Bdap's arrest a litmus testAs Thailand vies for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council (HRC) for the 2025-2027 term -- something the previous Prayut government failed to do -- the arrest of Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese political activist with UN refugee status, will serve as a litmus test for Thailand's human rights standards. Despite living in Thailand, Bdap was accused of organising anti-government riots in Vietnam's central highlands province of Dak Lak last June -- a charge Bdap has sternly denied. After the arrest, Thailand's National Human Rights Commission issued an official statement on Thursday expressing great concern about his safety and whether he would be extradited. The arrest of political refugees like Bdap shows that the United Nations' refugee status card offers refugees little protection in Thailand. In recent years, political refugees have been apprehended and sent back to face justice in their own countries.
