Thailand: Stop Forced Evictions of 14 Sab Wai Villagers facing Extreme Poverty & Homelessness!

5 August 2022, Bangkok – On 4 August 2022, Manushya Foundation and Sai Thong Rak Pah Network submitted a Complaint for Urgent Action to 8 United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteurs, including the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights and the UN Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights in the context of climate change. The complaint has been filed on behalf of 14 villagers from Sab Wai village, Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand, who were criminalized under Thailand’s false climate solutions and are now in imminent danger of forced evictions and extreme poverty. The situation follows verdicts adjudicated by Thailand’s Supreme Court in 2021, finding the 14 villagers guilty of forest encroachment in the Sai Thong National Park.[1]

Ms. Nittaya Muangklang, Woman Human Rights Defender and Sab Wai Community Leader who has been tirelessly advocating for the villagers’ right to remain living on their lands and has faced threats and reprisals as a result[2], stated:

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Endnotes​

[1] Manushya Foundation, Cruel Injustice in Thailand: When the Supreme Court Forces Poor Villagers into Extreme Poverty!, (25 May 2021), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/cruel-injustice-in-thailand-when-the-supreme-court-forces-poor-villagers-into-extreme-poverty

[2] Manushya Foundation, “#SaveNittaya from Going to Jail because of Thailand's Unfair Forest Reclamation Policy”, (9 February 2021), available at: https://youtu.be/G06itSOcVfM; Manushya Foundation, #SaveNittaya From Going to Jail Because of Thailand's Unfair Forest Reclamation Policy, (9 February 2021), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/savenittaya-from-going-to-jail-because-of-thailand-s-unfair-forest-reclamation-policy; Manushya Foundation, #SaveNittaya - What You Need to Know about Nittaya's Unfair Court Verdicts, (6 May 2021), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/savenittaya-what-you-need-to-know-about-nittaya-s-unfair-court-verdict

[3] Manushya Foundation, Is the Thai Government ‘Greenwashing’ us?, (25 April 2022), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/is-the-thai-government-greenwashing-us

[4] Manushya Foundation, #SaveSabWaiVillagers from Going Forced Evictions & Extreme Poverty! The Unfair Criminalization of 14 Villagers under Thailand’s “Forest Reclamation Policy”, Legal Analysis of the Case, available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/campaign-savesabwaivillagers-our-analysis-of-the-case

[5] Manushya Foundation, Thailand's false climate solutions violate human rights!, (18 January 2022), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/thailand-s-false-climate-solutions-violate-human-rights

[6] Manushya Foundation, Is the Thai Government ‘Greenwashing’ us?, (25 April 2022), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/is-the-thai-government-greenwashing-us; and Bangkok Tribune, Thailand to take part in the global forest and land use protection declaration, almost five-month delay in action, (21 April 2022), available at: https://bkktribune.com/thailand-to-take-part-in-the-global-forest-and-land-use-protection-declaration-almost-five-month-delay-in-action/

[7] Manushya Foundation, #SaveSabWaiVillagers from Forced Evictions & Extreme Poverty! The Unfair Criminalization of 14 Villagers under Thailand’s “Forest Reclamation Policy”, Information on Supreme Court Appeals and Bails, available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/campaign-savesabwaivillagers-courthearing

[8] Manushya Foundation, #SaveSabWaiVillagers from Forced Evictions & Extreme Poverty! The Unfair Criminalization of 14 Villagers under Thailand’s “Forest Reclamation Policy”, Legal Analysis of the Case, available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/campaign-savesabwaivillagers-our-analysis-of-the-case

[9] Manushya Foundation, #SaveSabWaiVillagers from Forced Evictions & Extreme Poverty! The Unfair Criminalization of 14 Villagers under Thailand’s “Forest Reclamation Policy”, available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/campaign-savesabwaivillagers

[10] Manushya Foundation, #SaveSabWaiVillagers from Forced Evictions & Extreme Poverty! The Unfair Criminalization of 14 Villagers under Thailand’s “Forest Reclamation Policy”, Online Petition to endorse the Open Letter to the President of the Supreme Court, available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/campaign-savesabwaivillagers-savenittaya

[11] Manushya Foundation, Submitting an Open Letter to the President of the Supreme Court to #SaveNittaya!, (1 March 2021), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/submitting-an-open-letter-to-the-president-of-the-supreme-court-to-savenittaya

[12] Manushya Foundation, Cruel Injustice in Thailand: When the Supreme Court Forces Poor Villagers into Extreme Poverty!, (25 May 2021), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/post/cruel-injustice-in-thailand-when-the-supreme-court-forces-poor-villagers-into-extreme-poverty

[13] Manushya Foundation and the Working Group in support of the 14 Sab Wai Villagers in the Sai Thong National Park Case, Joint Submission to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders and Relevant Special Procedure Mandates Re: Human rights violations of woman human rights defender Ms. Nittaya Muangklang and thirteen other villagers in Sai Thong National Park, Chaiyaphum Province, Thailand, calling for urgent actions for their protection, (23 June 2019), available at: https://www.manushyafoundation.org/campaign-savesabwaivillagers-submission-of-urgent-action-to-7-un-special-rapporteurs