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees

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 prostheses and assistive devices free-of-charge in Thailand; expanded its regional cooperation to Malaysia

Jesuit Refugee Service (JRS)

International NGO

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

Decreased services owing to decreased need and resources

UNDP-Thailand

UN

Prostheses repair centers in Tapraya and Aranyapratet districts

Completed support to TMAC in 2011

In 2011 the national mine emergency response manual was revised by the Emergency Medical Institute to include information on rights and benefits for survivors as persons with disabilities as well as those for new casualties. The manual was distributed in widely mine-affected areas of Thailand and a corresponding telephone hotline was established.[29]

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 volunteers in the health and disability network to assist survivors and other persons with disabilities in accessing entitlements and services.[30]

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.[31] Hospitals in Thailand also provided medical care and rehabilitation to survivors from Cambodia.[32]

The MSDHS continued the CBR program into its eighth year of operations by providing referrals to physical rehabilitation and psychological and economic support.[33] The CBR network uses the national disability database to select the geographical areas for expansion and to ensure mine-affected provinces with high numbers of survivors are included;[34] the network also raises awareness of the rights of persons with disabilities and promotes attitudinal change within communities.[35] Thailand reported that it expanded international cooperation in the area of physical rehabilitation to include social/economic inclusion; in 2011, Thailand agreed to provide initial training on the adoption of CBR into the national disability scheme for Myanmar.[36]

Continuing a trend over the past several years, the role of the Sirindhorn Center in providing mobility devices decreased significantly.[37] In 2011, the Sirindhorn Center continued to focus on research and development (innovation) of devices with more advanced technology,[38] while the National Health Security Office (NHSO) remained responsible for providing funding for rehabilitation and devices.[39]

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 NHSO also increased significantly.[40] Government funding budgeted for the rehabilitation of persons with disabilities increased by 9% per capita, from 2011 to 2012.[41] Disabilities International conducted a recycling drive to collect aluminum for use in prosthetics production.[42]

Jesuit Refugee Service reduced the level of services it provided in 2011, citing a general increase of services by government and a decrease in resources available to the organization due to reprioritization.[43] In 2011, UNDP ended its support for two prostheses repair centers in Sa Kaeo province established with co-support from sub-district administrative offices in 2010. The repair centers were reportedly struggling in 2012 but continued operations with limited funding from sub-district administrative offices and the Provincial Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities in 2012.[44]

No improvement in employment opportunities for survivors was reported.

In 2011, criteria were established for the recruitment of persons with disabilities in government agencies[45] to ensure that public agencies and private employers include at least 1% of persons with disabilities, double the previous legal quota;[46] the Ministry of Labour organized a seminar for various agencies to explain the new ruling. However, the National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities conducted a survey in 2011 that showed, despite a slight increase in the number of persons with disabilities hired by government agencies, the total continued to fall far short of the 1% quota (16,468).[47] Persons with disabilities were made exempt from personal income tax again for Thai fiscal year 2011.[48]

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.[49]

By 2011, national registration of persons with disabilities was completed. The process began in November 2009 and most survivors were registered by the end of 2010. All survivors were reportedly registered in 2011. Random monitoring through leaders of survivor groups in several provinces confirmed that their constituents were registered.[50] Persons with disabilities, including mine/ERW survivors who are registered with the government, are entitled to pensions, free medical examinations, and assistive devices. [51] Survivor groups reported that their members received pension benefits of 500 Thai Baht (approximately US$15) per month.[52]

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.[53]

Thailand ratified the CRPD on 29 July 2008.

 



[1] “Ceremony of Royal Water for Bathing Bodies of Deminers,” http://tmac.rtarf.mi.th/hmou1.php, accessed 1 June 2012; “Sa Kaeo- Three Soldiers died by anti-tank landmines,” http://77.nationchannel.com/video/190749/, accessed 20 June 2012; and “One more soldier died at Sa Kaeo,” www.ch7.com/news/news_thailand_detail.aspx?c=2&p=5&d=168794, accessed 20 June 2012.

[2] Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2011), Form J; and Monitor media monitoring for calendar year 2011.

[3] Article 7 Report (for calendar year 2011), Form J.

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

[5] Information from the Special Affairs Unit, TMAC, Bangkok, 28 May 2012; and Monitor media scanning for calendar year 2011.

[6] Based on Monitor analysis of media reports for 2011, National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT), http://thainews.prd.go.th/.

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

[8] 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.

[9] 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.

[10] 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.

[11] 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.

[12] Telephone interview with Pinya Siwilai, survivor from Mai Rood sub-district, Klong Yai district, Trad province, 13 June 2012; and interview with Ruangrit Luenthaisong, Manager, PRO and Tripop Trimunka, Field Operation Officer, PRO, Bangkok, 12 June 2012.

[13] Statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012; and interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, Disability Specialist, National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP), MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012.

[14] 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.

[15] See Voices from the Ground: Landmine and Explosive Remnants of War Survivors Speak Out on Victim Assistance (Brussels, HI, September 2009), p. 208.

[16] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, MSDHS, in Geneva, 25 June 2011.

[17] 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.

[18] 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; and Statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012.

[19] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012.

[21] 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; and Statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012.

[22] Telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, Head, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pan-suk Sub-district, Sa Kaeo province, 10 July 2011.

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

[24] Telephone interview with Pinya Siwilai, survivor and Chairman of the Mai Rood sub-district Administrative Organization, Klong Yai district, Trad province, 13 June 2012; Telephone interview with Pinya Siwilai, 13 June 2012; telephone interview with Vichai Pokkapan, Head of Bann Sao Tong Chai, Si Sa Ket province, March 2012; and telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, March 2012 and 13 June 2012.

[25] 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.

[26] Interview with Chamroon Pengpit, and Nid ChadaThai, survivors, Surin, 9 May 2012; and interview with Aksel Steen-Nilsen, Programme Manager, (NPA) Thailand, Surin, 9 May 2012.

[27] Interview with Chusak Saelee, Head, Landmine Survivors and People with Disabilities in Pong Nam Ron District, Chanthaburi province, Chanthaburi, 8 June 2012.

[28] Interviews with Mayuree Pewsuwan, MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012; SNMRC, “Programme and Important Plans according to Four-Year-Plan of Action 2010-2013,” accessed 6 July 2012; email from Siwa Boonlert, Field Manager, COERR, 28 May 2012; email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, Ban Landmines and Cluster Munitions Campaign Coordinator, JRS, Bangkok, 28 May and 6 July 2012; interview with Supan Kota and Somkiat Chuarsingha, technicians, Aranyapratet Hospital, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012; telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, 12 June 2012; “Prostheses Foundation: Artificial Limbs For Disabled People,” accessed 6 July 2012; Statement of Thailand , Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012; Prostheses Foundation of H.R.H. The Princess Mother; telephone interview with Wiboonrat Chanchoo, 13 June 2012; and UNDP Thailand country Office, “Capacity Building to Support Thailand Mine Action Center, Project Review Report,” March 2011.

[29] Statement of Thailand, Eleventh Meeting of States Parties, Mine Ban Treaty, Phnom Penh, 29 November 2011.

[30] Interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012; and “Workshop on Disability Volunteers in Mine-affected Areas,” www.nep.go.th/index.php?mod=activities_detail&id=277, accessed 5 May 2012.

[31] See ICBL-CMC, “Country Profile: Myanmar/Burma,” www.the-monitor.org.

[32] 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.

[33] Statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012; and interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, National Office for Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities (NEP) under the MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012.

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

[35] Statement of Thailand, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 24 May 2012; and interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, (NEP) under the MSDHS, Sa Kaeo, 7 June 2012.

[36] Ibid.

[37] Sirindhorn National Medical Rehabilitation Center (SNMRC), “Mission,” www.snmrc.go.th/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=235&Itemid=109, accessed 6 July 2012.

[38] SNMRC, “Programme and Important Plans according to Four-Year-Plan of Action 2010-2013,” www.snmrc.go.th/images/Download/PlantSNMRC/4.plant1.pdf, accessed 6 July 2012.

[39] NHSO, “The Fourth Quarterly Report Fiscal Year 2011,” pp. 2 & 8-9, www.nhso.go.th/FrontEnd/page-about_result.aspx, accessed 6 July 2012. 

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

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

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

[43] Email from Sermsiri Ingavanija, JRS, Bangkok, 6 July 2012.

[44] 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.

[45] 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.

[46] Statement by Mayuree Pewsuwan, MSDHS, Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-Economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011; and interview with Mayuree Pewsuwan, in Geneva, 25 June 2011.

[47] Minutes, the Meeting of National Committee on Promotion and Development Quality of Lives of People with Disabilities (1st / 2012), 10 January 2012, p. 6.

[48] Ministerial Regulations (Ministry of Finance) #281 (B.E.2554), Thailand Royal Gazette, 128/10, 9 May 2011; and Revenue Department, “Measures on Tax to help Persons with Disabilities and Ocean Liner Transport according to the Cabinet’s resolution on 16 November 2010,” www.rd.go.th/publish/43552.0.html, accessed 6 July 2012.

[49] US Department of State, “2011 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Thailand,” Washington, DC, 24 May 2012.

[50] 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.

[51] Ibid.; and Statement by Mayuree Pewsuwan, MSDHS, Mine Ban Treaty Standing Committee on Victim Assistance and Socio-economic Reintegration, Geneva, 22 June 2011.

[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.

[53] Ibid.