RECOMMENDATIONS: "1. International migration policies should be aligned with other economic and social development policies. The Government should consider producing a policy document on international migration and incorporating its recommendations... 2. Because of the broad range of migration issues that Thailand is facing, the Kingdom would benefit from a national comprehensive migration management system, with an appropriate coordination mechanism, that would deal with all types of migration (asylum seekers, regular migrants and irregular migrants) in an integrated manner... 3. The Thai Government should re-establish a border screening mechanism such as the Provincial Admissions Boards in order to provide a means to determine which persons crossing the border from Myanmar are legitimate asylum seekers and deserve the protection of the border camps or the protection afforded those fleeing political persecution. The Government should broaden the concept of persons deserving asylum from those ?fleeing fighting” to the definition of a refugee spelled out in the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees... 4. Thailand would benefit from developing and implementing a strategy that would give Thai overseas workers a higher level of comparative advantage by targeting more technical occupations... 5. The process of registering for a work permit in Thailand should be simplified and made less expensive through cooperation among the ministries concerned. The Thai Government should articulate the rights and obligations of migrant workers and their dependents. Sanctions should also be applied to employers and others who withhold original registration documents or work permits. The Ministry of Interior should allow for on-going or renewed registration periods for migrants coupled with adequate publicity campaigns... 6. The Ministry of Labour should carry out a programme of pro-active random inspection of workplaces to ensure that they are complying with labour regulations and standards, including the timely payment of mandated wages... 7. The Ministry of Labour and the police should be more pro-active in investigating workplaces thought to have trafficked persons and those subjecting workers to abuse and exploitation. When enforcing laws against trafficking, forced labour and slavery-like conditions, care should be taken to protect the victims of such practices... 8. HIV/AIDS information and prevention programmes should target such mobile and difficult-to-reach populations as migrant sex workers, seafarers and other migrant workers. More cross-border intervention programmes should be implemented. 9. More comprehensive and higher quality research is required in many areas of international migration affecting Thailand in order to strengthen policy formulation and programme implementation. More research is required on:
The number and characteristics of Thai nationals overseas;
The number and characteristics of the unregistered migrant population in Thailand;
The situation of children of migrants and migrant children in Thailand without their parents;
The volume and types of trafficking to Thailand;
The incidence and prevalence of HIV/AIDS among migrants;
Effective intervention programmes for migrants in vulnerable situations."