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Armed Conflicts and the Human Rights Situation
in the SouthernBorder Provinces of Thailand:
THAILAND'S THIRD UNIVERSAL PERIODIC REVIEW CYCLE
9 SEPTEMBER 2021
Thailand will be reviewed by UN Member States on all its human rights record during its Third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) taking place on 10 November 2021 at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva (39th Session of the UPR Working Group).
To tell the truth behind #WhatsHappeningInThailand and to guarantee Recommending States make SMART recommendations that will hold the Thai government accountable on its international human rights obligations and will improve the situation on the ground, Manushya Foundation, local community members of the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR and the Thai BHR Network, and partner Civil Society Organizations have prepared UPR Advocacy Factsheets addressing the most challenging human rights issues and providing community-led UPR recommendations to be made to the Thai government.
The UPR Factsheet on Armed Conflicts in the Deep Southern Provinces of Thailand was prepared by Manushya Foundation and the Patani Working Group for Monitoring on International Mechanisms, on the basis on their Joint UPR Submission with the Civil Society Assembly For Peace (CAP), and the Federation of Patani Students and Youth (PerMAS).
The UPR Factsheet examines the compliance of Thailand with the recommendations it received during its 2nd UPR cycle in relation to Armed conflicts & Human Rights situation in the Southern Border Provinces of Thailand. Since the last UPR cycle, severe human rights violations continue to persist in the SBPs. Violence is still prevalent, with perpetrators enjoying unchecked power and impunity facilitated by the special security laws that have been imposed on the region for more than 15 years. Many activists, human rights defenders and journalists still face defamation lawsuits for reporting the realities on the ground. Furthermore, the ceasefire to control the spread of COVID-19 declared in April 2020 by the insurgent group Barisan Revolusi Nasional (BRN), failed to bring peace and the human rights situation continued to deteriorate in the region as the government used biometric data as a tool in its counter-insurgency efforts.
This factsheet addresses the challenges and issues that persist regarding the Armed Conflicts in the Deep Southern Provinces which include:
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The misuse of special security laws in Thailand’s SBPs to target Malayu Muslims & to guarantee security officials’ impunity
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Racial discrimination against Malayu Muslims: DNA collection and the increasing use of biometric data, digital ID profiling, and AI technologies to surveil the population
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Living the Struggle Within the Struggle - Malayu Muslim Women and Children are bearing the impact of the conflict
The UPR Factsheet includes community-led UPR recommendations for Recommending States to use when making their UPR recommendations to the Thai government and ensure their recommendations address the needs of local communities on the ground. It is critical for diplomats to make recommendations that are directly coming from communities to improve the human rights situation on the ground; as communities are experts of their issues: they live with the challenges and they also know the solutions they need to advance their human rights.
Learn more about our work with UN Human Rights Mechanisms (Click here)
