Thailand grants few asylum claims in first year of program

In this handout photo from the Royal Thai Army taken and released on Nov. 1, 2021, Myanmar migrants are pictured after being apprehended by Thai military personnel in Kanchanaburi province, bordering Myanmar. A migrant girl looks on at a village near the Thai-Myanmar border in Mae Sot, Thailand, Jan. 7, 2022.

Amid a reported surge in cross-border repression across Southeast Asia, rights advocates say Thailand is making promising but very slow progress rolling out an asylum program meant to protect the most vulnerable refugees.