<p>Separatist insurgents in southern&nbsp;<a href="http://hrw.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d8%2c86%3e8-%3eLCE593719%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MC&amp;RI=4432086&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=82666&amp;Action=Follow+Link">Thailand</a>&nbsp;should immediately stop their attacks on civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. Deliberate or indiscriminate attacks on civilians in an armed conflict are violations of the laws of war and may be war crimes.<br /></p>

<p>After the names of the candidates for the National Human Rights Commissions of Thailand (NHRC) were revealed, many eyebrows were raised over the nomination of an ultra-royalist with a record of human rights abuse. For many human rights defenders, however, it is only the symptom of a malady that has long rendered the rights commission impotent.</p> <p></p>

<p>Thai authorities should drop charges against a prominent migrant worker rights activist, Human Rights Watch said today. The charges violate the free expression rights of the activist, Andy Hall, and undermine his research into labor rights abuses by companies in&nbsp;<a href="http://hrw.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d8%2c84A8-%3eLCE593719%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MC&amp;RI=4369775&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=82055&amp;Action=Follow+Link" target="_blank">Thailand</a>.<br /></p>

<p>The government of&nbsp;<a href="http://hrw.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d8%2c83%3a6-%3eLCE593719%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MC&amp;RI=4432086&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=81530&amp;Action=Follow+Link">Thailand</a>&nbsp;should stop forcibly sending people of Turkic ethnicity to&nbsp;<a href="http://hrw.pr-optout.com/Tracking.aspx?Data=HHL%3d8%2c83%3a6-%3eLCE593719%26SDG%3c90%3a.&amp;RE=MC&amp;RI=4432086&amp;Preview=False&amp;DistributionActionID=81529&amp;Action=Follow+Link">China</a>, where they face persecution, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<div>Thailand and Myanmar’s regulations systematically deny the rights to movement, health, and culture of the nomadic sea gypsy ethnic Moken people, according to a Human Rights Watch <a href="https://www.hrw.org/reports/2015/06/25/stateless-sea">report </a>released this week.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The Moken people are one of the last hunter-gatherer groups in Southeast Asia. Approximately 3,000 Moken live in the Mergui Archipelago off the coast of Myanmar, while 800 live in Thailand, mainly in Ranong and surrounding islands. </div>

<div>The police have forced Human Rights Watch to cancel a press conference launching a report about an ethnic minority persecuted by the Vietnamese government, claiming the content is sensitive to bilateral ties and a threat to national security.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The event was to take place at 10.30 am on 26 June at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>Around ten uniformed police officers and eight plainclothes officers arrived at the FCCT, taking unsolicited pictures of attendees before releasing an official statement on the forced cancella </div>

<p><em>Demand End of Abuses in Burma, Access for Refugee Protection</em></p> <p></p>

<div> <div><em>Denial of Rights in Burma, Bangladesh Lead to Trafficking and Dangerous Sea Voyages</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> </div>

<p>(New York, May 2, 2015) – The discovery of more than 30 bodies in a human trafficking camp should prompt Thai authorities to authorize an independent, United Nations-assisted investigation, commit to publish its findings, and bring those responsible to justice, including any government officials involved, Human Rights Watch said today.</p>

<p>(New York, April 6, 2015) – The Malaysian government should withdraw the proposed counterterrorism law now with parliament and ensure future drafts protect fundamental rights, Human Rights Watch said today. The Prevention of Terrorism Act 2015 would reintroduce indefinite detention without trial or judicial review, and violate due process rights in the name of preventing terrorism. Parliament is expected to vote on the bill before the session ends on April 9, 2015.<br /></p>

<p>After Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged the Thai authorities to investigate the alleged torture of the criminal court bombing suspects, a conservative Thai news website mocked the rights group with a satirical cartoon, suggesting that the military should let a militant group attack the HRW office. &nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;</p>

<p>The Thai police have denied allegations of torture by the Bangkok court bombing suspects, claiming that the suspects did not say anything as such. Meanwhile, human rights lawyers requested to see the medical examination reports of the suspects. &nbsp;&nbsp;</p> <p>Pol Lt Gen Prawut Thavornsiri, spokesperson of the Royal Thai Police, on Thursday dismissed the allegations. &nbsp;</p> <p>“I already asked each of the suspects myself during the medical examination, but no one said anything,” said the police spokesman.</p>