RIGHTS AIPP
AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP
Under this Act, hundreds of thousands of indigenous peoples were declared “aliens” and continue to be denied their rights. The first population census was conducted in
1956 according to the National Household Registration Act. However, the “hill tribes” were not covered due to lack of access to their villages, lack of officers and prejudices. An
official survey of the hill tribes was conducted in 1969 to 1970 covering 16 provinces of Northern Thailand, and an estimated 111,591 people were officially recorded. However,
the enforcement of the Nationality Act had already made most hill tribes aliens. The fact that most hill tribes could not speak in Thai made it difficult to prove their origin even if
they had been living in the area for a hundred years.
The lack of citizenship has been a long-standing cause of human rights violations committed against indigenous people in Thailand. Without citizenship, there is no guar-
antee of fundamental rights. Freedom of movement is limited, health care is limited, and children and university students without citizenship cannot obtain proper education
certificates.
A solution to the citizenship problem has not yet been reached. In 2007, there were 480,000 stateless indigenous persons in Thailand. Of these, 120,000 persons have been
granted permanent resident status, 300,000 were awaiting a decision on their request for permanent resident status, and the remaining 60,000 were stateless children who
attended school. However, these figures do not account for those left out of the national census.
A cabinet resolution of 18 January 2005 outlined a plan to speed up the process- ing of citizenship applications in order to eliminate the lack of citizenship among the
so-called “hill tribe population” of Thailand. In practice, however, the resolution has not been implemented fully since the National Security Council and the Interior Ministry did
not show their support, and many local officers have not worked sincerely to solve the
existing problems. Furthermore, the 2006 nationwide political conflict led to a complete standstill.
2. Urban migration: alienation and assimilation
Leaving one’s community implies separation and weaking of one’s ties with the commu- nity. Being forced to live in an alien social environment, indigenous migrants are under an even
greater assimilation pressure. In interaction with members of the dominant group, indigenous migrants often try to hide their identity. Living in small migrant communities or even in isolated
nuclear families makes it much more difficult to pass on one’s language and culture to the chil- dren. Breakdown of identity and social networks result in more vulnerability. And if indigenous
migrants do not succeed in adapting to the new conditions, they often seek comfort in alcohol and drugs.
Urbanization and internal rural-to-urban migration are two distinct phenomena. Rural-ur- ban migration is perhaps one of the most pressing issues affecting indigenous peoples around
the world today. Many indigenous people have started to migrate to cities in the hope of econom- ic advancement in urban centers. However, this move can prove extremely difficult for those who
have to adapt their cultural practices, lifestyle and economic expectations to their new urban environment.
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RIGHTS AIPP
AIPP Regional Capacity Building Program - Training Manual on the UNDRIP
Indigenous people who have migrated to cities commonly find themselves at the fringes of society. Among the many reasons are discrimination, lack of marketable skills, lack of formal
education, and language differences. The hardships faced by indigenous people in the cities are directly related to their weakened economic and social status. Some of the most pressing difficul-
ties are insufficient access to health care, education and housing. Until recently, the study of indigenous peoples’ urbanization has been subsumed under re-
search on the migration movements of peasants, without acknowledging the distinct differences between indigenous and non-indigenous communites. Now, advocacy for poor migrants in the
cities has included demands to recognize the special circumstances of indigenous people. These include culturally pertinent education, respect for indigenous social organization, and promo-
tion of indigenous traditions.
3. Life away from home: how indigenous migrants adapt to their new environment
Rarely do indigenous communities abandon their ancestral land altogether. Indigenous mi- grants, be they individuals, families or communities, often maintain links to their communities
of origin.
Usually, only some members of a community leave and try to make a living elsewhere. When they are successful, they report back to their community, others follow, and together they try to
recreate their community in the new-found location, whether rural or urban.
But migration in many cases implies separation and a breakdown of community and even family ties.
On the other hand, migration can also be seen as part of a strategy by which particular in- digenous families or communities ensure continuity. Migration allows not only for the tapping of
new resources but also the creation of new relationships and networks. Indigenous families and even whole communities and ethnic groups have thus accepted migration as a way of surviving
and adapting to the new conditions imposed by globalization.
EXAMPLE OVERSEAS FILIPINO WORKERS FROM THE CORDILLERA
Most of the following has been taken from Flora Belinan, “Extreme Poverty and Survival: Cordillera Indigenous Peoples as Migrant Workers,” Indigenous Affairs, March 2007.
The Philippines’ Cordillera Administrative Region CAR is predominantly occupied by indigenous peoples who have adapted fairly well to the educational system that was
introduced here by the US colonial government and by American and European mis- sionaries in the 1900s. As of 2006, the CAR had a literacy rate of nearly 89. As of 2000,
nearly 400,000 persons in a population of what was then 1.2 million had completed their secondary education. Among these, nearly 98,000 had also completed their tertia-
ry education and held either academic degrees nearly 67,000 or certificates of training in specialized skills nearly 31,000. Yet 39,000 members of the CAR labor force were
unemployed. Data from the National Statistical Coordination Board’s Regional Socio- Economic Trends – CAR 2006.
By the middle of 2005, the number of unemployed in the CAR labor force had reached 57,000. Data from the National Statistics Office Labor Force Survey July 2005. Global-
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