UN Human Rights Envoy Inspects Cambodia-Thailand Border, Investigating Alleged Thai Incursions and Displacements

Banteay Meanchey Province, Cambodia – On July 27, 2026, provincial authorities in Banteay Meanchey reported that the provincial governor, Mr. Ouk Rahtree, briefed Mr. Thomas Andrews, the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights in Cambodia. Mr. Andrews is visiting the country to monitor human rights conditions, with a particular focus on the border situation during this trip. Governor Ouk Rahtree emphasized that alleged incursions by Thai troops into Cambodian sovereign territory have severely impacted the livelihoods, safety, and right to life of Cambodian citizens along the border. He stated that Thai forces had invaded Cambodian territory on two occasions: from July 24-28, 2025, and again from December 7-27, 2025. During the latter 21-day incursion, over 64,000 Cambodian civilian families, equivalent to more than 210,000 people, including over 60,000 children and monks, were forced to abandon their homes and pagodas for temporary safety. Many have yet to return to their original residences. Furthermore, the governor reported that the shelling by heavy weapons into Cambodian sovereign territory resulted in the deaths of nine innocent civilians and injuries to many others. In a move allegedly violating international norms and existing peace agreements, Thai troops reportedly used shipping containers and barbed wire fences to encircle and occupy farmland and homes belonging to Cambodian citizens in six villages. The report also highlighted that over 60,000 children have been displaced from their education due to damage and destruction of numerous schools. Following these accounts, Mr. Andrews, accompanied by a delegation and facilitated by the Banteay Meanchey provincial administration, conducted a direct inspection of the border area at the Boeng Tralkoun area in Thma Koul district. There, the UN envoy witnessed firsthand the shipping containers and barbed wire fences erected by the Thai military surrounding Cambodian citizens' land, viewing them as undeniable evidence of human rights and sovereignty violations. The mission and working visit of the UN Special Rapporteur to Cambodia and the border region aim to study and assess the actual living conditions of displaced Cambodian citizens, the scale of the impact, and their urgent humanitarian needs. The official evidence collected will be compiled into a comprehensive report for the UN Human Rights Council, with the goal of seeking justice and humanitarian solutions for the affected population.