Phnom Penh, Cambodia – August 15, 2025 – The Cambodian Human Rights Committee (CHRC) has made an urgent appeal to the United Nations, requesting intervention following a series of incidents along the Cambodia-Thailand border that the group describes as a “serious infringement” on the rights of Cambodian citizens and a violation of international law.

In a letter addressed to Mr. Balakrishnan Rajagopal, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Right to Adequate Housing, the CHRC outlined a timeline of events that have escalated tensions in the border region, despite a ceasefire agreement reached on July 28, 2025, and subsequent discussions within the Extraordinary General Border Committee (GBC).

According to the CHRC, the Royal Thai Armed Forces initiated a series of actions beginning on August 4, 2025, when Thai soldiers allegedly crossed into Cambodian territory near An Ses, in Preah Vihear Province. The group claims that the soldiers, armed with weapons, proceeded to lay barbed wire and deploy heavy machinery for land clearing within Cambodian land.

Further incidents occurred between August 12 and 13, 2025, when Thai Paramilitary and Border Patrol Forces are accused of installing barbed wire and barricades in the vicinity of Chouk Chey and Prey Chan villages, located in Banteay Meanchey Province. The CHRC alleges that these actions included encircling civilian homes and farmland, causing widespread fear and displacement.

A planned operation on August 14, 2025, to install barbed wire near the Boeung Trakuon Border Checkpoint was reportedly thwarted by the presence of Cambodian forces, local residents, and international military observers.

Keo Remy, President of the CHRC, stated that the committee has visited the affected areas and witnessed "immense suffering" among the population. He reported that families have been forcibly displaced, resulting in severe distress, loss of livelihoods, and the unlawful seizure of homes and farms by Thai armed forces.

The CHRC asserts that these actions violate Thailand's obligations under international human rights and humanitarian law, citing specific articles from key international agreements, including:

Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR): Articles related to the right to life, liberty, security of person, protection against arbitrary interference of privacy, and the right to own property.

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR): Articles pertaining to the right to liberty of movement, freedom to choose one's residence, and protection against arbitrary or unlawful interference of home and property.

International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR): Articles guaranteeing the right to work, just and favorable working conditions, an adequate standard of living, physical and mental health, education, and cultural life.

Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC): Articles focused on the protection of children from arbitrary interference of privacy, family, or home, from physical or mental violence, and the right to an adequate standard of living.

Geneva Conventions (Fourth Geneva Convention, 1949): Articles prohibiting collective punishment against civilians and defining grave breaches, including causing great suffering or serious injury and extensive destruction of property.

The CHRC is demanding:

* The immediate removal of all barbed wire and other obstructions.

* The prompt restitution of seized civilian property and farmland.

* Thailand's full compliance with the ceasefire agreement and the 13-point Agreed Minutes of the Extraordinary GBC Meeting.

* An independent and impartial investigation into the alleged violations, with accountability for those responsible.

The CHRC’s appeal includes supporting documentation referencing a Joint Commission on Demarcation for Land Boundary (JBC) Announcement Letter.

The CHRC is urging the UN Special Rapporteur to use his office to press for a resolution to the escalating situation and ensure the protection of Cambodian citizens' rights along the border.