“I’ll Never Feel Secure”: HRW Report Reveals Exploitation of Myanmar Nationals Fleeing Conscription

A recent Human Rights Watch (HRW) report, "I’ll Never Feel Secure: Undocumented and Exploited Myanmar Nationals in Thailand", highlights the struggles of Myanmar nationals in Thailand, many of whom fled forced military conscription under the 2024 National Service Law and continue to face severe human rights violations.

Since its February 2024 enforcement of conscription, many young people in Myanmar have fled abroad to avoid being coerced into service. Thailand, hosting over four million Myanmar nationals — almost half undocumented — has become a refuge of limited safety and stability.

According to the report, Thai police regularly stop and interrogate these individuals, especially near border towns like Mae Sot, extorting bribes under the looming threat of arrest. Victims describe moving in constant fear, likened to “walking ATMs” who must pay to avoid detention. Unique “police cards” — often for sale — offer unofficial protection; without them, some resort to self-imposed “house arrest” to stay hidden.

Though many of these individuals qualify as refugees under international law, Thailand doesn’t recognise them as such, nor provide a safe pathway to legal status or work. HRW urges Thailand to establish a temporary protection regime to curb endemic exploitation. The report states:

Thailand should accede to the Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, establish its own asylum system, and provide protection either on the basis of individualized examination of claims or on a prima facie basis to refugees based on both the Refugee Convention definition and those fleeing war and generalized violence. In the interim, however, it should introduce an ad hoc temporary protection regime that would allow Myanmar nationals to register their presence in Thailand without fear of arrest or detention, acquire legal status, time-bound residency allowing freedom of movement, and the ability to access essential services such as health care and the right to work.

The HRW report underscores the urgent need to protect Myanmar nationals fleeing conflict, forced conscription, and military coercion. 

As WRI, we emphasise how conscription amplifies human rights crises — not only inside Myanmar but also for the thousands forced to seek safety abroad.