BANGKOK, The Department of Provincial Administration (DOPA) has issued a report to clarify the misunderstanding of its work mentioned in the U.S. 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report published last Monday.
Grisada Boonrach, Director-General for Provincial Administration Department, said the Thai government had granted the Thai citizenship to 10,551 hill people or stateless people from January 2014 to June 2015, not 900 as the TIP Report claimed. He added that municipal and regional officers, not only national-level officials, were aware that statelessness might be a risk factor for trafficking.
On 11 June 2015, provincial governors were authorized to grant the Thai citizenship for hill tribe children who were born in Thailand. They do not have to ask the department for approval.
Mr. Grisada confirmed Thailand complied with the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the current administration gave high priority to the problems of stateless people. The government had so far registered 1,626,235 migrant workers, he said.
The Thai government is in the process of ensuring the basic rights, including free basic health care and education, for stateless people.
The DOPA director-general added that Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn gave 500 scholarships to underprivileged children, including stateless people, every year since 1987. The grantees receive royal scholarship until they graduate with a Bachelor’s or doctorate degree. They do not need to hold the Thai citizenship to be eligible for the scholarship.
