VZCZCXYZ0012
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBK #1916/01 0890926
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 300926Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7571
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1613

UNCLAS BANGKOK 001916 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
GENEVA FOR RMA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF TH
SUBJECT: KEEPING TABS ON PABS (THAILAND'S PROVINCIAL 
ADMISSION BOARDS) 
 
 
¶1. Summary: Provincial Admissions Boards (PABs), nine member 
panels of Thai provincial officials and a UNHCR observer, 
were reconstituted late last year as a mechanism to 
regularize the status of unregistered persons in the nine 
Thai-Burma border refugee camps and then screen Burmese in 
Thailand who claim to be fleeing fighting or political 
persecution.  PABs have now become operational in the border 
provinces of Tak, Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi, but not yet in 
Mae Hong Son.  The PABs have made good progress on the 
unregistered persons in the camps.  They have yet to begin 
work on newer arrivals fleeing fighting or political 
persecution; it remains to be seen how quickly the PABs will 
screen these groups and what the approval rates will be. 
End summary. 
 
¶2. Thailand is not a signatory to the international refugee 
conventions and Thai law contains no provisions to provide 
refugee status to those who enter the country and claim that 
they are fleeing fighting or persecution.  About six years 
ago, Thailand disbanded boards at the provincial level that 
had been screening persons fleeing Burma.  Since that time, 
Burmese seeking asylum generally have either entered the nine 
Thai-Burma border camps unofficially or sought refugee status 
from UNHCR.  At UNHCR's encouragement, the RTG decided in 
2004 to re-establish screening boards, now termed Provincial 
Admissions Boards (PABs), and the two sides have been working 
closely since to develop procedures and policies to govern 
PAB activities.  The PABs will screen only Burmese.  UNHCR 
will continue its refugee status determination process for 
all other nationalities. 
 
¶3. UNHCR's 2004-2005 registration in the nine border camps 
found a total of 139,056 persons, or an increase of about 
35,000 persons over the previous registration conducted by 
the Thai and UNHCR in 1999.  These more recent arrivals, 
while able to live in the camps and with the knowledge of 
Thai officials gain access to food, shelter, education, and 
medical care, were never officially registered and admitted. 
UNHCR and the RTG agreed, while drawing up procedures for the 
new PABs, that their first task would be to officially screen 
and admit these persons.  UNHCR and the RTG also agreed that 
future arrivals who are fleeing fighting will have their 
cases screened by the PABs.  While awaiting their interviews, 
these persons will wait in holding centers located in 
existing refugee camps.  If approved, they will then be 
officially admitted to the camps. 
 
¶4. The first stage of work to regularize the status of those 
persons already in the camps has proceeded quickly as the 
PABs have largely approved en masse the names provided by 
UNHCR.  In preparation for the U.S. resettlement program at 
Tham Hin camp, the Ratchaburi PAB late last year approved 
1,030 people while rejecting 17.  Later in Tak province, PAB 
screening resulted in 24,182 refugees approved and only 3 
cases rejected.  UNHCR has commended the PABs for their work 
and commented that the screening is proceeding "far better 
than expected." 
 
¶5. However, a remaining approximately 11,000 camp residents, 
largely in Mae Hong Son Province, are still pending 
consideration as the PAB there has yet to convene its first 
meeting.  The delay apparently is due to a dispute between 
UNHCR and  local Thai officials over information required by 
the PAB about individual refugees and conditions in Burma 
when the refugees fled.  The stalled status of this PAB was 
addressed at a recent UNHCR-RTG retreat.  Representatives 
from Thailand's NSC, MOI, MFA and senior UNHCR staff who 
attended agreed to make a concerted effort to get the Mae 
Hong Son PAB started. 
 
¶6. The PABs are also intended to screen those Burmese who are 
fleeing political persecution, that is, the caseload that 
UNHCR, the Thai, and the international community has 
generally referred to as the "urban Burmese."  While UNHCR 
and the RTG are still working on procedural details, it is 
likely that persons in this group will be required to 
register at a local government office in the provinces where 
the PABs are located.  While waiting for their individual 
cases to be processed, they will be required to live in the 
same holding centers mentioned above for those fleeing 
fighting.  NGOs already working in the camps will provide 
services to meet the group's basic needs.  The Thai and UNHCR 
have agreed that persons approved by the PABs will all be 
submitted for third country resettlement.  The Thai and UNHCR 
have also discussed establishing a "fast track" procedure on 
a "case by case" basis for high profile cases.  In an effort 
to hammer out the important details of the process, UNHCR has 
made several proposals including ideas on location of offices 
for initial registration and suggestions for documentation. 
 
¶7. UNHCR reports that the holding centers in Tak and Mae Hong 
Song Provinces are now completed and ready to accommodate 
Burmese fleeing fighting and political persecution.  In the 
Tak camps, holding centers can house up to 3,100 people.  In 
Mae Hong Son the holding center's capacity is 250.  In 
Kanchanaburi and Ratchaburi Provinces, existing camp housing 
will be used as a holding center for the time being, and the 
amount of housing capacity that will ultimately be 
constructed is still unclear. 
 
¶8.  According to UNHCR, the holding centers are supposed to 
be an "extension" to the refugee camps and those living in 
them should have comparable access to services and 
facilities.  Whether this will turn out to be the case is 
unclear.  During a March 8 visit to a Mae Hong Son camp, 
Deputy Refcoord observed that the cluster of huts that make 
up the holding center are constructed out of the same 
materials used in other refugee housing in the camp.  The 
huts had access to one water source.  The space allocated per 
family allows little privacy and is noticeably smaller than 
in camp residences.  UNHCR subsequently confirmed that the 
conditions in the holding centers built so far are 
inconsistent.  While some holding center housing consists of 
longhouse construction, other camps have single house 
structures.  Some centers are part of the main camp because 
they utilize existing housing and therefore have access to 
all camp services and facilities, while others are isolated 
which result in less access to camp services.  UNHCR thinks 
that building inconsistencies are attributable to space 
limitations.  UNHCR also noted that the holding centers are 
intended as a temporary place of residence while the PABs are 
performing their work. 
 
¶9. Comment: While the PABs have been long in coming, it is 
encouraging that all but one is now operational.  The first 
few rounds of PAB meetings have also yielded good results in 
the form of the formal admittance into the camps of thousands 
of refugees.  However, the PABs now face the more difficult 
work of screening the cases of persons fleeing fighting and 
political persecution.  It remains to be seen how quickly 
such cases will be screened and what the approval rate will 
be. 
ARVIZU