Cambodia raises Thai border row to UN, alleging ‘grave’ human rights violations
Cambodia has formally asked the United Nations to intervene in a border dispute with Thailand, accusing Thai forces of blocking the return of more than 115,000 displaced Cambodian civilians and breaching a ceasefire agreed late last year.
In a submission to the UN’s special rapporteur on the human rights of internally displaced persons, the Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) said the displacement followed Thai military actions in contested border areas and had persisted despite a ceasefire reached on December 27, 2025.
The committee said Cambodian families remained unable to go back to their homes because Thai troops continued to occupy parts of the border, actions it described as unlawful.
It alleged that civilian houses had been destroyed and access routes sealed off using shipping containers and barbed wire.
According to the CHRC, such measures violate provisions agreed during the third Special General Border Committee meeting, including guarantees to protect civilian property and facilitate the safe and dignified return of residents displaced by the fighting.
In its appeal to Paula Gaviria Betancur, the UN special rapporteur based in Geneva, the committee said the destruction of homes and seizure of civilian property amounted to serious breaches of international humanitarian law, citing the Geneva Conventions and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
The statement warned that the humanitarian impact was falling disproportionately on vulnerable groups, with women, children and older people facing increased risks linked to poverty, interrupted schooling and reduced access to healthcare.
The CHRC called on the UN to raise the issue directly with Bangkok, press for an end to what it described as ongoing obstructions and demand the withdrawal of Thai forces from Cambodian territory.
It also sought international advocacy for reparations and compensation for those displaced.
The move comes as Cambodia increasingly turns to international legal mechanisms.
On Friday, the country unanimously approved a draft law to ratify the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, a step that will place Phnom Penh within a global framework for resolving disputes under international law once the legislation is formally ratified and submitted to the UN.
This story is written and edited by the Global South World team, you can contact us here.
