Thailand will be reviewed by UN Member States on all its human rights record during its Third Universal Periodic Review (UPR) taking place on 10 November 2021 at the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva (39th Session of the UPR Working Group).

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To tell the truth behind #WhatsHappeningInThailand and to guarantee Recommending States make SMART recommendations that will hold the Thai government accountable on its international human rights obligations and will improve the situation on the ground, Manushya Foundation, local community members of the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR and the Thai BHR Network, and partner Civil Society Organizations have prepared UPR Advocacy Factsheets addressing the most challenging human rights issues and providing community-led UPR recommendations to be made to the Thai government.

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The UPR Factsheet on Thailand's False Climate Solutions with Bad Forest Conservation Laws was prepared by Manushya Foundation on the basis of their Joint UPR Submission with Sai Thong Rak Pah Network, Indigenous Women’s Network of Thailand, Thai Business & Human Rights Network and the Thai CSOs Coalition for the UPR.

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The UPR Factsheet examines the compliance of Thailand with the recommendations it received during its 2nd UPR cycle in relation to Thailand's False Climate Solutions with Bad Forest Conservation Laws. During the 2nd UPR cycle, the Thai government received three recommendations directly related to land rights, forest conservation laws, and climate change policies made by Vietnam, Bolivia, and the Maldives. All three of them were accepted, nevertheless, our assessment shows that none of them has been fully implemented. State agents misappropriate land under the disguise of climate change mitigation and protection of the environment, and while large corporate actors are generally unaffected, small subsistence farmers and indigenous peoples who protect their forests through their traditional ways of living, including traditional farming techniques, bear the brunt of such policies. Human rights defenders and community leaders who defy such actions are harassed, often without access to appropriate remedies. Women are especially excluded from public participation and find themselves at the margins of the community and society as a whole.

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This factsheet addresses the challenges and issues that persist regarding the People and Thailand's False Climate Solutions with Bad Forest Conservation Laws which include: 

• Thailand's false climate solution: Unfair forest conservation laws and the Forest Reclamation Policy

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• Legal vacuum to recognize indigenous peoples' ancestral lands leads to rights violations and land evictions

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• Criminalization and harassment of land rights defenders​

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The UPR Factsheet includes community-led UPR recommendations for Recommending States to use when making their UPR recommendations to the Thai government and ensure their recommendations address the needs of local communities on the ground. It is critical for diplomats to make recommendations that are directly coming from communities to improve the human rights situation on the ground; as communities are experts of their issues: they live with the challenges and they also know the solutions they need to advance their human rights.

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Learn more about our work with UN Human Rights Mechanisms (Click here)

Download the English version of the Factsheet here.