This submission by the Muslim Attorney Centre (MAC), Manushya Foundation, and the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR examines the systemic failure of Thailand’s justice system to protect the rights of individuals in the Southern Border Provinces (Patani), in light of recommendations accepted during the 3rd UPR cycle, the Concluding Observations of the Committee against Torture (2024), the Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (2022), and the Human Rights Committee (2017).

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During the 3rd UPR cycle, Thailand received a total of 278 recommendations. The government made 8 voluntary pledges, accepted 218 recommendations and noted 60. A significant number of these recommendations directly address issues central to this submission, including the prohibition of torture and enforced disappearances, access to justice and fair trial guarantees, non-discrimination, and the protection of civil and political rights.

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While Thailand formally supported numerous recommendations related to the criminalization, prevention, and institutional response to torture and enforced disappearances, implementation remains largely ineffective in practice, particularly in the Southern Border Provinces. Limited progress has been made since the last UPR cycle, most notably through the enactment of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act B.E. 2565 (2022), which entered into force in February 2023, and the ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance in 2024. These developments have yet to translate into effective implementation on the ground. Indeed, despite Thailand’s formal commitments to addressing enforced disappearances, accountability remains largely absent, including in emblematic cases such as the enforced disappearance of Wanchalearm Satsaksit. While Thailand noted recommendations calling for prompt, independent, and transparent investigations into such cases, no meaningful progress has been made in ensuring truth, justice, and accountability for victims and their families. 

 

In Patani, the continued application of special security laws, coupled with weak judicial oversight and entrenched discriminatory practices, has created a parallel system of justice in which fundamental safeguards are systematically undermined. Patterns of arbitrary detention, torture and ill-treatment, enforced disappearances, and harassment of human rights defenders persist, contributing to a broader climate of impunity, particularly in conflict-affected areas.

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The submitting organizations express serious concern regarding Thailand’s failure to ensure equal protection of the law for individuals in the Southern Border Provinces, particularly Malay Muslim communities, who face systemic discrimination, heightened surveillance, and barriers to accessing effective remedies. These challenges are further exacerbated by the lack of full alignment with international human rights standards, including the continued failure to ratify key instruments such as the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture (OPCAT), and the Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (OP-ICESCR). 

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This submission argues that the violations documented in Patani are not isolated incidents, but rather the result of structural deficiencies within Thailand’s justice system, including the normalization of emergency powers, the militarization of law enforcement, and the failure of accountability mechanisms. Without addressing these root causes, the implementation of Thailand’s UPR commitments will remain fundamentally inadequate.

 

This submission is structured as follows: 

• Section 2 examines structural discrimination and racialized security governance, focusing on the disproportionate impact of security measures on Malay Muslim communities in the Southern Border Provinces (Patani).

• Section 3 analyses the collapse of access to justice under special security laws, including the impact of emergency legislation on due process, arbitrary detention, and fair trial rights.

• Section 4 addresses violations of the right to physical integrity, including torture, ill-treatment, and enforced disappearances, with a focus on gaps in safeguards, investigations, and accountability.

• Section 5 examines structural impunity and restrictions on civic space, including the use of legal frameworks to suppress freedom of expression, peaceful assembly, and the work of human rights defenders.

• Section 6 sets out targeted recommendations aimed at addressing the structural barriers and implementation gaps identified in the foregoing sections, in line with Thailand’s international human rights obligations.