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to ethnic minority groups, including the Highlanders, and asylum-seeking/refugee
children, and ensure that all children born in the State party are issued with birth
certificates.

23. The Committee is concerned about the lack of full protection of the rights of registered
and unregistered migrant workers in Thailand, particularly with regard to liberty of movement,
access to social services and education, and access to personal documents. The deplorable
conditions in which migrants are obliged to live and work indicate serious violations of articles 8
and 26 of the Covenant. The Committee notes that ethnic minorities and migrants from
Myanmar are particularly vulnerable to exploitation by employers as well as to deportation
by the Thai authorities. The Committee is also concerned that a significant number of
migrant workers, mainly from Myanmar, are still missing in the aftermath of the tsunami in
December 2004 and that others were not provided with the necessary humanitarian assistance
due to their lack of legal status (arts. 2, 8 and 26).

The State party must take measures to effectively implement the existing legislation
providing for the rights of migrant workers. Migrant workers should be afforded
full and effective access to social services, educational facilities and personal
documents, in accordance with the principle of non-discrimination. The State party
should consider establishing a governmental mechanism to which migrant workers
can report violations of their rights by their employers, including illegal withholding
of their personal documents. The Committee also recommends that humanitarian
assistance be effectively provided to all victims of the tsunami disaster without
discrimination, regardless of their legal status.

24. The Committee expresses its concern about the structural discrimination by the State
party against minority communities, in particular the Highlanders with regard to citizenship, land
rights, freedom of movement and the protection of their way of life. The Committee notes with
concern the treatment of the Highlanders by law enforcement officials, in particular their forced
eviction and relocation in the context of the 1992 Master Plan on Community Development,
Environment and Narcotic Crop Control in Highland Areas, which gravely affected their
livelihood and way of life, as well as the reports of extrajudicial killings, harassment and
confiscation of property in the context of the “war on drugs” campaign. The Committee is
also concerned about the construction of the Thai-Malaysian Gas Pipeline and other
development projects which have been carried out with minimal consultation with the concerned
communities. In addition, the Committee is concerned about violent suppression of peaceful
demonstrations by law enforcement officers in contravention of articles 7, 19, 21 and 27 of the
Covenant (arts. 2, 7, 19, 21 and 27).

The State party should guarantee the full enjoyment of the rights of persons
belonging to minorities that are set out in the Covenant, in particular with respect to
the use of land and natural resources, through effective consultations with local
communities. The State party should respect the rights of persons belonging to
minorities to enjoy their own culture, to profess and practice their own religion, and
to use their own language in community with other members of their group.