Increased cooperation between Thai and Vietnamese authorities is putting Vietnamese refugees and asylum seekers in Thailand at heightened risk of forcible return to Vietnam, Human Rights Watch said last Friday (14 November). By facilitating Vietnamese cross-border abuses, known as transnational repression, Thai authorities are violating international refugee law protections.

The Cross-Cultural Foundation (CrCF), human rights advocates, and a refugee network are seeking an investigation into the alleged disappearance and forced repatriation of Dương Văn Thái, a Vietnamese refugee living in Thailand.