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A compilation of extracts featuring child-rights issues from the reports submitted to the second Universal Periodic Review. There are extracts from the 'National Report', the 'Compilation of UN Information' and the 'Summary of Stakeholder's Information'. Also included is the final report and the list of accepted and rejected recommendations.
Thailand - Twenty Fifth Session - 2016
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Accepted and Rejected Recommendations
II. Developments since the first cycle review
D. Legislative framework
- The Amendment to the Criminal Code to criminalise child pornography (effective on 7 December 2015) aims at according more protection of children from a wider range of sexual exploitation, in compliance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Second Optional Protocol. The Amendment, for the first time in Thai law, gives definition to “child pornography” and takes into account the advanced technology of visual representation and the spread of child pornography on the internet.
F. International human rights instruments
31. Thailand ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children on 17 October 2013. Thailand has also revised domestic laws and developed mechanisms for implementation.
32. Thailand is among the first countries that ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on a communications procedure in September 2012. Since then, the Government has translated the Protocol into Thai language and disseminated it to the public. The Government is also establishing a national mechanism to implement the obligations under this instrument.
III. Promotion and protection of human rights
A. Economic, social and cultural rights Right to development and poverty eradication
40. Nevertheless, Thailand needs to accelerate its efforts to achieve remaining targets, including ensuring boys’ and girls’ primary and secondary school completion, adopting environmental sustainable development, reducing infant mortality rate and improving the maternal health in remote areas, as well as achieving the SDGs.
Right to work
54. During the 27th ASEAN Summit (November 2015), Thailand and other ASEAN Member Countries signed the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children (ACTIP). The Convention has the objective to effectively prevent and combat trafficking in persons, assist victims, enhance cross-border cooperation, and provide mutual legal assistance in criminal matters and agreements on extradition. At present, the working group consisting relevant agencies is in the process of translating the Act into Thai language with a view to submit for cabinet’s approval in order to proceed with the ratification.
56. One of the main challenges is the lack of awareness of labour rights and relevant laws among employers and workers, increasing the risks of violations and abuses. The Government has addressed this issue by disseminating information such as anti-trafficking measures, worker registration scheme, labour rights protection, and safety at workplace etc. (Necessary information was also translated into Burmese, Lao, and Cambodian languages for migrant workers.) Trainings have been provided on labour rights, such as on the worst form of child labour and right to organise and collective bargaining.
Right to health
61. The Government has taken steps to reduce maternal and infant mortality rates. MOPH has developed Clinical Practice Guidelines on mothers and infants and training course on normal labour and infant care for community hospitals. Trainings have also been provided for doctors and nurses working in delivery room. These practices are part of the attempts to achieve the target of reducing the maternal mortality rate to 15 per 100,000 live births (in 2014, the rate was at 23.3 per 100,000 live births) and the infant mortality rate to 8 per 1,000 live births.
62. MOPH has developed health promotional toolkits to be educational materials for school students on issues such as food, nutrition, exercise, and age-appropriate health development. It is intended to address child malnutrition problem in a sustainable manner.
Right to education
63. Each year, more than 20 per cent of the national budget has been allocated for education. The Government continues to implement an Education for All policy and ensure that all children have access to education at all levels and all categories, be they formal, non-formal, or informal. The country’s net enrollment rate has always remained higher than 85 per cent and in 2014, the gross enrollment rate, calculating from children at all ages in primary education, was at 100.4 per cent.
64. The National Education Act of 1999 has expanded compulsory education from 6 years to 9 years and provided all children with 12 year basic education free of charge so that children can choose to continue higher education or work.
65. In some areas where people have unique identity and use more than one language such as those of ethnic groups or the southern border provinces, the Government has introduced the bi-lingual education programme (such as Thai-Patani Malay or Thai-other local languages) to be a tool that can effectively enhance learning and improve communication between teachers and students. The programme is hoped to bring about improvements in the quality of students’ learning, as well as make students appreciate their language and culture while understanding other cultures. Nevertheless, the Government is fully aware of some challenges, particularly the lack of teachers who have expertise in both languages.
66. Thailand is still facing challenges, particularly on quality and inequality of education. The Ministry of Education (MOE) has declared education improvement a priority and will step up efforts in solving illiteracy, capacity building of teachers and education personnel especially in shortage areas, as well as reforming the system with the focus on learning and teaching methods to improve students’ learning achievement. MOE has also developed Project for Long Distance Learning through Satellite to reach out to schools nationwide including those in the southern border provinces and rural areas.
B. The rights of specific groups
67. Several policies and measures have been taken to protect people in vulnerable situations, for example, the establishment of One Stop Crisis Centre (OSCC) with hotline services in 2013 to provide immediate social assistance to children, women, elderly and persons with disabilities who confront problems such as human trafficking, child labour, domestic violence, and unplanned pregnancy. In addition, community based hospital centres have also been set up to provide similar assistance in the community.
Children
68. The latest National Children and Youth Development Plan (2012–2016) was developed by incorporating recommendations from the Committee on the Rights of the Child. The Plan focuses on four main areas, namely (1) increasing life immunity, (2) protection and development of children in need of special protection, (3) capacity-building of networks for child and youth development, and (4) improvement of the administration and management system for child and youth protection and development.
69. In compliance with Article 7 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), all children who are born in Thailand are entitled to birth registration and other rights under the Article. We also continue to consider, where appropriate, further amendment of the Civil Registration Act of 2008 and the Nationality Act of 2008, as well as provide even greater access to birth registration and individual documentation services, including late birth registration, to build on our progress in reducing vulnerability to statelessness.
70. In March 2015, the Cabinet approved the Child Support Grant Scheme which provides a 400 baht monthly allowance to newborn children, who are born to Thai parents and living in poor households, for their first year. The project aims to provide protection and basic welfare as well as help parents meet essential costs of quality child care. It is part of the Government’s human development plan throughout the life-cycle. The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS) is extending the project to support children to at least 3 years of age.
71. The Protection of Children Born from Assisted Reproductive Technologies Act, or the Surrogacy bill, came into effect on 30 July 2015 with an aim to prevent unethical surrogacy conducts and the sales of children, and to safeguard the rights of the mother as well as the child.
72. Violent or abusive corporal punishment is prohibited by many laws, namely the Child Protection Act of 2003 which prohibits acts or omissions that inflicts physical or mental torture upon a child (Article 26), the Civil and Commercial Code which allows guardian to punish the child only in a reasonable manner for disciplinary purposes (Article 1567) and the MOE Regulation on Student Punishment of 2005 which prohibits punishment with harsh measures (Article 6). The Government is aware of existing practices and that more efforts need to be put to raise awareness among teachers and parents, especially on relevant laws and the rights of the child. Measures are also taken to promote a teachers-student relationship, the use of positive discipline, as well as an environment conducive to a child’s learning and development both at home and at school.
73. MOJ is also studying the feasibility of raising the minimum age of criminal responsibility from 10 years to 12 years, in conformity with international standard and the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s recommendations.
74. Despite Government efforts, violence against children remains one of the challenges in Thailand. To address the issue, the Government has adopted the Policies and Strategies for the Prevention and Responses to Violence against Children and Youth (2015–2021) that will serve as a master plan for agencies concerned, both at national and local levels.
MSDHS has already started their implementation by enhancing understanding of agencies in provincial level, and developing curriculum for training lead teachers and parents. In addition, Thailand was also a lead country in advocating for the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Elimination of Violence against Children, adopted at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015.
75. The efforts to tackle child labour have been intensified and yielded positive results. In 2013, the National Committee to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labour13 issued the notification on a compiled list of hazardous works, which is due obligations in compliance with the ILO Convention No. 182, to protect children. Other notable actions are such as changing the laws to raise the minimum age for works in agricultural sector (from 13 to 15 years of age) and in sea fishing vessels (from 16 to 18 years of age) in 2014. Since 2015, the Government has proactively partnered with all stakeholders, particularly the private sector in sugar industry and sugarcane farmer, to eliminate the use of child labour in an entire production chain. The Government is also planning to carry out the nationwide survey on child workers in key industries in 2016.
76. MOL is drafting a National Plan to eliminate the use of child labour in worst forms (2015–2020), under the vision “Thailand safe from child labour in worst forms within the 2020 fiscal year.”
77. Such positive progress has made the United States Department of Labour decided to upgrade Thailand to the country that made “significant advancement”, which is the top of assessment, in efforts to eliminate the worst of child labour in their "Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2014".
Women
82. Thailand joined other ASEAN Member States in the adoption of the Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women and Elimination of Violence against Children in ASEAN in October 2013. Thailand also served as the lead country in drafting the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action of Elimination on Violence against Women, adopted at the 27th ASEAN Summit in November 2015.
83. At the United Nations, Thailand has advocated for the enhancement of gender- specific criminal justice policy and strategies in order to curb gender-related killing of women and girls in different circumstances. The resolution “Taking action against gender- related killings of women and girls”, proposed by Thailand and Croatia, was adopted by consensus at the CCPCJ (in May 2015), and subsequently the ECOSOC (in July 2015), and the UNGA70 Third Committee (in November 2015).
85. The Government is committed to addressing the issue of teenage pregnancy which has been on the increase in the past few years. Sexuality and life skills education have been made a compulsory subject in schools and a network of teachers and members of the local communities have been developed to provide mentorship and guidance to students. In addition, teenage clinics have been established, by MOPH, throughout the country to promote sexuality education, general health care and birth control.
86. In December 2014, the National Youth Commission on Child and Youth Development has endorsed the implementation of “One Goal, One Plan” to reduce teenage pregnancy and set the target of reducing teenage pregnancy by 50 per cent by 2024 (from the rate in 2013). In September 2015, the Cabinet approved the Act on Teenage Pregnancy Prevention, drafted in compliance with the CRC, CEDAW, CRPD and the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD) Programme of Action. The Act indicates measures to address the problem including compulsory comprehensive sexuality education in all academic institutions, provision of sexual and reproductive health services for adolescents, and access to continued education for pregnant students.
88. Although many policies and measures have been developed, the Government is fully aware of the need to step up its efforts to fill the remaining gaps. Priorities are given to (1) development of curriculum on gender roles to cultivate positive attitudes among children, (2) collection of sex disaggregated data to be used in analyzing situations, formulating gender-sensitive policies, and monitoring implementation, and (3) promotion of gender- responsive budgeting among relevant public agencies to ensure that allocation of public resources is conducive to the realisation of gender equality and women’s empowerment.
Ethnic groups
104. Ethnic groups are protected by the law without discrimination and are entitled to have access to public services including education, health care and employment opportunity.
D. Promotion of human rights education and training First Phase
135. The National Education Act of 1999 has helped to mainstream human rights education into the school system by inculcating a sound awareness of politics, democracy, government, and constitution that promotes and protects the rights, liberties, responsibilities, the respect for the rule of law, and human dignity in the learning process. Besides, the National Education Scheme also reflects human rights principles in teaching and learning methodology through content and activities that take into consideration individual and cultural differences, and encourages cooperation with parents, community, civil society, and international organisations.
Third Phase
138. The Government recognises that some challenges remain and strives to make human rights education in school more interesting and accessible, expand the provision of human rights courses in universities, and intensify the curriculum to enhance students’ knowledge and awareness. To succeed, the Government, in cooperation with interested partners, must provide trainings for teachers and teaching staff. The self-regulation mechanism should be further strengthened to enable the media to strike a right balance between rating and the respect for professional ethics and thereby refraining from presenting contents which contain discrimination, violence, or hatred.
I. Background and framework
A. Scope of international obligations
1. International human rights treaties
2. In 2014, the Committee against Torture recommended that Thailand consider withdrawing the declarations to articles 1, 4 and 5 of the Convention.12 In 2012, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the withdrawal of its reservation concerning article 22. In 2012, the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination urged Thailand to withdraw its interpretative declaration on the Convention and its reservation to article 4.
3. The Committee on the Rights of the Child and United Nations country team in Thailand recommended ratifying the Conventions on Statelessness, the Convention against Discrimination in Education and ILO Convention No. 189. The Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination encouraged Thailand to pursue the universal periodic review commitment to review its position on the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol thereto.
4. The Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, recommended that the Government of Thailand ratify the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, ICRMW and ILO Convention No. 189.
C. Institutional and human rights infrastructure and policy measures
Status of national human rights institutions
9. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was concerned about the institutional shortcomings of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand recommending that all necessary measures be taken, including the recommendations made by the International Coordinating Committee of National Institutions for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, to ensure that the Commission is a fully independent institution to fulfil its mandate in conformity with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (the Paris Principles). The Committee on the Rights of Child urged Thailand to establish a special unit for children.
22. Similarly, the country team noted that in southern border provinces, the martial and special emergency laws had been in effect for more than ten years as a response to the armed insurgency. Those laws had negative implications on the rule of law, including due process guarantees. They also significantly curtailed citizens’ fundamental freedoms, put them at risk of intimidation and harassment by authorities and created an environment of impunity whereby security forces were systematically not held accountable for human rights abuses, including torture, extrajudicial killing, and other violations. Insurgent groups routinely targeted civilians, either for targeted assassination or as collateral damage. Access to information remained challenging in the light of the nationwide ban on community radio stations after the coup. The country team expressed particular concern about the current practice of the security forces collecting DNA samples, which had resulted in the intimidation, harassment and detention of youths, including children of Malay ethnicity.
27. The Committee on the Rights of Child was concerned that corporal punishment remained lawful in the home and article 1,567 of the Civil and Commercial Code stated that those with parental authority over children had a right to impose “reasonable” punishment for the purpose of discipline.
28. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights was concerned that child labour was still widespread, including in agriculture, fishing and the informal economy, and that many children continued to be exploited in the child sex tourism industry. The Committee recommended that Thailand combat child sex tourism, including by establishing and implementing a comprehensive regulatory framework and strengthening international cooperation and advocacy with the tourism industry.
29. The Committee on the Rights of the Child welcomed the 2011 ministerial regulation that prohibited persons below the age of 18 from taking part in village defence training. It was concerned about reports of informal association of children by the village defence militia Chor Ror Bor in the southern border provinces, who carried out the same or similar duties as formal members. It recommended that Thailand explicitly criminalize by law the recruitment and involvement of children in armed forces, village defence militias or non- State armed groups.
30. The Committee on the Rights of Child recommended that Thailand ensure that schools are not disrupted by State military and paramilitary units and protected from attacks by non-State armed groups, provide as a matter of priority psychosocial support and services to the children affected by armed violence and expedite the adoption of the Plan of Action on the Protection and Development of Children and Youth in the Southern Border Provinces.
C. Administration of justice, including impunity, and the rule of law
36. The Committee on the Rights of Child remained concerned that the minimum age of criminal responsibility, which had been raised from 7 years to 10 years, still remained below internationally acceptable standards. It recommended that Thailand raise the minimum age of criminal responsibility, and to ensure that children are detained separately from adults and promote alternative measures to detention wherever possible.
D. Right to privacy, marriage and family life
38. The Committee on the Rights of Child was concerned that the media did not fully respect the children’s right to privacy in their reporting and that children’s identity could often be established, especially in sensitive cases of child abuse and exploitation and under the juvenile justice system.
39. While welcoming that the legal minimum age of marriage was 17 years for both boys and girls, the Committee on the Rights of Child expressed concern that the age limit could be lowered to 13 years in cases where children were sexually abused and could consequently marry the perpetrators, who in turn avoided any criminal prosecution for the crime.
40. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights remained concerned that a large number of births were not registered in practice.77 The Committee on the Rights of Child recommended that Thailand ensure birth registration for all children born on its territory, especially those who are not registered due to the economic status of their parents, ethnicity and immigration status.
41. The Committee on the Rights of the Child remained concerned that considerable numbers of children were neglected due to their parents’ migration to urban areas or the AIDS-related death of parents.
H. Right to health
57. The same Committee recommended that Thailand take preventive measures to address the problem of the high rate of teenage pregnancies and unsafe abortions, strengthen its sexual and reproductive health education programmes that are age- appropriate for both boys and girls and ensure the accessibility, availability and affordability of sexual and reproductive health services.
59. The Committee on the Rights of Child welcomed the decrease in the number of people who died of HIV/AIDS due to the use of antiretroviral drugs, although the coverage did not extend sufficiently to non-Thai populations such as migrants, refugees and asylum seekers.99
I. Right to education
60. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights recommended that Thailand ensure all children under its jurisdiction effectively have access to free basic primary education, and address the reasons for school dropout and improve the overall quality of education, including by ensuring that teachers are well trained and fully qualified.
61. The Committee on the Rights of Child regretted the low retention and transition rates persisting at all levels, with a substantial number of children without secondary education. It urged Thailand to encourage children, especially boys in the southern border provinces, to continue their education in secondary schools; and to implement the 2010 National Language Education Policy to ensure effective bilingual education from the early years especially for non-Thai-speaking children.
62. The Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights expressed concern at the reports of attacks on teachers and schools. It recommended that Thailand take all measures to ensure that schools and teachers are protected from attacks and that everyone has access to education.
K. Persons with disabilities
64. The Committee on the Rights of Child was seriously concerned about the large number of children with disabilities who were not in school and that youth policies did not identify them as special target groups, as well as the limited proportion of children with disabilities who received education beyond the pre-primary level.
M. Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
70. The country team noted that there had been at least 155 persons subjected to refoulement either from within the territory of Thailand or as a result of non-admission between 2012 and mid-2015. It expressed concern that arrest and detention of refugees and asylum seekers, including children, continued to be a significant issue and a regular event. The Committee against Torture was also concerned at the use of lengthy and indefinite detention in immigration detention centres for asylum seekers and migrants who entered Thailand undocumented. In that regard, the country team, along with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), recommended that Thailand apply existing Thai law permitting non-detention with a regular reporting requirement for refugees and asylum-seekers, institute a formal policy prohibiting the detention of refuge and asylum-seeking children and release all detained refugee and asylum-seeking children. It was also recommended that Thailand refrain from the refoulement of asylum seekers, refugees, migrants in refugee-like situations, and asylum- seeking or refugee victims of trafficking and smuggling.
I. Information provided by stakeholders
A. Background and framework
1. Scope of international obligations
5. Joint Submission 1 (JS1) noted that in 2008, the Government made amendments to the Nationality Act (No. 4) (2008) and the Civil Registration Act (No. 2) (2008). These legal amendments allowed all children born in Thailand to be registered, regardless of the legal status of parents, which means that the children of migrants, asylum seekers, refugees and stateless people are entitled to have their births registered. JS1 further noted that in 2012, almost all children under five were registered at birth however a large gap between the birth registration rates of Thai and non-Thai households persisted, which originated from the incomplete implementation of the amendments affecting mostly children born from refugee, asylum seeker or stateless parents.
C. Implementation of international human rights obligations, taking into account applicable international humanitarian law
1. Equality and non-discrimination
12. JS6 noted that Thailand did not recognize any sex or gender transitions, as a result of which transgender people encounter difficulties on a daily basis, including when seeking employment, pursuing education and even travelling abroad.
17. JS2 noted that that children as young as 14 had been recruited and used to participate in hostilities by armed groups operating in southern Thailand. In December 2013, children under the age of 18 were present in the ranks of the dominant armed opposition groups, including the Patani Malay National Revolutionary Front (Barisan Revolusi Nasional Melayu Patani or BRN).
25. Joint Submission 2 (JS2) noted that prostitution was criminalized under the Prevention and Suppression of Prostitution Act (1996); however, the law was mostly ignored and prostitution was practiced quite openly with the involvement of large numbers of children. While the Act treated prostitution of children as an aggravating offence imposing harsher penalties for younger children, it did not exempt child victims of prostitution from penalties under the law.35 Furthermore, Section 34 of the Act and Section 33 of the Anti-Trafficking Act, a judge was permitted to order a child victim to be confined in a Protection and Occupational Development Centre (PODC) for his ‘rehabilitation’ for a period of up to two years, which discourages child victims from reporting and has led to many child victims running away during the criminal process.
28. Global Initiative to End All Corporal Punishment of Children (GIEACPC) stated that corporal punishment of children was unlawful in schools and the penal system while it was lawful in the home, in alternative care settings and in day care lawful.39 Achieving prohibition requires the enactment of legislation clearly prohibiting corporal punishment in these settings and explicitly repealing the right of parents to abusively? Punish children in the Civil and Commercial Code.
6. Freedom of expression, association and peaceful assembly
48. CIVICUS noted that defamation was a criminal offence and had been used to silence human rights advocates and journalists.62 JS7 noted that Natural Fruit Company Ltd files four criminal and civil defamation complaints against Andy Hall, a British human rights defender and labour researcher in Thailand working with a Finnish NGO, Finnwatch, . In January 2013, Hall’s findings were published in a Finnwatch report which alleged various human rights violations taking place in the company such as the confiscation of employees’ passports; violence from guards and superiors; dangerous working conditions; child labour; and illegally low wages and overtime.
8. Right to health
57. JS5 highlighted that people in the Southern Border Provinces had found it difficult to have access to health services. JS5 also noted the spread of HIV/AIDS and a lack of access to treatment. Further, children have no access to necessary vaccination and other treatments.
Right to education
59. ISI stated that as of 2005, Thailand had an ‘Education for All’ policy that allows all children to access schooling, regardless of citizenship. However, this policy had not fully resolved problems in realizing the right to education for stateless hill tribe people. Many were not able to pay the costs involved in pursuing higher education and stateless people could not access governmental study loans.
60. JS6 noted that in the public school system, there was no mandated curriculum regarding sexual orientation and gender identity, and there were reports of negative portrayals of LGBTI people in school textbooks.
Minorities and indigenous peoples
62. JS4 noted that the Northern part of Thailand was classified as having the most forestry land and predominantly under sustainable cultivation by ethnic/indigenous communities. Therefore if the NCPO order calling for an end to deforestation and forest encroachment continues without consultation with concerned communities, not only the rights to be free from forced eviction but also other rights relating to citizenship, the right to food, right to work, right to health care and right to education would be affected. In addition, many communities still lacked the capacity to access justice for defending their basic human rights and were often not able to effectively deal with lawsuits regarding land disputes with government agencies such as Forestry Department, Ministry of Natural Resource Management or criminal charges of trespassing on their own land.
63. JS10 stated that not enough quality and organized education was being provided for indigenous children that is offered in an accessible means and appropriate to their lifestyle and in their native language.
Migrants, refugees and asylum seekers
67. JS13 stated that asylum seekers and refugees had no legal status, faced constant discrimination, and were at risk of arbitrary arrest and detention, refoulement and exploitation. JS12 stated that the urban refugees had no recognized status and were forced to pay bribes to Thai officials. Their children had not been entitled to equal rights. JS12 also emphasized that refugees in temporary shelters along the Thailand-Myanmar border must not be forcibly deported since the areas where ethnic minorities live are still dangerous.
69. Leitner Center also noted that camp residents suffered from chronic malnutrition and anemia. Refugee access to shelter had also diminished beginning with a 2011 reduction in building materials. It highlighted that Thailand only allowed refugees to build temporary shelters and prohibits the construction of permanent structures made from more durable materials. According to Leitner Center, the donor funding shortage has negatively impacted refugees’ access to healthcare. The refugee education system is no longer affordable for many families because of increased tuition fees.
75. HRW expressed concern that asylum seekers are summarily treated as “illegal immigrants” and subject to deportation without regard to the threats facing them. Arrested migrants, including children, are held in overcrowded detention facilities. JS3 also stated that the policy to hold the sea migrants in custody at immigration checkpoints or children’s homes had led to an increase of stress, physically and mentally, as a result of the crowded holding cells, being separated from their families, a lack of basic necessities, and being deprived of liberty.
76. Thai Committee for Refugees Foundation (TCR) noted cases of urban refugee children waiting up to seven years for the necessary paperwork to be recognized as a refugee or found a durable solution in the third country resettlement, which results in seven years without proper schooling.
Accepted and Rejected Recommendations
The recommendations listed below enjoy the support of Thailand:
158.37 Establish strategies and allocate resources aimed at achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals, especially those related to poverty eradication, equal access to resources, rights to education and health care and rights of the vulnerable groups (Viet Nam);
158.55 Continue its efforts aimed at strengthening the development of children and youth (Kuwait);
158.56 Ensure birth registration for all children born on its territory, especially those who are not registered due to the economic status of their parents, ethnicity and immigration status (Namibia);
158.58 Establish a special unit for the protection of children’s rights (Uganda);
158.70 Improve access to health, education and social welfare for vulnerable groups, including for those in rural areas, ethnic minorities, women, migrants and refugees (Japan);
158.81 Continue to work at the provincial level to execute memorandums of understanding to combat violence against women and children (Fiji);
158.83 Step up efforts to effectively combat violence against women and children (Kazakhstan);
158.85 Continue its efforts to implement the policies and strategies for the Prevention and Responses to Violence against Children and Youth (Sudan);
158.86 Ensure effective implementation of recent measures to prevent and contrast violence against children, both online and offline (Italy);
158.87 Take concrete measures to eliminate child labour and child sex tourism (Kyrgyzstan);
158.88 Take concrete measures to combat child sex tourism (Maldives);
158.89 Guarantee effective implementation of regulation to eliminate abusive child labour practices, including measures to ensure that children remain in the educational system (Mexico);
158.90 Adopt concrete measures to eradicate child labour, abuse and sexual exploitation of children, including its involvement in sexual tourism (Panama);
158.91 Continue to mitigate and address issues concerning the worst forms of child labour and provide appropriate rehabilitation for the victims (Malaysia);
158.92 Effectively implement its Policies and Strategies for the Prevention and Responses to Violence against Children and Youth (2015-2021) to prevent and curb violence against children, including at the provincial level (Singapore);
158.93 Multiply efforts to combat child sex tourism, especially by adopting a comprehensive regulatory framework (Turkey);
158.94 Take necessary measures to better combat sexual exploitation of children (Algeria);
158.95 Take further legal proceedings to prevent violence against children, young people and tackle it, and intensify efforts to address child labour (Bahrain);
158.96 Continue to step up its protection of children’s rights and eliminate child labour (China);
158.97 Step up the fight against child pornography to better protect children (Congo);
158.98 Continue its efforts to eradicate child sex tourism including through strengthening the relevant penal legislative frameworks (Egypt);
158.99 Continue in its efforts to prevent, punish and eradicate forced labour, labour exploitation, including the issue of trafficking in persons, particularly for women and children who are involved in cases of sex tourism and pornography (Ecuador);
158.100 Continue to strengthen the works towards preventing and combatting child pornography and human trafficking, as well as implement assistance programmes for victims (Argentina);
158.101 Strengthen Government measures to eradicate forced labour, especially to prevent either child or enforced labour in the specific sectors of fishing and canning companies, as well as to ensure that employers violating labour rights are duly prosecuted (Albania);
158.102 Take concrete measures to eradicate child labour, and ensure boys and girls primary and secondary school completion (Kazakhstan);
158.103 Carry out measures to prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings, including the home (Plurinational State of Bolivia);
158.104 Prohibit corporal punishment of children in all settings (Slovenia);
158.105 Adopt legislation prohibiting corporal punishment of children in all settings (Madagascar);
158.106 Explicitly prohibit in law any form of corporal punishment or other cruel or degrading punishment of children in all settings (Sweden);
158.107 Criminalize the recruitment and participation of children in armed forces and non-State armed groups (Panama);
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, and increase the role of labour inspectors in identifying victims of human trafficking and prevent abusive working conditions, in line with the recommendations made by the 2012 report of the Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children (Greece);
158.126 Increase the minimum age of criminal responsibility in line with internationally accepted norms, and ensure that children who are deprived of their liberty are separated from adult prisoners (Uruguay);
158.129 Ensure that the minimum age of marriage is 18 for both boys and girls (Sierra Leone);
158.153 Accelerate its efforts to achieve the targets on reducing infant mortality rate and achieving universal health-care scheme, including improving of the maternal health in remote areas (Bhutan);
158.154 Further strengthen measures to ensure equal access to health services for all, while giving special attention to the needs of children, women and the elderly (Sri Lanka);
158.155 Continue the reduction of maternal and infant mortality rates, and continue with the national plan for the development of children and youth (Bahrain);
158.156 Reduce infant mortality rate and improve maternal health care in remote areas (Nigeria);
158.158 Continue the policy of providing education for all, and work towards strengthening and developing the education sector in the country (Kuwait);
158.159 Continue efforts to implement the policy of Education for All, especially children, at all levels (Qatar);
158.160 Continue to strengthen measures to provide education of good quality, including the progressive expansion of compulsory education and enrolment for both girls and boys (United Arab Emirates);
158.161 Continue to pursue successful education programmes for all with an emphasis on the most vulnerable segments of its population (Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela);
158.162 Continue its efforts to ensure that all children have access to education at all levels and all categories (Brunei Darussalam);
158.163 Continue its efforts in strengthening policies and measures to promote and protect the human rights of its people, in particular those of vulnerable groups such as women, children, poor people, and migrants (Cambodia);
158.164 Continue its efforts to ensure that all children have access to free basic education, and to improve the overall quality of education, including by ensuring that teachers are well trained and fully qualified (State of Palestine);
158.165 Ensure equal access to education of vulnerable people including women, children and persons with disabilities (Lao People’s Democratic Republic);
158.166 Continue and pursue its efforts to enable children to complete their education and protect them from exploitation, and adopt environmentally sustainable development (Yemen);
158.167 Achieve the remaining target of boys and girls primary and secondary education, and address the quality and inequality in education (Nigeria);
158.172 Take effective steps to address educational needs of disabled children (India);
158.174 Ensure inclusive and free primary education for all children, including those with disabilities (Maldives);
159.3 Withdraw reservation to article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (France);
159.49 Eliminate the legal provision that states that the age limit of marriage could be lowered to 13 years old in cases where children were sexually abused and could consequently marry the perpetrators (Timor-Leste);
159.64 Instil a human rights-based approach regarding the protection of migrants and asylum-seekers, including the cessation of pushbacks to the sea, while refraining from deportation and formally prohibiting detention of children (Turkey)
159.66 Put an end to arbitrary detention of refugees and asylum seekers, and stop detention of children on the grounds of migration control (Luxembourg)
159.49 Eliminate the legal provision that states that the age limit of marriage could be lowered to 13 years old in cases where children were sexually abused and could consequently marry the perpetrators (Timor-Leste);
The recommendations listed below do not enjoy the support of Thailand and are therefore noted:
159.3 Withdraw reservation to article 22 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (France);
159.64 Instil a human rights-based approach regarding the protection of migrants and asylum-seekers, including the cessation of pushbacks to the sea, while refraining from deportation and formally prohibiting detention of children (Turkey);
159.66 Put an end to arbitrary detention of refugees and asylum seekers, and stop detention of children on the grounds of migration control (Luxembourg);