Catholic charity denied access to Hmong asylum-seekers

(December 28, 2009) The Catholic Office for Emergency Relief and Refugees (COERR), the only aid group assisting more than 4,000 ethnic Hmong asylum-seekers in the north of Thailand, was refused access to them as the Thai army arrived to deport them to Laos. About 5,000 Thai troops armed with batons and shields were sent on Monday to a mountain camp in Huay Nam Khao, 300 km north of Bangkok to clear the Hmong, who say they face oppression by Laos' communist government for backing United States forces during the Vietnam War. Tomoo Hozumi, Thailand representative for the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) which supports COERR said that on Sunday their staff was denied access to the camp. Thailand ignored opposition to the deportation from the UN, the US and human rights groups, who fear that the deportees could face persecution upon their return to Laos. Thai authorities have repeatedly denied the UN High Commissioner for Refugees access to Hmong camps to verify claims for refugee status. The Thai government has said it received assurances from the Laos government that the deportees would not be mistreated. COERR was established by the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Thailand in 1978 as a relief agency for refugees and displaced persons. It replaced Medecins Sans Frontieres at the Hmong refugee camp in Phetchabun's Khao Kho district in June this year after the French organization withdrew because of military restrictions.