Where We Work > Thailand
Thailand
Advancing unarmed civilian protection and the Women, Peace, and Security mandate amid conflict and regional displacement.
a closer look:
The need for protection in Thailand
The conflict between the government of Thailand and various Malay-Muslim separatist and insurgent groups in the historic Patani region can be traced back more than a century. The Thai government and Malay-Muslim insurgent representatives have been engaged in peace dialogue on and off since the signing of the General Consensus on the Peace Dialogue Process in 2013. Though they have historically played important roles in community-level peacebuilding, women and other marginalized communities have continue to have limited representation in formal peace processes.
Thailand also continues to be effected by the situation in Myanmar. Thailand hosts more than 80,000 refugees from Myanmar in nine temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border, as well as approximately 6,500 urban refugees and asylum-seekers from more than 46 countries. Protection concerns remain, particularly for people without secure legal status or access to essential services.
Our response
Since 2015, NP in Thailand has:
- Trained 500+ civil society members
- Reached 4 provinces/states through programming.
- Conducted joint research with Chiang Mai University, Prince of Songkla University, and Duay Jai Group.
- Facilitated knowledge sharing between peace practitioners from Myanmar and Indonesia.
- Promoted unarmed civilian protection to civil society organizations, universities, the Royal Thai Armed Forces, and members of Parliament.
Together in community
NP started working in Thailand in 2015, with a continuous presence since 2021. Our Regional Representative for Asia is Dr. Delsy Ronnie.
NP’s work in Thailand
Our work in Thailand began in 2015, when NP began collaborating with the Rotary Clubs of St. Paul, Minnesota, U.S., and Khuanlang-Hatyai, Thailand, to conduct three workshops on civilian engagement in peace processes. These workshops helped build NP’s relationships with local partners in Thailand. Since then, NP has continued to engage in civilian protection, women’s participation and empowerment, psychosocial support, and collaborative research, working closely with local and regional partners.
Protection Capacity Enhancement
NP hosts training and lecture series on Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP). Since 2016, NP has worked in Southern Thailand, particularly in Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla. Together with local partner Duay Jai Group, NP has provided training and lectures on UCP and supported local human rights monitoring across the four Southern Border Provinces.
Women, Peace and Security (WPS)
NP has supported research on opportunities for UCP and the development of civilian protection approaches and guidelines. One example is the collaboration from 2023 to 2025 between the Regional Center for Social Sciences and Sustainable Development and NP Myanmar; and research on women role in peace process, covering three country Thailand, Philippines and Myanmar.
Research
NP conducts research in collaboration with Chiang Mai University and Duay Jay group that focuses on creating a safer environment through UCP practices, as well as identifying protection vulnerabilities faced by Myanmar refugees in Chiang Mai and Mae Sot.
The future of NP’s work in Thailand
In Southern Thailand, NP will support women-led groups in violence monitoring and reporting, strengthen community-based protection for survivors of torture and violence, and work with young people at risk of violence or recruitment by armed groups. NP will also support civil society organizations (CSOs) to participate more meaningfully in the peace process, particularly by strengthening their capacity to develop civilian protection mechanisms in the community. NP will create more opportunities for young people to promote human rights, contribute to the peace process, and strengthen peaceful community engagement.
In Northern Thailand, NP will support people seeking protection in temporary shelters along the Thai-Myanmar border by connecting them with emergency assistance and protection services, while strengthening psychosocial support and practical coping skills to help them manage the effects of displacement, violence and uncertainty.
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