Myanmar is witnessing intensified violence, repression and intimidation ahead of military-controlled elections on 28 December, with civilians being threatened by both the military authorities and armed groups opposing the military regarding their participation in the polls, the UN Human Rights Office said on Tuesday (23 December).

UN experts* today expressed deep concern over the extradition of Vietnamese Montagnard human rights defender and UNHCR-recognised refugee Y Quynh Bdăp from Thailand to Viet Nam, warning that his return exposes him to a serious risk of torture or other ill-treatment, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention and other grave human rights violations.

The UN Human Rights Regional Office (OHCHR) for South-East Asia welcomes Thailand’s enactment of its new law on the protection and promotion of the ethnic groups’ ways of life, marking a significant step toward protecting the rights of ethnic groups in the country.

Thailand’s continuous use of lèse-majesté laws to detain and imprison activists and human rights defenders is gravely concerning, a group of UN experts* said today, urging authorities to repeal or significantly revise the country’s criminal code in line with human rights standards.

The UN Human Rights Office for Southeast Asia said that it welcomes the enactment of the historic Marriage Equality Act, which provide equal recognition of marriage for LGBTQ couples, and encouraged the Thai government to further advance gender equality by passing a gender recognition law and an anti-discrimination law.

UN human rights expert said today (24 October) that they are concerned about the imminent expiration of the statute of limitation for the 25 October 2004 Tak Bai Massacre and called on the Thai government to take immediate action to prevent further delay in accountability and uphold the rights to truth, justice, and reparations for the victims' families.

With the statute of limitations expiring on 25 October, the Muslim Students Confederation of Thailand (MUSTFETH) have filed a petition with the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) calling on the UN to monitor the Thai authorities’ handling of the Tak Bai massacre trial.

UN independent experts said that they are "dismayed" at the use of the royal defamation law to dissolve the Move Forward Party (MFP), which won the largest number of seats in the 2023 general election, and ban its leaders from politics. They noted that the royal defamation law is outdated and inconsistent with international law, and efforts to "peacefully reform" it should be supported, not thwarted.

The European External Action Service (EEAS), the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR), and the foreign affairs departments of at least five countries have issued statements condemning the Constitutional Court’s decision to dissolve the Move Forward Party and ban its leaders from politics for 10 years as a setback to political pluralism in Thailand.

Thailand must reveal the fate and whereabouts of human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit who was forcibly disappeared 20 years ago, UN experts* said today (11 March).

The Network for People’s Amnesty, a network of civil society organizations, has filed a letter with the United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) asking the Office to call on the Thai government to pass an amnesty bill for human rights defenders and pro-democracy activists.

<p>Sitanun Satsaksit, sister of missing activist in exile Wanchalearm Satsaksit, submitted to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNOHCHR) on Monday (4 April) a statement calling for the UN Committee on Enforced Disappearances (CED) to address Cambodia&rsquo;s failure to investigate Wanchalearm&rsquo;s disappearance.</p>