Joint Statement – 13/06/2016 – For a Thai version of this statement, please click here. We, the undersigned civil society groups, are gravely concerned about the legal action taken by the Royal Thai Army for criminal defamation and Computer Crimes Act violations against Woman Human Rights Defenders (WHRD) Ms. Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, Ms. Anchana Heemmina, and [ Read more ]

(Geneva, 14 May 2016) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) calls on the Government of Thailand to take heed of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) recommendations to end the rapid deterioration of the human rights situation in the country and return to democratic civilian rule. The UPR is a unique peer [ Read more ]

On 11 May 2016, FORUM-ASIA will co-host a live webcast of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of Thailand from the United Nations Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.  The live webcast is co-hosted with Amnesty International Thailand, the International Commission of Jurists, Justice For Peace Foundation, the Delegation of the European Union to Thailand, the [ Read more ]

On 9 March 2016, FORUM-ASIA, Southern Peasant Federation of Thailand (SPFT), Community Resource Center (CRC), Amnesty International Thailand, Focus on the Global South, and Protection International organised a panel discussion in Bangkok, Thailand. The discussion deliberated on the challenges faced by land rights defenders in Thailand, and recommend more effective ways to ensure their safety.

29 April 2016, On the eve of the five-year anniversary of his detention, we, the undersigned international organizations, condemn the ongoing and arbitrary deprivation of liberty of human rights defender Somyot Phrueksakasemsuk and call on Thailand’s authorities to immediately and unconditionally release him. Somyot, 54, is currently incarcerated in Bangkok’s Remand Prison, where he is [ Read more ]

(Bangkok, 5 April 2016) – Thailand must immediately revoke National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order 13/2016 which confers sweeping powers on the Royal Thai Armed Forces in contravention of human rights and the rule of law, said the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ), Human Rights Watch (HRW), Amnesty International (AI), Asian Forum for [ Read more ]

(Geneva, 15 March 2016) – The Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) is dismayed by the decision of the Wiang Sa Court in Surat Thani today to acquit the sole suspect in the killing of land rights activist Chai Bunthonglek. FORUM-ASIA believes that the investigation on which this decision was based was incomplete [ Read more ]

(Geneva, 11 March 2016) – Tomorrow – 12 March 2016 – marks 12 years since Somchai Neelapaijit, a prominent human rights lawyer disappeared. The failure of the Thai authorities to unearth exactly what happened to him and where he is today, and the inability or unwillingness to bring those responsible to justice is a disgrace [ Read more ]

(Geneva/London/Paris/Brussels, 11 February 2016) – On the first anniversary of the death of land rights activist Chai Bunthonglek, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM- ASIA), Amnesty International (AI), FIDH and OMCT within the framework of the Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders and Protection International (PI) renew calls on the [ Read more ]

(Geneva, 8 February 2016) – Authorities in Thailand should drop all criminal charges and immediately end the judicial harassment of human rights lawyer Sirikan Charoensiri for carrying out her legitimate work, the Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA) said today. Sirikan Charoensiri, a lawyer working with Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR), received [ Read more ]