AllSBNews: 06/08/16

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

The Irrawaddy Magazine

Shan and Kachin Armed Groups Hold ‘Pre-Panglong Consultation’
Rangoon Parliament to Amend Colonial Era Laws
Western Union Launches Outbound Transfers
Ethnic Alliance Risks Irrelevance If It Skips ‘Panglong’
Govt Invites UWSA, MNDAA to the Peace Table
Deaths of Three Ethnic Palaung Reveal Persisting Conflict in Shan State
New Members Appointed to Burma’s Investment Commission
As Modi Meets Obama, Activists Call for Talks on Human Trafficking
First in Asia, Thailand Eliminates Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Shan and Kachin Armed Groups Hold ‘Pre-Panglong Consultation’

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 07:52 AM PDT

Ethnic Kachin and Shan leaders pose after the Consultation on Panglong on June 8 in Chiang Mai, Thailand. In the front row, from left, are Lt-Gen Yawd Serk of the RCSS, Gen N'Ban La of the KIO, and Gen Sai Htoo of the SSPP. (Photo: Nyein Nyein / The Irrawaddy)

CHIANG MAI, Thailand — To prepare for the upcoming "21st Century Panglong Conference," the leaders of ethnic Shan and Kachin armed groups held a "Consultation on Panglong" in the northern Thai city of Chiang Mai on June 7-8.

The conference was proposed by Burma's State Counselor Aung Suu Kyi as a means of forging peace with Burma's disparate ethnic armed groups.

The original Panglong agreement in 1947, on which Suu Kyi has styled her peace initiative, was signed between her father Aung San—representing the soon-to-be independent government of Burma, dominated by ethnic Burmans—and leaders from Shan, Kachin and Chin minority groups. It envisaged "full autonomy in internal administration" for Burma's ethnic minority "frontier" regions.

Still today, a deal on federalism is widely considered a necessary condition for a successful peace agreement.

The Kachin Independence Organization (KIO), the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS) and the Shan State Progressive Party (SSPP) were present at the June 7-8 consultation, led respectively by Gen N'Ban La, Lt-Gen Yawd Serk and Gen Sai Htoo.

Although the consultation was intended to comprise the ethnic descendants of the original Panglong signatories, leaders from the Chin National Front (CNF) were absent—although they consented in advance to abide by the outcome of the meeting.

Gen N'Ban La of the KIO said in his closing remarks that, "As the original signatories of Panglong [in 1947], we—Shan, Kachin and Chin—have to take responsibility for leading this [peace] process."

"We agreed that we would work with the other ethnicities and try to create a common voice at the [government's] upcoming [peace] conference," N'Ban La added.

Lt-Col Sai Meng of the RCSS, who was also present, told reporters that the leaders had agreed to support and participate in the "21st-Century Panglong Conference."

"We also believe that the new Panglong will honor the spirit of the 1947 Panglong, and preserve its essence," Sai Meng said.

KIO Vice Chairman Gen Gun Maw told reporters that his group would "consult with our people" before participating in the peace conference, which they hope to help "make into a success."

The June 7-8 "Panglong" consultation was urgently called following a meeting between RCSS and KIO leaders the previous week.

However, despite these clear signals of support for the government's peace initiative, the armed group leaders would still need to hold discussions with other members of the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC), an influential alliance of ethnic armed groups, which currently includes the KIO and the SSPP but not the RCSS or the CNF.

One urgent topic for discussion would be whether the UNFC's Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN) would be ready to join the government's review meeting on the framework for political dialogue on Thursday, to which they were invited last week.

Gen Sai Htoo of the SSPP told The Irrawaddy that members of the DPN needed to discuss the matter before deciding whether they would attend.

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Rangoon Parliament to Amend Colonial Era Laws

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 06:27 AM PDT

Cranes and scaffolding are a common sight in downtown Rangoon, as seen here on Sept. 23, 2015. (Photo: Soe Zeya Tun / Reuters)

RANGOON — The Rangoon Division parliament is planning to amend ten regional laws pertaining to infrastructure, transportation, freshwater fish farming, and alcohol regulation. Some have not been amended since the colonial era, and are seen as ill-suited to Rangoon's present state of rapid development.

Deputy Speaker of Rangoon's parliament Lin Naing Myint, quoted in the state-run Daily Mirror, said that 10 parliamentary committees are reviewing the 10 existing laws to assess how they might be adapted to present realities.

"During our field research, we found some of the [divisional] laws to be weak and outdated," Kyaw Zay Ya, Rangoon divisional lawmaker and a member of the Finance, Planning and Economic Affairs Committee, told The Irrawaddy on Wednesday.

Kyaw Zay Ya said that his committee is preparing to update the law on alcohol taxation, which in its present form provides for insufficient revenue.

Kyaw Zay Ya also cited planned changes to the Road and Inland Water Transport Law, to impose stricter rules on bus lines which currently overcharge for tickets during peak festival times. During these periods, many of Rangoon's migrant workers return to their home districts, and then fail to put on enough buses to deal with the festival rush, contributing to a black market in tickets.

"Some laws are no longer suited to the present environment, such as the 50 kyats (US$0.04) or 100 kyats (US$0.08) fines originally prescribed in the laws under British rule," Kyaw Zay Ya said. He expected the amendments to be enacted later this year.

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Western Union Launches Outbound Transfers

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 05:59 AM PDT

People walk past a Western Union branch at Times Square in New York. The company launched outbound money transfers in Burma this week. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — Private banks in Burma will allow outbound money transfers through Western Union and MoneyGram starting this month, banking industry officials said.

Earlier this week, US-based Western Union introduced international money transfers from Burma in partnership with nine banks: Kanbawza, Ayeyarwaddy, Myanma Apex, United Amara, Yoma, Co-operative (CB), Myanmar Oriental, World Treasure and First Private Bank.

Patricia Riingen, senior vice president of Western Union in Southeast Asia, said nine banks with almost 800 branches around the country will provide the foreign transfer service in Burma.

Starting this week, remittances sent from Burma will also be allowed at up to US$3,000 per person through Western Union.

Western Union, one of the world's leading global money transfer services, has more than 500,000 branches in over 200 countries. Western Union's inbound transfer service to Burma began in 2013.

Zaw Lin Htut, chief executive officer of the Myanmar Payment Union (MPU) said he welcomed the new launch because many expatriates living in Burma as well as Burmese citizens living abroad would be happy that remittances would be easier to send.

"In the past, students' parents couldn't remit money to their children through legal channels and instead found informal channels," Zaw Lin Htut said, adding, "Through informal channels, if senders faced mistatement or problems, they couldn't claim their money back. Now it is legal and easy to transfer money. This is good news."

MoneyGram, another money transfer service, will also allow remittances from Burma through their partner banks this month, said Soe Thein, executive director of the Asian Green Development Bank, adding that the remittance maximum would be similar to the one set by Western Union.

MoneyGram's international money transfer service opened in Burma in 2013 in partnership with three banks: Asia Green Development Bank, Myanmar Citizens Bank and the Tun Foundation Bank.

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Ethnic Alliance Risks Irrelevance If It Skips ‘Panglong’

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 05:50 AM PDT

Dr. Tin Myo Win (right) speaks to Gen. Gun Maw (left) in Chiang Mai, Thailand last week. (Photo: Saw Yan Naing / The Irrawaddy)

New faces were seen at a meeting between the Burmese government's peace delegation and ethnic armed groups in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand last week, raising expectations for the upcoming peace process.

At the meeting, Dr. Tin Myo Win, the trusted personal physician of Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma’s state counselor, led the government delegation and urged ethnic leaders to discuss the issues at hand "frankly and brotherly, like family members."

The government's top peace envoy said, "Think of us as if we are brothers. Don’t feel sorry or bad, but talk with us frankly. We will also respond in the same way. Let’s try to build trust through brotherly conversation."

Tin Myo Win met with ethnic groups who both signed and did not sign the "nationwide ceasefire agreement" (NCA) with Burma's previous government. The NCA, made official in October of last year, has been criticized for excluding several ethnic armed organizations.

Tin Myo Win said ethnic minorities and the majority ethnic Burmans are "like brothers and sisters living in the same country, and sometimes family members who live in the same house don’t get along and don’t talk to each other."

"But now we all have to think of peace. We have to live together and build trust and understanding in order to establish a federal union and a peaceful developed country. These are our duties," said Tin Myo Win.

He invited ethnic representatives from an alliance of ethnic armed groups, the United Nationalities Federal Council (UNFC)—made up of NCA non-signatories—to attend an agenda-setting meeting so that they could decide whether to participate in the upcoming "21st Century Panglong Conference." The original Panglong Conference was convened by Gen Aung San in 1947 and resulted in an inter-ethnic peace pact that collapsed after the 1962 military coup.

A grouping of UNFC leaders, known as the Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN), said they will respond to Tin Myo Win’s invitation later. No major decision was made at the meeting, but a general statement was released asking how the new government will include all ethnic armed groups in the peace process, particularly those who were excluded by the previous government from signing the NCA.

Observers expect that the UNFC will likely consider participating in the "21st Century Panglong Conference" and may also sign the NCA in due course, lest they risk losing influence by opting out. The ethnic bloc is reportedly happier to deal with a civilian-led delegation rather the previous government's peace mission led by former President's Office minister Aung Min.

Some believe the organization's power is already on the wane. The UNFC used to be comprised of 14 ethnic armed groups, but has since been trimmed down to nine.

Two of the UNFC members, the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the ethnic Kokang army known as Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), have tried to pull out of the bloc, which would weaken the organization's military strength.

The UNFC also expelled two members, the Pa-O National Liberation Organization (PNLO) and the Chin National Front (CNF), for signing the NCA in Oct. 2015. One of its most powerful members, the Karen National Union (KNU), pulled out in 2014 citing the alliance's ineffectuality.

Most of the remaining UNFC members are now more active as political organizations than as armed groups, except its chair, the Kachin Independence Organization/Army (KIO), which, claims to retain up to 20,000 fighters.

Gen Gun Maw of the KIO said at the meeting that the UNFC members have not heard from State Counselor Aung San Suu Kyi on the details of the "21st Century Panglong Conference" and have relied on the media to receive news and information on the event.

"So far, we have formed our own opinions [on the "21st Century Panglong Conference"] based on news and information from the media. We hope to hear a clearer explanation at the meeting [with Tin Myo Win]," said Gun Maw.

According to sources within the ethnic armed groups, Tin Myo Win could not answer all of the questions posed by Gun Maw at the meeting and said he had to report back to Suu Kyi for clarification.

The UNFC leader said he was willing to cooperate with the new delegation, but will be prudent and cautious about potentially signing the NCA. Some observers predict that the UNFC may join the Panglong-style conference" without signing the ceasefire agreement.

The UNFC will miss a significant opportunity if they opt out of the conference, which is expected to start in late July, said the observers.

Tin Myo Win said that he invited the ethnic armed groups who are non-NCA signatories to join the conference to let them to speak for themselves.

"There will be opportunities for them if they come and participate in the conference," said Tin Myo Win.

"The people elected us [NLD] to achieve development, safety and peace and improve livelihoods. We can’t realize these goals if we don’t first achieve peace. We will only reach a solution after negotiating with our brothers and sisters [the ethnic leaders]," he said.

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Govt Invites UWSA, MNDAA to the Peace Table

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 05:42 AM PDT

A check point at the entrance to Pangsan, where the United Wa State Army's headquarters is located. (Photo: JPaing / The Irrawaddy)

RANGOON — The United Wa State Army (UWSA), Burma's largest and most powerful ethnic armed group, and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) have agreed to talk to the Burma government's peace negotiators.

By the end of the week, the two groups will meet with a preparation subcommittee for what is being billed as the "21st Century Panglong Conference," Hla Maung Shwe, secretary of the government's peace negotiation team, told The Irrawaddy.

"Dr. Tin Myo Win himself sent a letter [of invitation to the UWSA and MNDAA]," Hla Maung Shwe said, referring to the Burma government's chief peace negotiator.

"They received the letter and welcomed it. They want to meet. We have not yet decided on a time or venue because we're still considering weather conditions and transportation. But it is very likely that the meeting will take place within a couple of days," Hla Maung Shwe said.

The government's peace negotiation team will supposedly invite the UWSA and MNDAA to the conference at the meeting and discuss their demands, according to Hla Maung Shwe.

"First, we'll meet with them. Then, we'll explain to them [our goals]. Our committee is responsible for making sure they attend the conference. We will know [the final outcome] after our discussions. I think they may be interested in the new landscape under the current government," Hla Maung Shwe said.

The UWSA and MNDAA did not sign the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with former President Thein Sein's government last October. The UWSA has said before that it did not need to sign the NCA because the truce it signed with the military regime 26 years ago has not collapsed.

Military analysts believe that the UWSA, estimated to have over 30,000 troops, might once again push for autonomy, taking advantage of the government's invitation for ceasefire.

Meanwhile, the MNDAA signed a preliminary truce with Thein Sein's government on Sept. 7, 2011, and the two sides have, in the past, held peace talks at the national level. The MNDAA split from the Communist Party of Burma (CPB) on June 30, 1989, and it was one of the first groups to sign a ceasefire with the Burma Army. The military regime designated Shan State's Mongla region as the MNDAA's base (Special Region 4), delegating to the armed group a degree of control over some areas in eastern Shan State.

The conference subcommittee also met the United Nationalities Federal Council's (UNFC) Delegation for Political Negotiation (DPN), comprised of 13 members drawn from various non-state ethnic armed groups who opted out of signing the NCA, last week.

Translated from Burmese by Thet Ko Ko

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Deaths of Three Ethnic Palaung Reveal Persisting Conflict in Shan State

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 04:43 AM PDT

Locals from Shan State's Namkham Township carry the body of an ethnic Palaung killed last week. (Photo: TNLA News and Information Department / Facebook)

RANGOON — The recent deaths of three ethnic Palaung, also called Ta'ang, in Shan State's Namkham Township seem to have further entrenched the lines of ethnic conflict in the state.

Namkham, which sits on a border with China, is home to ethnic Shan and Palaung. It is also the site of fighting between two ethnic armed groups: the Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) and the Shan State Army-South (SSA-S), the respective armed wings of the Palaung State Liberation Front (PSLF) and the Restoration Council of Shan State (RCSS).

One ethnic Palaung stepped on a landmine near a tea garden on June 1, while the murdered bodies of two others were found outside the village of Mang Aung on June 3. While it is as yet unknown who is responsible for the three deaths, a number of local ethnic Palaung and TNLA members have since directed blame toward members of the RCSS/SSA-S.

"We haven't said the names of the people who murdered our people, because we don't have enough evidence, but we know that they are RCSS members," said Kyaw Sein, a Namkham resident and an ethnic Palaung.

Ta'ang National Party (TNP) leaders, however, say the path to answers, and to justice, is far from certain.

Tun Kyaw, a TNP lawmaker from Namkham in the Lower House, told The Irrawaddy that his party is at a loss as to how to solve the conflict, and have considered soliciting help from the Ministry of Ethnic Affairs to find a peaceful solution.

"We don't know who to turn to for action in seeking justice for the three Palaung victims," Tun Kyaw said.

Indeed, these recent deaths represent the latest arc in an ongoing story of violence between ethnic Shan and Palaung in areas of northern Shan State since late last year.

'This Isn't a Communal Conflict'

The TNLA and RCSS have been locked in conflict over territory in northern Shan State since November of last year, after the SSA-S signed the so-called nationwide ceasefire agreement (NCA) with Burma's previous government. The TNLA, which was not allowed to sign the peace accord, has accused the Burma Army of fueling conflict in Shan State, saying that it has given logistical support and protection to the SSA-S, though the Shan armed group has repeatedly denied this.

In one part of Shan State, one might hear an ethnic Shan politician blame Palaung groups for instigating conflict in the region; in another, members of the TNLA might say that the SSA-S is to blame because they invaded Palaung territory. The tenuous boundaries of land ownership make it difficult to parse who was in the wrong in accusations of encroachment.

Intense fighting between the TNLA and SSA-S erupted again in February, forcing thousands of people out of Kyaukme Township. Locals say that distrust and hatred between ethnic Shan and Palaung eventually crept into the adjacent townships of Mongton and Namkham.

Tun Kyaw said that the problem, at least in part, is that RCSS and TNLA leaders use their individual political agendas to inflame conflict, all while dragging locals into the fray.

"They get locals to hate each other by talking about being patriotic. But they don't understand that they're just being used [by ethnic armed group leaders]," said Tun Kyaw.

"The best way to solve this communal conflict is for everyone—including heads of political parties and community, cultural and village leaders—to sit down together."

Nang Htwe Hmone, a lawmaker from Namkham representing the Shan Nationalities League for Democracy (SNLD), said that the people who have remained in the region feel that they have no security; she echoed calls for the warring groups to sit at the peace table.

"I've heard that two ethnic Shan and Palaung parties will try to cooperate, to work together to solve this problem, but that it is difficult for them to do so because they don't know who might try to kill them," Nang Htwe Hmone said.

"Ethnic Shan and Palaung lived together [peacefully] for many years. We didn't have this problem in the past. But we have this problem now. I think it's best to let the leaders from both armed groups [the TNLA and SSA-S] talk together to find a solution."

Col Sai Hla, a spokesperson for the RCSS/SSA-S, said that if TNLA soldiers would stop attacking his troops, there would be no conflict in northern Shan State, while TNLA General Secretary Tar Bong Kyaw, said that conflict between the camps will persist only until RCSS soldiers return to their headquarters in southern Shan State.

"This isn't a communal conflict. This is some ethnic Shan who support the RCSS and hate the Ta'ang people trying to make conflict," Tar Bong Kyaw said.

"The Ta'ang people just stay in their villages and keep quiet. We try to encourage our local people not to respond to their anger and to avoid conflict."

The RCSS, along with eight non-state armed groups, was a signatory of the NCA in October, while the TNLA was excluded from negotiations by the government. The two sides split shortly thereafter.

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New Members Appointed to Burma’s Investment Commission

Posted: 08 Jun 2016 03:13 AM PDT

People sit in the reception at the World Economic Forum on June 5, 2013, in Naypyidaw, where foreign investment into Burma was a main topic of discussion. (Photo: Reuters)

RANGOON — The Myanmar Investment Commission (MIC) was reshuffled on Tuesday to include 11 new members, the President's Office announced on Wednesday.

Kyaw Win, Minister of National Planning and Finance, was appointed chairman, and Than Myint, Minister of Commerce, was appointed vice chairman.

Among the other members of the reconstituted MIC are Attorney General Tun Tun Oo and permanent secretaries from the commerce, national planning and finance, and resources and environmental conservation ministries. There is also one new member from the Union of Myanmar Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry (UMFCCI).

Aung Naing Oo, former secretary of the MIC, has been selected again for a similar post.

Since April, more than 100 investment proposals, for both foreign and local projects, have been awaiting approval due to the stalled reform of the MIC.

"We could only approve proposals once the MIC was reconstituted," Aung Naing Oo said.

But Maung Maung Lay, vice president of the UMFCCI, said that this reshuffled MIC seems similar to its previous iteration—Burma's Minister of National Planning and Finance has once again been selected for the chairman position—and he questioned whether the new MIC members would be able to avoid making the same mistakes as their predecessors.

"There should be more experts on the MIC, and I expected there to be greater representation from the private sector, but I've only seen one, from the UMFCCI," he said.

The MIC played a key role in amending the Myanmar Investment Law in January. The new law expands human rights protections for foreign investment projects. It also combines the 2012 Foreign Investment Law and 2013 Myanmar Citizens Investment Law.

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As Modi Meets Obama, Activists Call for Talks on Human Trafficking

Posted: 07 Jun 2016 11:03 PM PDT

US President Barack Obama shakes hands with India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi after their remarks to reporters following a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, US, June 7, 2016. (Photo: Jonathan Ernst / Reuters)

NEW DELHI — US President Barack Obama should press the visiting prime minister of India to strengthen his country's anti-trafficking laws and deliver justice to victims, human rights campaigners said on Tuesday.

Obama was due to meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the White House on Tuesday to discuss economic growth, climate change, clean energy and defence cooperation.

However, activists called on Obama to use Modi's fourth visit to the United States since becoming prime minister in 2014 to focus on India's anti-slavery record.

India has the most slaves in the world with more than 18 million people trapped in debt bondage, forced into marriage, sold to brothels or born into servitude, according to the 2016 Global Slavery Index.

"More people are enslaved in India than in any other country in the world, with millions of Indian men, women, and children trapped in debt bondage and forced to perform strenuous work," said Amy Sobel of the Washington-based Human Rights First pressure group.

"Prime Minister Modi's trip to the United States is an opportunity for President Obama to raise concerns over India's progress in combating modern slavery while ensuring that the US-India relationship is grounded in respect for human dignity and fundamental rights."

Forty percent of the world's estimated 45.8 million slaves are in India, although the scourge exists in all 167 nations surveyed in last month's Global Slavery Index, according to researchers behind the list.

The US State Department's 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report shows that India's primary trafficking problem is forced labor.

Often trapped in debt, victims including women and children are forced to work in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, embroidery factories, and other industries to pay off what they owe to their traffickers.

The TIP report ranks India as a Tier 2 country which means the government has not fully complied with US standards but is making significant efforts to meet those standards.

Last week a senior US lawmaker raised concerns over India's human rights record, noting that the 2015 TIP report indicated that Indian officials at various levels of government were complicit in human trafficking.

"The government did not report investigations, prosecutions or convictions of government officials complicit in human trafficking offences," said Senator Ben Cardin, a member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, during a speech in New Delhi.

Indian officials, however, have pointed to a slew of initiatives taken by Modi's government over the last two years which they said was proof that New Delhi was taking the issue seriously.

These include the introduction of a new anti-trafficking law, an online platform to find missing children and increased focus on the rehabilitation of victims of slavery.

Last week India unveiled a draft of its first comprehensive anti-human trafficking law, which provides for more shelters, a rehabilitation fund, fast-track courts to ensure speedy trials and a federal investigative agency to boost convictions.

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First in Asia, Thailand Eliminates Mother-to-Child Transmission of HIV

Posted: 07 Jun 2016 10:55 PM PDT

A hospital pharmacist arranges HIV/AIDS drugs for patients in Payao province, about 400 miles north of Bangkok, November 28, 2007. (Photo: Sukree Sukplang / Reuters)

BANGKOK — When Anya Nopalit became pregnant with her first son, 16 years ago, she learned she had HIV and worried she would pass the virus on to him.

Fortunately, Thailand had launched a program that year to provide antiretroviral (ARV) treatment and counseling for pregnant women with HIV, and her son was born free of the virus.

A decade later, she had a second son—this time, armed with knowledge about how to monitor the amount of HIV in her blood—her viral load—and the CD4 cells protecting her from infection. She was confident that he would not get sick.

"With my first child, I was scared, but with my second, I was not scared at all because I knew what my viral load and CD4 levels were, and he wouldn't contract it," Anya said by telephone while at sea fishing in eastern Chanthaburi province.

The World Health Organization announced on Wednesday that Thailand has become the first Asian country to eliminate mother-to-child transmission of HIV and syphilis.

Elimination of transmission is defined as a reduction of transmission to such a low level that it no longer constitutes a public health problem.

Last year, Cuba was the world's first country to receive WHO validation for eliminating mother-to-child transmission of HIV.

But Thailand, which is home to about 450,000 people living with HIV, is "the first with a large HIV epidemic to ensure an AIDS-free generation," the WHO said in a statement.

"This is a remarkable achievement for a country where thousands of people live with HIV," Dr. Poonam Khetrapal Singh, the head of WHO for Southeast Asia, said in a statement.

"Thailand has demonstrated to the world that HIV can be defeated," she added.

UNAIDS Executive Director Michel Sidibé called the achievement an important milestone in efforts to end the AIDS epidemic by 2030.

Better Coverage

In the 1980s and 1990s, Thailand struggled with a huge HIV epidemic, with an estimated 143,000 new infections in 1991.

Over the decades, it has conducted awareness and condom use campaigns, and provided free antiretroviral (ARV) treatment for all Thais, cutting the estimated number of new infections to 8,100 in 2013.

Thailand's decision to provide all pregnant women—including undocumented migrant workers—free antenatal care, delivery and services for HIV and syphilis, pushed treatment coverage rates up, culminating in the validation of elimination of mother-to-child transmission, WHO said.

Mother-to-child transmission has dropped to 85 children infected with HIV in 2015, from about 1,000 children infected in 2000, it said.

According to Thai health authorities, the number of women newly infected with HIV fell to 1,900 in 2014, from 15,000 in 2000.

Untreated, women living with HIV have a 15 percent to 45 percent chance of transmitting the virus to their children during pregnancy, labor, delivery or breastfeeding, WHO said.

That risk drops to just over 1 percent if ARVs are given to mothers and children throughout the stages when infection can occur.

According to the Thai Ministry of Public Health, 98 percent of all pregnant women living with HIV have access to ARVs, and the rate of mother-to-child transmission of HIV has been reduced to less than 2 percent.

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