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Indigenous Women’s Rights must be addressed in Thailand’s 3rd UPR!
Manushya Foundation jointly with the Indigenous Women’s Network of Thailand (IWNT) collaborated on a joint UPR submission ahead of Thailand’s 3rd Universal Periodic Review (UPR) cycle. The submission examines the compliance of Thailand with the recommendations it received during its 2nd UPR cycle in relation to the protection of indigenous women’s rights.
This is the third time Thailand has undergone review under the UPR. During the 2nd UPR cycle, the Thai government did not receive any recommendation directly addressing indigenous women. However, it received 48 recommendations related to their rights. Of these recommendations 46 were supported and 2 were noted. Our assessment demonstrates that the Thai government persistently failed to implement most of the recommendations since its last UPR.
This submission documents the Thai government’s disregard for indigenous women’s rights. While the Thai government has ratified some core international human rights treaties applicable to indigenous women’s rights, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD), Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), it has failed to ratify the ILO Indigenous and Tribal Peoples Convention, 1989 (No. 169), despite voting in favor of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples in 2007 (UNDRIP).
This submission indicates that indigenous women in Thailand face severe challenges in accessing their human rights in the following manner:
• Section 2 discusses the failure to ratify ILO No. 169 and legal gaps in domestic legislation, which results in limited protection of indigenous women’s rights.
• Section 3 examines the challenges indigenous women face in accessing citizenship.
• Section 4 discusses the discrimination against indigenous women.
• Section 5 discusses the exclusion of indigenous women from participation in the public sphere.
• Section 6 examines the vulnerability of indigenous women to human trafficking and domestic violence.
• Section 7 discusses the challenges indigenous women face in accessing healthcare services.
• Section 8 discusses the challenges indigenous women face in accessing education.
• Section 9 examines the violation of indigenous women’s land and resource rights and their evictions from ancestral lands.
• Section 10 examines the negative impact of tourism on indigenous women.
• Section 11 discusses the inability of indigenous women to access justice and effective remedies and thereby secure protection of their rights.
• Section 12 includes recommendations to the Thai government, addressing the challenges and rights violations discussed in foregoing sections.
An annex also provides an overview of the recommendations examined in this submission.