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Thailand

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.