Across Southeast Asia, our languages may differ, but we all recognise democracy's absence as our civil and political freedoms shrink day-by-day. When fisherfolk and Indigenous communities are silenced for speaking out. When union leaders are criminalised. When protest is met with repression. When authoritarian states police dissent online and offline while protecting those already in power. 🧋 But repression has also taught our movements to find each other across borders. The

⚖️ On 14 July, Thailand’s Cabinet greenlit a draft deportation regulation designed to expel foreign nationals “without delay” and without legal protections. But when speed replaces due process, lives of human rights defenders are destroyed. As Manushya Foundation’s Founder Emilie Palamy Pradichit reminds us: “Laws do not choose between protection and punishment; people do.” The Thai government is making a choice: 𝙒𝙞𝙡𝙡 𝙞𝙩 𝙪𝙥𝙝𝙤𝙡𝙙 𝙞𝙩𝙨 𝙗𝙞𝙣𝙙𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙡𝙚𝙜𝙖𝙡 𝙙�

🌏 On 26 May 2026, Manushya Foundation convened a closed-door regional expert meeting “Closing the Protection Gap for Human Rights Defenders in Southeast Asia: Regional Expert Meeting to Address Transnational Repression” in Bangkok, Thailand. We brought together 54 human rights defenders, survivor-advocates, frontline responders, UN actors, diplomats, and civil society allies with one urgent objective: 𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘁 𝗔𝘀𝗶𝗮 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗽𝗿𝗼𝘁𝗲𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻

The second day of our workshop, "From Evidence to Action: Strategic Advocacy for the UPR IV & ICCPR Reviews of Thailand", was all about shifting power. We moved from drafting factsheets to gearing up frontline human rights defenders to engage directly with diplomats. Best Chitsanupong Nithiwana, Founder of Young Pride Foundation and trans woman human rights defender, put it best about activists coming together from across Thailand: “For too long, access to diplomats has been

As the next step in our journey towards Thailand’s UPR IV this November, we gathered over 50 human rights defenders from across the country on 21 July for Day 1 of "From Evidence to Action: Strategic Advocacy for the UPR IV & ICCPR Reviews of Thailand". 🇹🇭 We built a #PeopleLedUPRMovement. We submitted the evidence. Now, it’s time to make the UN listen. Together, we are turning local evidence, lived realities, and community demands into sharp advocacy factsheets for high-le

We just submitted comments on the UN's draft General Comment No. 38 on Article 22 of ICCPR (Right to Freedom of Association) This freedom was never a gift handed down by benevolent states. If anything, it was won in the streets, with the blood and sweat of workers who were fighting for equal treatment and decent wages. 🇺🇳 We submitted comments on the UN's draft General Comment No. 38 on Article 22 of ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights). Our message

🇲🇲 #SpringRevolution ✊🏽 Five Years of Resistance, Five Years of People Power Five years since Myanmar’s illegal military coup, the people’s resistance continues to defy brutal repression. While the military attempts to manufacture legitimacy through sham elections, the people of Myanmar continue to resist with unwavering courage and collective power. Women have stood at the heart of the Spring Revolution: leading protests, organising underground networks, sustaining human

Today, we commemorate Sombath Somphone, a renowned Lao activist and community leader. On 15 December 2012, he was abducted in broad daylight in Vientiane. His fate remains unknown. Thirteen years later, no perpetrators have been identified. The Lao government has conveniently failed to conduct a credible investigation and ignored repeated calls for accountability. Even though many high-ranking officials from the time of his disappearance still hold powerful roles today. ⚠️ Th

We’re so proud that our founder, Emilie Palamy Pradichit, will be speaking at Humanitarian Week for the session, “Facilitating Rohingya Refugee & Citizenship Rights”. Here she will highlight Manushya’s work in defending Rohingya human rights and access to citizenship. The Rohingya crisis is far from over. Despite being one of the world’s most pressing refugee crises, international attention to the plight of the Rohingya is dwindling. The session aims to recast the spotlight o

Today, we honor the courage of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) across Thailand. Women who protect their communities, challenge authoritative power, and fight for justice even when the cost is high. And today, we also celebrate a major victory carved out by our courage. Thanks to the powerful testimonies of WHRDs and the joint advocacy of Manushya Foundation and our feminist partners, the UN CEDAW Committee issued legally binding recommendations that Thailand must act on:

On 18 June, Manushya’s Founder Emilie Pradichit courageously addressed the CEDAW Committee Members to expose the reality WHRDs in Thailand face: transnational repression in the form of abductions, threats, enforced disappearances, and even killings. She also shared our team’s own experiences of being targeted for protecting these women. For speaking truth to power, these women from neighboring authoritarian regimes are forced to flee their homes… only to face renewed danger,

Today, 12 November 2025, our friend and ally Mayu Chena, together with eight fellow activists, faces the Pattani Provincial Court in the MELAYU RAYA case, accused of sedition and criminal association simply for celebrating Malay identity, culture, and pride. 🚨Their “crime”? Organising the MELAYU RAYA 2022 cultural gathering at Wasukree Beach, Pattani, where over 20,000 young Malay Muslims came together in traditional attire, honouring their heritage and unity. Instead of emb

Thanks to the support of Young Pride Foundation, the People’s Movement to Eliminate Discrimination (MovED), LBT Wellbeing, and the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR, we kicked off our second #UPR Capacity-Building Workshop yesterday in Hat Yai! So many courageous, brilliant activists joined us from all over 𝗦𝗼𝘂𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, including Indigenous leaders from Pattani and the Ranong province, raising their voices to speak truth to power. 🇺🇳 Yesterday’s sessions

Together with representatives from the Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF) and the International Commission of Jurists , our Founder and Executive Director Emilie Palamy Pradichit briefed the Ambassadors on the pressing human rights issues in Thailand, including the country’s involvement in the transnational repression of activists and the daily risks faced by political refugees and human rights defenders. We also proudly celebrated the Human Rights Tulip Award, which Manushya

👉 More happy moments and snapshots of the the energy and joy of the 𝗰𝗼𝗺𝗺𝘂𝗻𝗶𝘁𝘆 𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝘃𝗶𝘀𝘁𝘀 𝗳𝗿𝗼𝗺 𝗖𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗘𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗧𝗵𝗮𝗶𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱 that joined us during our #UPR Capacity-Building Workshop on 23-24 October for two days of learning, advocacy, and solidarity. Held in collaboration with Young Pride Foundation, the People’s Movement to Eliminate Discrimination (MovED), the LBT Wellbeing, and the Thai CSOs Coalition for