Statelessness in International Sphere

 

“Nationality, including statelessness” was firstly in the lists of those topics of international laws which were selected for codification by the International Law Commission of the United Nations at its first session in 1949[1]. Therefore, the problems of “stateless persons” and “refugees” have been talked seriously since then. Although there was another international effort to bring up the reduction of statelessness before the 1949-situation by the Hague Conference, in the Convention on Certain Questions relating to the Conflict of Nationality Laws in 1930, this situation more leaded into the very solid mechanisms to solve statelessness problems in the future with co-operation from a lot of countries in the international community.

 

Such story why those people need a special protection can be traced back to the period of World War II which there were forced migrations caused by political instability. Because of the situation, they finally became displaced persons, refugees, including those rendered the status of statelessness.

 

The relationship of both groups of people, refugees and stateless persons, can be explained that statelessness most affects the refugees even though not all refugees are stateless, and not all stateless persons are qualified as refugees. Nevertheless, both of them are living without the protection from any state in the world and really need one.

 

Then, it came up with the Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees in 1951 which originally intended to deal with the problem of both refugees and stateless persons; however in that year it could not reach to protect the latter group of people. Later in 1954, the Convention Relating to the Status of Stateless Persons was done in order to cover stateless persons who are not refugees. This Convention did complete the unfinished work of the Refugee Convention three year prior.

 

Statelessness in Thailand

 

It has been always talking that the idea of nationality was not originated in Thailand, but imported from the western world. Therefore Thai people, themselves had no clue about what Thai nationality was at all before having relationship with the western countries. In fact, the word “nationality” was just found for the first time in Thai history in the Nationality Act B.E.2456 (1913), which was enacted by King Rama VI, not by the parliament which has just been established in 19 years after (in 1932).

 

During the period of using “Thai Customary Law on Thainess of People”[2] until the enactment of the first written law on nationality[3] which was in force from 10th April 1913 to 12th February 1952, people could acquire Thai nationality under 4 circumstances: by jus sanguinis (from both Thai mother or from Thai lawful father), by jus soli (born in Thailand), by marriage (between alien woman and a Thai man), and by naturalization under the Naturalization Act B.E.2454[4] (1911). Therefore, it can be concluded that in this period of time, Thai people (born from Thai parents or born in Thailand) could easily acquire Thai nationality and also aliens migrating into Thailand could ask for and get Thai nationality with such effective mechanism under the law. Therefore, the acts showed the best effort to reduce statelessness in the Thai state at that time.

 

Actually statelessness problem was still there, but it did not obviously show at the time. This situation occurred because in Thailand, an idea about registering people who were born, living, and dead in Thailand was just come up only in 1956 by the first Civil Registration Act B.E.2499, 43 years after the first Nationality Act. So, it was no doubt that a lot of people who were born before 1956 could not have such a birth certificate or any proper document showing their Thai nationality. Some was lucky; they were registered when there was a registration survey by the government after such year, so they got a proper document as Thai nationals. But some who lived in remote areas or on the mountain and did not have an access to the survey was still stateless.

 

The situation on statelessness in Thailand was worse when the Declaration of Revolutionary Party No.337[5] (Por Wor 337) was adopted because of the fear of communism in the Southeast Asia in the period of time. The intention of the Declaration was to screen people coming from communist countries and also their children having Thai nationality. Nevertheless, it not only has an effect on those communists, but also on other aliens living in Thailand for a long time.

 

However, the situation in Thailand these days is much better after Por Wor 337 was annulled and there are advanced laws and policies to deal with the statelessness problem, as will be shown later.

 


[1] Report of the International Law Commission covering its First Session (Doc.A/925, para.16).

[2] The Thai Customary Law was using during the time we did not have such a written law to pursue (before 9th April 1913)

[3] The Nationality Act B.E.2456 (1913)

[4] This law was in force together with the Nationality Act B.E.2456 (1913) and both of them were placed by the Nationality Act B.E.2495 (1952).

[5] It was enacted on 14th December 1972.