Prachatai
Talk but no action? Cambodian workers in Thailand see a lot of room for improvement
Thai-Cambodian discussions at the recent ASEAN summit put labour issues on the table. Despite the pleasant chat, migrant workers in Thailand have yet to see what, if any, measures the authorities will adopt to help address their problems. In a bilateral meeting on the sideline of ...
Seoung Nimol
US re-engagement with Mekong region poses opportunities and ambiguity, say CSOs
The US plan to invest over 20 million USD to support Mekong countries in clean energy transition, environmental protection, and regional interconnection was made at the end of the Bangkok APEC meeting. In the eyes of civil societies along the riverbank, the final picture still ...
Yiamyut Sutthichaya
As spyware abuse emerges in Thailand, the pressure for accountability mounts across the world
Pegasus spyware is being abused to target people in Thailand. The instigators? All indications point to the Thai authorities. But people in Thailand are not the only ones likely being spied on by those in power. Across the globe, revelations are emerging of governments using ...
AccessNow
Indigenous woman sentenced to jail for encroachment
The Supreme Court has sentenced an indigenous Karen woman to 2 years and 8 months in prison for encroaching on National Park land despite pleas that the piece of land was passed down through her family. Wansao Phungam is an indigenous Karen woman who lives in ...
Prachatai
Community Rights in the Mekong Sustainability Management
Drastic ecological change of the Mekong is linked with hydropower development. Water fluctuation due to operation of upstream dams is indicating by the fish species and their stocks declined. We visited two communities located along the Mekong River. The first community is in Chiang Khan District, ...
Omkoi villagers file lawsuit to revoke coal mine EIA
50 residents of Kaboedin village, Omkoi district, Chiang Mai, filed a lawsuit with the Chiang Mai Administrative Court on Monday (4 April) to revoke an environmental impact assessment (EIA) for a coal mine project sited near their community. On Monday morning, community members marched from the ...
Prachatai
Indigenous peoples network to propose new bill to protect indigenous rights
The Network of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand (NIPT) is calling for voters to back their Council of Indigenous Peoples in Thailand bill, which proposes to set up a formal indigenous peoples’ council to give Thailand’s indigenous population the opportunity to resolve community rights issues in ...
Prachatai
Concern rises after Karen indigenous community returns to ancestral land
Concern continues to rise among civil society for the safety of members of the Bang Kloi Karen indigenous community who returned to their ancestral land at Chai Phaen Din in the Kaeng Krachan forest, after reports of a possible military operation to evacuate them from ...
Prachatai
National Human Rights Commission to remain Grade B for next 18 months
The National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC) will remain in Grade B for the next 18 months because the current constitution deprives them of independence and obliges them to speak in defence of the government, says the Sub-Committee on Accredition (SCA). Its rank was lowered ...
Prachatai
Open letter to Aung San Suu Kyi to address water contamination issue
Your Excellency; First of all, I am Saw Paul Sein Twa, the Chairperson of the Salween Peace Park in Mutraw District, Karen State, Kawthooeli, Eastern Myanmar, which recently was awarded the 2020 Equator Prize. I work closely with local Indigenous Karen people and walk with them as ...
Saw Paul Sein Twa