Tag Archives: Bangkok
Visit to Bangkok’s Immigrant Detention Center
Although Thailand is not the final destination for North Korean defectors flowing into this country, this flow is currently the largest in the world, outside of China. The numbers have steadily increased over the past several years. According to the Thai government, about 1,000 North Korean defectors were detained here in 2007. From 2008 and after, the Thai government stopped publicly announcing numbers, but my estimation is about 1,500 in 2008 and a bit higher in 2009.
3 NK Orphans Headed for Classes in So. Korea
Three to Four Months of Orientation Ahead
The three young North Koreans who were imprisoned in Laos were charged with illegal entry into and exit from the country and given three-month sentences. After completing their sentences in the capital Vientiane, they remained in custody because as minors, they needed a guardian but none was forthcoming.
International Fact-finding Mission to Thailand
Memorial shot together with Maisai Immigration vice director and members of Fact Finding Mission in front of Maisai Immigration Police Building.
From February 25 to March 1 of this year, Life Funds for North Korean Refugees was part of an international fact-finding mission to Thailand, the purpose of which was to ascertain the current situation of North Korean refugees in Thailand. To this end, we met with the Bangkok office of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the immigration police at Maesai (near the Laos/Thai/Myanmar border), and Thai human rights lawyers, as well as North Korean defectors and some of the activists assisting them in Thailand.
Joint Appeal Sent to UNHCR on 7 in Thailand
7 NK Refugees in Thailand Awaiting UNHCR Action
The following appeal was sent to the High Commissioner today jointly by our group (LFNKR) and Tim Peters’ Helping Hands Korea NGO.
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
Geneva, Switzerland
20 September, 2006
As you probably have been informed, seven North Korean refugees, all women, have presented themselves to the police authorities in Nong Khai, a border town in Northern Thailand, at 09:00 hrs. Monday, 18 September in accordance with Article 31 of the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, which prohibits, among other things, the imposition of penalties on refugees based on their illegal entry to a third country.
LFNKR’s Activities — What We Accomplished in 2004
Current Situation of North Korean Refugees
Recently, the world has witnessed a dramatic increase in the number of North Korean refugees who, rather than continuing to hide in China, are choosing to escape to other Asian countries. Escape destinations include Mongolia, Russia, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand and Myanmar.