"United States: Prioritize Human Rights in Thailand", 02 October 2017

Thailand Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha and United States President Donald Trump should commit to protect the right to freedom of expression, refugee rights, and to combat human trafficking... 

Thailand...continues to fail to protect migrant workers and human rights defenders, which should be a concern for the U.S. government and U.S. investors...

Fortify Rights and 87 civil society organizations recently raised concerns in an open letter to Prime Minister Prayut about 14 Myanmar migrant workers who face criminal prosecution for issuing a complaint about labor rights violations to the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand. If prosecuted, they face up to one year and six months’ imprisonment and/or a fine of up to... US$895.

...Tungkum Limited, a Thai gold mining company, brought at least 20 criminal and civil lawsuits against media professionals and 33 members of the local community for exposing allegations of environmental problems ...The company has demanded...almost US$9million...in compensation from villagers for allegedly damaging its reputation.

Thai authorities should drop all criminal proceedings against Myanmar migrant workers and provide an enabling environment for human rights defenders to carry out their essential work without fear of retaliation...

Combatting human trafficking should also be on the agenda at the White House...Thailand’s $6.5 billion seafood-export industry has been plagued with trafficked labor for years...