The Thai government's plan for a carbon credit programme to achieve carbon neutrality has raised concerns among the civil society that it will lead to a new wave of conflict over land rights and that forest area will be handed over to the private sector.

In August 2023, a network of civil society organizations launched the #ConforAll campaign for a referendum on constitutional amendments. After the network was told by the Election Commission that all signatures must be collected on paper, volunteers across the country launched their own campaigns to get people to sign the petition, gaining the ConforAll campaign 212,139 signatures within three days. For their effort in the campaign, Prachatai names these citizen volunteers our 2023 Persons of the Year.

On 5 September 2014, five men were arrested and held in a military camp for questioning. Military officers claimed that they were the "Men in Black" firing war weapons on Tanao Road during the 10 April 2010 crackdown on Red Shirt protests. Although charges against them were later dismissed due to unreliable witness testimony, the men are still left in uncertainty as they have been indicted for terrorism and are to go on trial next year.

Take a look back at the 14 May 2023 general election, now seen as a watershed event in Thai politics after the Move Forward party came out top of the poll and Pheu Thai polled second for the first time in its history. Many academics said that structural changes and and demands for a welfare state has become the new political normal. Meanwhile young working class voters no longer believe in the old political elite network, instead looking to politicians who offer inclusive policies that can provide them with long-term security.

In a sewing factory on the Thai border, migrant workers are working in abusive condition and being paid less than minimum wage to sew garments. Those who demand a fair wage were fired. Their names were put on a blacklist, and other factory owners were told to not hire them. Now, they are filing a lawsuit with a court in the UK against clothing brands for ordering products from a factory that used forced labour and paid unfair wages.

The Pattaya Beach Nourishment project has been underway for 6 years now in an attempt to solve the problem of beach erosion. Even though the approach is widely accepted internationally, there have been questions from the civil society sector about the project’s sustainability and inclusivity, once it was discovered that part of the beach was damaged by drainage water from the city. There are also concerns among local fishers about the disappearance of their source of income from the beach.

Lighthouse Reports and Prachatai investigate the dumping of plastic waste from Europe and North America in Myanmar – Thailand was found to be a ‘corridor.’ We invite readers to track the routes and roles that have been hidden. Even though the Thai government announced a ban on plastic waste imports as of 2025, that does not include ‘transit.’ – So this means Thailand will continue to act as a route for sending plastic waste on to other countries.

In 2008, the Cambodian government granted Economic Land Concessions to three subsidiaries of the Thai company Mitr Phol, one of the largest sugar producers in the world. To make way for a sugarcane plantation, Cambodian farmers were forced off their land, police set fire to homes, and some residents were imprisoned. Now, over 700 families are seeking justice by filing against Mitr Phol what is said to be the first transboundary class action human rights lawsuit in Thailand.

For 18 years, around 100,000 Thai farmers have travelled across continents to work as berry pickers in Finland and Sweden, believing it offered an opportunity to earn more money than they could through traditional farming in Thailand. Instead, they were subjected to unfair treatment and many came home empty-handed or bound with debt to the berry companies. To this day, their journey to seek justice is still ongoing, as they continue to advocate for fair treatment and accountability from the berry companies and relevant parties that exploited them.

While many young activists decided to run with the Move Forward Party in the 2023 general election, several others shifted their support towards the Pheu Thai Party, despite its policies not matching up with demands made by pro-democracy protesters since 2020. From doubts about Move Forward’s support of popular movements to lack of organization and patriarchy among the party’s ranks, three young activists open up on why they changed their minds.

The Move Forward Party emerged top of the poll in the 2023 election, winning in provinces that were once Pheu Thai strongholds. What made Pheu Thai supporters shift their allegiances? Three Red Shirt protesters tell us about why they now vote Move Forward.