Asked about news reports concerning the report entitled “Priority to Protect: Preventing children’s association with village defence militias in Southern Thailand” released on 3 March 2011 by the Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers and the Justice for Peace, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, Director-General of the Department of Information and Foreign Ministry’s Spokesperson, made the following comments:
First, there is no policy to recruit or use persons under 18 years by Chor Ror Bor or village defence volunteers. The Royal Thai Government issued a clear directive on the minimum age requirement for village defence volunteers in November 2009, and there are specific prohibitions and penalties imposed for violations. If any village defence volunteer is found to be under 18 years of age, that person must be replaced immediately. If relevant officers are found to be ignorant of the said directive, he or she will also be penalized. A recent inspection conducted by the Southern Border Provinces Administration Centre (SBPAC) found no one under 18 years of age accepted as village defence volunteers. Moreover, raising awareness, inspection and oversight to prevent both formal and informal association of children with village defence volunteers is being undertaken on a regular basis.
Second, there exist guidelines governing the use of firearms by Chor Ror Bor, namely, the Regulation of Ministry of Interior on the Distribution of Firearms to Village Defence Volunteer, B.E.2524 (1981). The Regulation provides guidelines on the use of firearms whereby the number of firearms distributed to each village is recorded and village defence volunteers permitted to carry firearms identified. Upon request from the Department of Provincial Administration, training on the use of firearms will be undertaken by the Royal Thai Army. There is no other form of association with military personnel besides this training. The training includes basic use of firearms for the sole purpose of self-defence, not for offensive action, as well as basic knowledge in undertaking their duties, maintaining checkpoints and upholding basic laws and human rights laws and the principle of peaceful co-existence. Importantly, no children are allowed to be involved in such training.
Third, on the concern about children being under attack and recruited by the perpetrators of violence, the Royal Thai Government has instituted tight security measures to protect all children and assure their safety. Security teams are assigned to accord and provide protection to students and teachers, especially as they travel to and from schools. As a result, in 2010, the number of children killed or injured declined significantly to the lowest figures since 2004. Additionally, the Government has implemented educational and youth projects to help the development of children in the deep South and prevent them from being involved in criminal activities. The Government has also continued to promote education and employment opportunities for these children and youth as well as undertake various social development and scholarship projects. Such efforts have yielded positive results as statistics show that students can continue their higher education and study longer in schools. Importantly, there is no verified information which confirms recruitment of children by perpetrators of violence.
Fourth, on the issue of children being victims and arbitrarily detained by the Thai security forces, there exist no evidence to substantiate this claim. When suspects under 18 years of age are questioned, they are sent to regular penal institutions and their cases processed under restorative justice and/or the Act for the Establishment of and Procedure for Juvenile and Family Court of 1991 as alternative problem-solving approaches. Since 2009, no child suspects have been detained under the emergency decree.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th