MMN statement calls for more protections for migrants on International Migration Day

Mizzima

The Mekong Migration Network (MMN) issued a statement on 18 December, International Migration Day 2025, calling on all stakeholders to stand against rising xenophobia and discrimination, and work to develop comprehensive policies to protect migrant worker rights.

The statement continues below.

Thailand’s economic prosperity has long relied on the hard work of migrant workers from neighbouring countries. Despite their decades-long contribution, filling urgent labour shortages, migrant workers continue to be regarded as temporary and disposable. The difficulties in securing legal immigration status, the casualisation of labour, and the exclusion of informal sector workers from Social Security systems leave millions of migrant workers unprotected.

Our network member, the Foundation for Education and Development based in Mae Sot and the South of Thailand, continue to report that costly complex procedures make it difficult for migrants to maintain their immigration status. In Had Yai, migrants have also had to deal with the loss or destruction of their documents in the recent floods.

Another longstanding MMN member, the MAP Foundation based in Chiang Mai and Mae Sot, echoes these concerns. A listener to its community radio station recently commented that: