(Bangkok) - The Thai government of Prime Minister Anutin Charnvirakul has done little to improve respect for human rights in the country, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report 2026.
A new election was scheduled for February 8, 2026. Major concerns include judicial intervention in politics, repression of free expression, and a mixed record in regard to refugees and asylum seekers.
"Prime Minister Anutin should take concrete measures to reverse Thailand's backsliding on human rights," said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. "Successive Thai governments pledged to promote and protect human rights, yet repression and abuse continue unabated."
In the 529-page World Report 2026, its 36th edition, Human Rights Watch reviewed human rights practices in more than 100 countries. In his introductory essay, Executive Director Philippe Bolopion writes that breaking the authoritarian wave sweeping the world is the challenge of a generation. With the human rights system under unprecedented threat from the Trump administration and other global powers, Bolopion calls on rights-respecting democracies and civil society to build a strategic alliance to defend fundamental freedoms.
Thailand should use its membership in the United Nations Human Rights Council, starting in 2025, to promote human rights both at home and abroad, Human Rights Watch said.
Source: Human Rights Watch
