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 Labour Rights in Thailand was prepared by Manushya Foundation and Women Workers for Justice Group and HomeNet Thailand.

 

The UPR Factsheet examines the compliance of Thailand with the recommendations it received during its 2nd UPR cycle in relation to Labour Rights in Thailand. Despite Thailand’s adoption of a National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights (NAP-BHR) on October 29, 2019, in line with Sweden’s recommendation during the 2nd UPR cycle, the NAP-BHR fails to address gaps in the adoption and implementation of national laws and policies concerning labour rights and standards, particularly for workers belonging to marginalized groups, thereby leaving a large part of Thailand’s workforce unprotected. Given that no measures have been proposed or implemented to ensure that labour rights and standards are extended to workers in the informal sector, indigenous peoples, sex workers, and migrant workers.

 

This factsheet indicates that the current political and legal developments violate Thailand’s international human rights obligations concerning labour rights in the following manner:

 

• Inadequate laws and policies on workers’ rights inconsistent with international standards

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• Inequality in accessing welfare and lack of effective remedies for informal workers

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• Adverse impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on formal and informal workers​

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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.

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Learn more about our work with UN Human Rights Mechanisms (Click here)