Approximately 6.1 million Indigenous Peoples, or 9.7% of Thailand’s total population, belong to over 60 ethnic groups. Although Thailand voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in 2007, the 2017 Constitution still refers only to “ethnic groups” (Section 70). Indigenous Peoples remain unrecognised as distinct rights-holders and Thailand has not ratified ILO Convention No. 169. During the 3rd UPR cycle in November 2021, Thailand received 278 recommendations, of which it supported 218.

Recommendations relevant to Indigenous Peoples clustered around: legal recognition, land and resource rights, meaningful participation in conservation and climate policy, protection of Indigenous defenders, ending statelessness, non-discrimination, and access to education, healthcare and basic services.

Since the 3rd UPR, Thailand adopted the Protection and Promotion of the Way of Life of Ethnic Groups Act B.E. 2568 (2025), which entered into force on 19 September 2025. While formally recognising ethnic groups’ rights to culture, language and livelihood, the Act does not use the term “Indigenous Peoples”, guarantee Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC), or resolve conflicts with forest conservation laws. Alongside this partial reform, Thailand enacted two 2024 Royal Decrees under Section 64 of the National Parks Act B.E. 2562 (2019) and Section 121 of the Wildlife Preservation and Protection Act B.E. 2562 (2019). They establish 20-year conservation programmes and restrict eligible households’ land use to 20 rai, subject to specified conditions. More than 1.8 million people live in areas overlapping protected areas and conservation zones; in April 2025, the Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact reported that affected communities faced more than 30,000 legal cases.

This assessment shows that Thailand has partially implemented a small number of 3rd cycle UPR recommendations and persistently failed to implement most recommendations relevant to Indigenous Peoples. Since 2014, Thai authorities have launched more than 48,000 forest-encroachment cases nationwide, amid the forest-reclamation policy. Sea Indigenous (Chao Lay) communities face forced evictions and criminal prosecutions in Koh Lipe. The Bang Kloi Karen situation remains unresolved. An estimated 80% of poor Indigenous children dropped out of school between the COVID period and 2026. Enforced disappearances and killings of Indigenous defenders remain unpunished, and 11 Indigenous defenders face charges under the Public Assembly Act for a March–April 2025 protest. Transboundary rare earth mining in Myanmar is contaminating rivers in northern Indigenous territories. (For gender-specific dimensions across these challenges, please refer to the companion factsheet on the Rights of Indigenous Women in Thailand.)