.png)
Our Voices, Our Power: Grassroots Communities Unite for Media Training and Press Conference Ahead of Thailand's UN Review
BANGKOK, THAILAND — Ahead of Thailand’s UPR IV (Fourth Universal Periodic Review Cycle), representatives of frontline communities presented evidence of corporate exploitation, systemic state impunity, patriarchal control, and shrinking civic space, alongside demands for genuine reform and accountability. Determined to reclaim Thailand’s human rights narrative, defenders brought their lived experiences, evidence, and demands to the public in their own voices, challenging official accounts that leave their struggles out of view ahead of Thailand’s United Nations human rights review on 9 November 2026.
From 19 to 21 October, Manushya Foundation, the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR and UN Mechanisms, together with the101.World as official media partner, held a media training workshop and press conference called “Everything You Need to Know About #WhatsHappeningInThailand: Bringing grassroots realities and demands to the general public”.
The gathering culminated in the launch of 28 advocacy factsheets, the collective outcome of a year-long feminist movement-building initiative that brought together over 350 grassroots leaders, human rights defenders, and civil society allies across Hat Yai, Khon Kaen, Chiang Mai, and Bangkok. Grounded in community evidence, lived experiences, and concrete recommendations, the factsheets bring frontline realities and demands to the heart of international scrutiny of Thailand’s human rights record.
At the centre of this nationwide movement, 48 community members joined the three-day gathering. Of those present, 27 identified as women and 6 as LGBTIQ+. Their advocacies cover a wide range of interconnected issues, reflecting an intersectional movement: 7 each on environmental justice, LGBTIQ+ Rights, Indigenous Peoples and labour rights; 6 on land rights; 4 each on civil and political rights in Patani and ending gender-based violence; 3 each on migrant worker rights, women’s rights, 3 each on the rights of sex workers, person with HIV and persons who use drugs; 2 each on refugee rights and disability rights; lastly, 1 on elderly rights. As many of these defenders work across more than one issue or movement, many of these categories overlap.
Decolonising Media Narratives: Putting Communities First
On Day 1, we held a media training workshop led by the101.world. Supawan “New” Kongsuwan, Deputy Editor of the publication, together with feminist writer Sasiporn “Fiw” Kummuang, equipped communities with tools and frameworks to craft key messages that capture the attention of journalists in Thailand, and to answer media questions in ways that get their stories recorded. New reminded participants that communities have long fought for their rights. The harder question is how to make the media, which holds the keys to the wider public, care.
The need for these stories to be heard became clear in the experiences of Tanadon Taephan, also known as Temtem, a policy advocacy consultant from Young Pride Foundation who calls for a legal ban on conversion therapy, amendments to the Gender Equality Act and the removal of legal barriers preventing children from taking action against abusive parents. Temtem explained that without these reforms, LGBTQ+ children and youth will remain vulnerable to abuse without adequate legal protection or accountability.
“LGBTQ+ children and youth face severe stress from pressure and violence, with over 58% at risk of suicide because society remains unaccepting, schools are unsafe, and domestic violence persists. Thai society still tolerates ‘conversion therapy’ rooted in religious practices, and even sexual violence committed by relatives.”
–Tanadon “Temtem” Taephan, Policy Advocacy Consultant at Young Pride Foundation
New brought these discussions back to a deeper question of whose responsibility it is to make communities’ struggles heard. Taking a decolonial approach, she flipped the script, asking what journalists and the media can do for communities rather than what communities must do to gain media attention. She closed the session emphasising, “The responsibility to reach out lies with us the media too, not just with communities who have long fought to make their voices heard.”
Bringing Our Demands to the Forefront
Day 2 focused on preparing to bring communities’ demands to the spotlight ahead of the press conference. Participants rehearsed their testimonies, and Manushya filmed community leaders speaking out on our #WhatsHappeningInThailand campaign. Through these preparations, communities came together to sharpen their messages, amplify their voices and bring their lived experiences and demands for justice to the public.
Tanruthai “Pim” Thanrut, a political activist with Manushya Foundation and Mokeluang Rumnan, works to address gaps in protection for activists and political refugees affected by transnational repression. She highlighted concerns over deportation regulations, which have allowed political refugees to be sent back without thorough screening.
“The Thai government originally claimed that these regulations were introduced to address the problem of Grey Chinese capital. In reality, however, the impact has fallen on human rights defenders, political refugees, and people fleeing war. This is therefore an important reason why we must call for an urgent review of these regulations.”
–Tanruthai “Pim” Thanrut, queer youth democracy activist, and Protection and Programme Associate at Manushya Foundation
Meanwhile, Sugarnta Sookpaita, from the Women Workers for Justice Group (WJG), stressed how migrant workers are still denied access to the Workmen’s Compensation Fund, leaving them without appropriate remedies when workplace accidents occur.
“When they have accidents that result in the loss of a limb, what awaits them is a refusal to renew their employment contracts, dismissal, and immediate deportation. Meanwhile, Thai labour unions and Thai workers themselves are currently preoccupied primarily with focusing on the quality of work.”
–Sugarnta Sookpaita, labour and migrant rights activist from the Women Workers for Justice Group (WJG)
During the rehearsal, grassroots communities prepared posters reflecting the diverse struggles they represent, turning their lived experiences into visible demands for justice. Each poster gave expression to the issues communities are fighting to address, bringing their voices together in a collective call for change.
Our Voices, Our Struggles, Our Power
Read the full press release for a detailed overview of the event here.
At the press conference, nine community representatives presented their testimonies together to link how state power, corporate interests, and historical oppression continue to shape lives across Thailand. Their realities are recorded in the Everything You Need To Know #WhatsHappeningInThailand factsheets package. These representatives consisted of:
Civil and Political Rights: Tanruthai Thanrut, Manushya Foundation
Marginalised Communities: Vorapat Veerapattanakup, Union for Civil Liberty
State Impunity in Patani: Abdulloh Ngoh, Justice for Peace and Development Network (JASAD) and the PATANI Working Group
Labour Exploitation: Wattana Sunsa, the Thai Metal Products YMP Labour Union
Impacts of Free Trade Agreement: Charlemsak Kittirakul, FTA Watch
Agriculture: Prokchol Ousap, BioThai Foundation
Indigenous Peoples’ Rights: Naowwanit Chaemphit, Moken Indigenous woman leader
Environmental Justice: Nattaporn Artharn of the Isaan Democracy Movement
Bodily Autonomy and Gender Equality: Pasuta Chuenkhachorn, Tamtang Foundation
Among them, Moken Indigenous leader Naowwanit Chaemphit spoke about the threats facing Moken and other Chao Lay sea peoples, whose ancestral coastal lands, fishing grounds, and traditional livelihoods are increasingly threatened by tourism expansion and state-backed greenwashing.
With little government support or access to essential services, Indigenous sea peoples are also pushed into precarious, unregulated industrial fishing, deepening the struggle to protect their communities and ways of life. Naowwanit underscored the devastating consequences of continued state neglect.
“If we continue living amidst the state's neglect, our Moken people may no longer have any identity left at all.”
–Naowwanit Chaemphit, Moken Indigenous woman leader
Following the individual testimonies, a five-member panel explored why grassroots perspectives must be at the heart of international human rights scrutiny. These members consisted of:
Asylum and Refugee Rights: Tanyakorn Thippayapokin, Asylum Access Thailand
State Impunity in Patani: Asmah Tanyongdaoh, the PATANI Working Group for Monitoring on International Mechanisms
Labour Rights: Sugarnta Sookpaita, the Women Workers for Justice Group
Civil and Political Rights: Nattawat Kittayanawat of the Union for Civil Liberty
LGBTIQ+ Rights: Tanadon Taephan of the Young Pride Foundation
Asmah Tanyongdaoh, also a Board Member of Manushya Foundation, described the consequences of a cycle of violence that had persisted from her adolescence into motherhood.
She demanded to protect the rights of the Patani people, highlighting how entrenched militarisation and a culture of impunity have become normalised in the Deep South, threatening the safety, rights and futures of generations within the community.
“I have been involved in the UPR process from the 1st cycle all the way through the 4th, and my demand remains the same: security laws should not be used anywhere in Thailand. While other people's children only see toy tanks on Children's Day, children in the Deep South like my daughter have to see them every single day. Simply put, we have grown numb to living under security laws.”
–Asmah Tanyongdaoh, Muslim woman human rights defender from the the PATANI Working Group for Monitoring on International Mechanisms and Board Member of Manushya Foundation
Throughout the event, panellists stressed that economic exclusion, state violence, environmental destruction and gender discrimination are interconnected forms of injustice, sustained by systems of power that push marginalised communities to the margins. They called for a collective response rooted in the voices and lived experiences of those most affected, recognising that lasting change requires communities to lead the struggle for justice and hold those in power accountable.
Together, We Name Injustices and Demand Change
Throughout the three days, communities stood together in solidarity, holding banners and making their demands clear. Together, we call for: UN Member States to assess Thailand’s human rights record through the lived experiences of its people, look beyond official narratives, and issue concrete, actionable recommendations. To the Thai authorities: turn these recommendations into measurable reforms, ensuring affected communities have the power to shape, monitor and hold the state accountable for implementation.
Thailand’s human rights record will face international scrutiny on 9 November 2026 in Geneva, at the 53rd Session of the UPR Working Group at the UN Human Rights Council. Together, they are coming to tell their own stories, challenge the systems that oppress them, and bring their demands for justice to the international stage.
Our heartfelt thanks go to the101.world, the members of the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR and UN Mechanisms, and every participant, who carried not only their own struggles but also the truths and demands of more than 350 grassroots leaders, human rights defenders and civil society partners across Thailand.
Explore the full collection of UPR IV advocacy factsheets, covering civil and political rights, economic, social, cultural and environmental rights, and the rights of marginalised communities, here.
