discrimination and corruption among state officials can leave members of the hill tribes particularly vulnerable to trafficking.61 Moreover, Thai law permits recruitment agencies to charge recruitment fees to those seeking oversees employment. Excessive fees make them more vulnerable to debt bondage or other exploitative conditions. Stateless children are particularly vulnerable when they are not able to access education. With few prospects of a better future, stateless persons can be forced to look for better work elsewhere and — as labour migrants — can be easily deceived by brokers/traffickers.62 56 Stateless people feel less able to rely on the police and other state structures for help, including in situations of crisis or dispute, which can also aggravate the risk of becoming trapped in exploitation. Traumatic events, such as heavy debt or the inability to receive adequate medical treatment in moments of dire need often place an unbearable burden on a stateless person. In this regard, the COVID-19 pandemic has had devastating effects on stateless hill tribe communities, placing them at greater risk of human trafficking.63 57 In 2017, the CEDAW Committee recommended that Thailand address the root causes of trafficking, “including poverty, lack of economic opportunities and statelessness”.64 The Human Rights Committee in the same year echoed this recommendation.65 Issue 4: Rights of Rohingya in Thailand 58 Thailand is mainly a transit country for the Rohingya on their way to Malaysia and beyond. While there is no accurate statistical information on the Rohingya population in the country, it is estimated that at least 3000 Rohingya have settled in Thailand.66 Thailand has historically failed to protect Rohingya as refugees, victims of trafficking or stateless refugees.67 59 Thailand has no domestic refugee law framework, and all situations of foreigners entering the country are regulated by Thailand’s Immigration Act of 1979. Thailand also has not signed or ratified the Refugee Convention or its Protocol, and lacks a refugee status determination procedure. As such those fleeing persecution are treated as irregular migrants, and not granted protection as refugees. 60 Since the early 1990s Thailand has hosted refugees fleeing ethnic and political violence in Myanmar in displaced people’s camps along the Thailand’s western border. More than 100,000 refugees remain in these camps as Myanmar’s peace process falters. However, Thailand does not recognise refugees outside these camps; and there is currently no national legal framework in place for the specific protection of “urban” refugees and asylum-seekers. UNHCR documentation such as a Refugee or Asylum Seeker Card is not officially recognised by the government and provides no 61 Ibid. Ibid. 63 Ibid. 64 Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women, ‘Concluding observations on the combined sixth and seventh periodic reports of Thailand’ CEDAW/C/THA/CO/6-7 (24 July 2017), paras. 24-5. 65 UN Human Rights Committee, ‘Concluding Observations on the Second Periodic Report of Thailand’ CCPR/C/THA/CO/2 (25 April 2017), para. 41. 66 Equal Rights Trust et al, ‘The Human Rights of Stateless Rohingya in Thailand’ (February 2014). 67 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, ‘Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 25th Session of the Universal Periodic Review: Thailand’ (2015). 62 12