Human Rights Watch (HRW) called on Thai authorities on Aug. 17 to halt the deportation of ethnic Karen villagers from Thailand's Phetchaburi province to Burma, citing fears of grave risks to their safety if returned and urging their immediate release from immigration detention.

HRW reported that Thai security forces on Aug. 10 raided the Karen community living in Phetchaburi's Kaeng Krachan National Park, targeting those without proof of Thai citizenship, and arrested 26 villagers before placing them under the custody of the Suan Phlu Immigration Detention Center in Bangkok. The organization stated that deporting Karen villagers to Burma would expose them to severe risks given the Burmese military junta’s record of ethnically targeted attacks and abuses, including mass killings, torture and arbitrary arrests.

HRW further stressed that deporting Karen villagers would be contrary to the principle of non-refoulement, and potentially violate Thailand's obligations under the UN Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. Additionally, Thailand’s Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act prohibits deportation when there is a substantial risk of ill-treatment or torture.

The Karen are an ethnic group that has lived in Thailand and Burma for generations, including in the rainforest of Phetchaburi province, long before the creation of the Kaeng Krachan National Park. In 2021, the UNESCO World Heritage Committee designated the Kaeng Krachan forest as a World Heritage site, after which Thai authorities prohibited all human settlements within Kaeng Krachan National Park, raising concerns about ancestral land rights and the livelihoods of the Karen community.

More recently, despite the escalation of violence in Burma, authorities in Thailand decided to classify undocumented Karen in the Kaeng Krachan park as illegal immigrants, which increased their vulnerability to risk of detention and deportation.

HRW pointed out that over the past three decades, Thai authorities have pressured Karen villagers to leave their villages in Kaeng Krachan National Park and relocate to new sites, which have often been unsuitable for their traditional farming practices. HRW called on authorities to align with Thailand’s human rights obligations and to immediately cease abusive treatment of Karen villagers living in Thailand.

The Karen are the largest ethnic minority hill tribe group in Thailand, primarily living along the Thai-Burma border. Thousands of Karen villagers were forced to leave their villages in Burma and flee to Thailand due to the escalation of clashes between the Burmese army and insurgent ethnic armies, which have been involved in an armed conflictsince the coup d’etat of February 2021.

Thailand has previously faced criticism for its deportation decisions. In March 2025, rights organizations criticized Thailand's decision to deport Uyghur refugees to China, citing alleged human rights concerns. In November of the same year, HRW criticized immigration cooperation between Thailand and Vietnam over fears of forced deportation of Vietnamese refugees, especially members of the Montagnard minority group.

From JURIST, Aug. 18. Used with permission.

See our last report on the Karen struggle.

Note: This report originally used the country’s new rendering of Myanmar. We changed it to Burma in conformity with our style, which we explain here.