Researcher Bede Sheppard will present the findings and recommendations of a new Human Rights Watch report: "Targets of Both Sides: Violence Against Students, Teachers, and Schools in Thailand's Southern Border Provinces."

Students, teachers, and schools have all been caught in the conflict in Thailand’s southern border provinces. Separatist insurgents have killed and threatened teachers, including both Thai Buddhists and Malay Muslims; bombed and burned government schools and teachers' housing facilities; and recruited children into their ranks from schools. Government military and paramilitary forces have occupied school grounds to establish bases and have carried out disruptive searches and raids on Islamic schools. Such violations by both sides to the conflict have had the consequence of impeding the access to a quality education sought by hundreds of thousands of children in the southern border provinces – Thai Buddhist and Malay Muslim alike. 

For more information and to schedule interviews, please contact:
In New York, Bede Sheppard (English): [email protected]

Note to journalists: Copies of the report and high-resolution photos for distribution will be available at the news conference. The entire report is embargoed until after the news conference.

* This program is a paid event. Responsibility for program content is solely that of the event organizer