At least 30 human-rights defenders – many of them activists for land and community rights – have been victims of extrajudicial killings and forced disappearances in Thailand since 2001.
The United Nations body highlighted the recent killings of anti-mine activist Pitan Thongpanang and land-rights activist Sumsuk Kokrang in the South.
“Two human-rights defenders working on land and natural-resource issues have been murdered in the South of Thailand in the space of four days,” the UNHCR said in one of its press-briefing notes.
The Nation