‘Diagnosing’ Statelessness This checklist is difficult to fulfil for many stateless children, whose educational attainment is not likely to reach a tertiary level due to various obstacles. Being Thai under jus soli is therefore not simply a birthright but involves a constant process of proving and becoming. 80 The criteria also reflect how education is perceived as key to integration and production of ‘self-reliant Thai citizen[s]’. 81 The following ethnographic accounts further suggest a complex reality in which documentary requirements are difficult to fulfil, as the state itself could choose to not accept the documents held by stateless persons as valid. ETHNOGRAPHIC ACCOUNT ONE 82 In late 2017, I unofficially accompanied the NHRC of Thailand’s Sub-Committee on Indigenous and Minority Rights to investigate the complaints put forward by two stateless communities in the outskirt of Chiang Mai, a main city in Northern Thailand. Even though these villages are within a two-hour drive of the city centre and are still officially part of Chiang Mai, they felt rather remote. Within minutes from the turn-off from the main highway, we found ourselves among tall trees on a meandering unpaved road. With a dramatic drop to the left, our van climbed up the shoulders of the hills carefully. The goal of the visit, as repeated several times during the trip by the investigators, was ‘to heal our brothers and sisters’ (เยียวยาพี่น้อง), highland communities who had their Thai citizenship stripped from them years ago. The responsibilities of the NHRC include examining acts of human rights violation or those which do not comply with the country's international human rights obligations and propose remedial measures to individuals or organizations concerned, 83 and filing ‘a lawsuit on behalf of a complainant for the purpose of redressing the problem of human rights violation in general’. 84 The convener of this SubCommittee at the time of my fieldwork was a former activist well-known for her work with the highland communities and her role as an experienced intermediary between the highlanders and the government. Other team members were seasoned development practitioners, academics and activists who all knew each other well and had worked together as a network to address legal status issues in Thailand. Many of the Sub-Committee members also sit in the multi-lateral working groups to solve statelessness in the north. 85 80 81 82 83 84 85 For some of my participants who have finally received Thai citizenship, this process of ‘proving and becoming’ persists even after citizenship is conferred but this is not within the scope of this article. This is an area for future research. Sakboon (n 14) examines in depth how national integration policies based on citizenship and education both incorporate and marginalise the highlanders. All quotes not otherwise footnoted in the following Parts are taken as part of my fieldwork. See Cheva-Isarakul (n 10). ‘Status and Powers of the National Human Rights Commission’, National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (Web Page) <http://www.nhrc.or.th/AboutUs/TheCommission/Mandates.aspx>. ibid. However, it is worth noting that the structure of the NHCR remains intertwined with the government. For example, the commissioners and committee members at the time of my fieldwork were appointed by the National Council for Peace and Order, the military junta that has ruled Thailand since 2014. See more on ‘History of the Third Batch National Human Rights Commission’, National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (Web Page) <http://www.nhrc.or.th/AboutUs/The-Commission/Background-and-History-2.aspx>. 225