42 According to the Thai Bureau of Registration Administration, the reforms led to the registration of 159,831 children of stateless parents by 2017.46 This included children born to minority, refugee, or asylum seeker parents,47 and is seen as a first step towards acquisition of Thai nationality. However, many remain in the process of obtaining documentation. The 1972 Decree created a significant risk of statelessness for children born without permanent residence status, and despite reforms, a large number of births, particularly among ethnic groups and migrants, are not registered, for reasons outlined in the section below. This concern has been expressed by the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, which also reminded Thailand that lack of birth registration is a contributing factor to statelessness.48 43 Moreover, many stateless people have been recorded as having migrated to Thailand, although they were born in the country, reportedly due to lack of understanding and knowledge, language barriers and fear of being excluded during the survey and registration scheme. There are challenges related to satisfying evidentiary requirements to modify the record in the civil registration database. This situation prevents these stateless people from applying for Thai nationality by birth. For example, in 2016, two individuals filed a petition at a provincial Administration Court, requesting for modification of their birth record to obtain a proper birth certificate as evidence to apply for Thai nationality. Their cases are still pending.49 44 Moreover, as outlined in paragraph 11, Thailand has made a reservation to Article 22 of the CRC (related to refugee and asylum-seeking children). The Government does not consider refugee and asylum-seeking children to be covered by the CRC and relevant national laws on children, denying these children basic rights.50 Barriers to access to nationality 45 The implementation of the Nationality Act, and its amendment, suffers from many challenges in practice. Although many stateless hill tribe people are eligible for nationality under the amendment, many are unaware of, or lack the required documents to prove their entitlement, including due to previous restrictions in access to civil registration. Other barriers include costs, the travel and time required, and a lack of basic information.51 This is worsened by language barriers and cultural differences, which affect the ability of officials to determine nationality; as well as resourcing issues, capacity gaps and corruption. 46 Extortion of persons who do not yet have identity cards is also of concern. Discrimination against minorities, the wide discretion of authorities, as well as lack of 46 Ibid. As of 2015, approximately 5000 new-borns in Thailand’s nine refugee camps have received birth certificates. UN Rule of Law, ‘Myanmar refugee babies wait for birth registration in Thailand’s Mae La camp’ (23 April 2015). 48 UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination, ‘Concluding observations on the first to third periodic reports of Thailand’, CERD/C/THA/CO/1-3 (15 November 2012). According to UNHCR, “Birth registration has helped many people to acquire Thai nationality and has reduced the incidence of statelessness. For persons who are not eligible for Thai nationality, a birth certificate helps them to establish their legal identity and is a key measure in child protection.” UNHCR, ‘Good Practices Paper – Action 7: Ensuring Birth Registration for the Prevention of Statelessness’ (2017), page 25. 49 Transborder news https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=12903 (29 May 2016); https://transbordernews.in.th/home/?p=12898 (30 May 2016) [sources in Thai]. 50 The 2003 Children Protection Act sets out the full range of economic, cultural and social rights that children are entitled to. 51 Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, ‘Submission to the Human Rights Council at the 25th Session of the Universal Periodic Review: Thailand’ (2015). 47 9