A stateless person is someone who does not have a legal bond of nationality with any state. This includes people who have never acquired citizenship from their birth country or who have lost their citizenship and have no claim of citizenship to any another state.

 

In the South of Thailand, there are many people who were born and live in the Kingdom of Thailand without Thai citizenship and are not protected under  Thai Law. These groups of people are the Moken in Phang Nga and Ranong Provinces and displaced Thai people in Ranong, Chumporn and Prajuabkirikan. Despite living in the Surin Islands before the establishment of the National Park in 1981, the Moken were regarded as trans-border nomadic people, therefore citizenship for them was not processed. Presently, many new generations of the Moken have been born in Thai territory and feel that Thailand is their home.

 

In order to exchange experiences with others working on nationality issues, a workshop on law pertaining to citizenship and nationality was organized in Ranong Province on July 2, 2005. The Moken and displaced people representatives and stakeholders such as local governments, tourism organization, entrepreneurs, and local academic and research institutes were invited to participate.

 

This project led by the UNDP – UNESCO will target  the nationalization of the Moken on the Surin and Lhao Islands. For the Moken in the Surin Islands, the  team will consult with the local government in Phang Nga regarding the need for recognition of the Moken as Thai citizens. Priority has been identified for those Moken who married Thai citizens and those who were born in Thai territory. Household data on the Moken living on Lhao Island and the Surin Islands needs to be collected and submitted to the Thai Lawyer's Council to pursue claims of Thai nationality.