Kannavee Suebsang: Parliament’s human rights watchdog bitten by own party

Kannavee Suebsang, the Fair Party’s lone MP and a vocal human rights critic of the government, is now at war with his own party after it ousted him as secretary-general for helping elect Bhumjaithai leader Anutin Charnvirakul as prime minister.

Fair Party removed Kannavee on December 3, three months after the PM vote, saying he had failed to obtain an executive board resolution on which candidate to support.

The 49-year-old MP responded that the board had never informed him of any party decision. He also voiced suspicion of an ulterior motive, citing the long delay between the PM vote on September 5 and his removal.

“I could not refer to something [a party resolution] I had never been informed of,” Kannavee wrote in a Facebook post the day after he was ousted.

“My vote in Parliament was based on my authority as an MP, enshrined in the Constitution, and I never cited any party resolution on the matter.”

Near-death experiences

Born on July 1, 1976, Kannavee earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Ramkhamhaeng University and a master’s in international relations, international law and anthropology from the University of Oregon in the US.

Before entering politics, Kannavee worked in diverse fields, including peacebuilding, security, refugee assistance, human rights, and aid.

He headed a crisis preparedness committee in Thailand’s restive deep South while working with the National Security Council from 2003 to 2009.

He later joined the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and was stationed in Thailand on standby for emergency overseas postings.

He had at least two close brushes with death while on UNHCR duty.

During a brief stint in Afghanistan, he was caught in a car bomb attack that damaged his hearing in one ear. He also spent five years in South Sudan, becoming the first Thai national to serve as a UNHCR field office chief in the war-torn country.

South Sudan broke away from northern Sudan in 2011, triggering fighting and a humanitarian crisis as hundreds of thousands fled their homes. Shortly after independence, he survived a bombing at a refugee camp on the disputed border where his team was distributing food.

Kannavee said his experience in Africa could be applied to help restore peace in Thailand’s Muslim-majority far South, which has suffered a decades-long insurgency.

After the 2023 election, he called on the government to lift martial and emergency laws in the South, saying they only contributed to violence. “The principle of human rights must take the lead. Peace talks must involve politicians and civil society. Talks between soldiers can’t lead to peace,” he said.

Shifting to politics

Kannavee left the UN refugee agency in 2021 and joined the newly formed Thai Sang Thai Party, which selected him as a Bangkok election candidate. However, he left Thai Sang Thai a year later to found and lead the Peace Rights Foundation, a non-profit advocating for the rights of refugees and asylum seekers.

Kannavee returned to politics shortly before the 2023 election, joining Fair Party as its secretary-general and contesting as its first list candidate. The party garnered 181,226 votes, just enough to win a single MP seat.

His micro-party was unexpectedly included in the eight-party coalition that backed Move Forward leader Pita Limjaroenrat for prime minister. Pita said Fair Party was invited because of its “strong determination in working for peace” in the three southern border provinces.

However, after Pita’s bid for PM was blocked in Parliament, the Pheu Thai Party withdrew its support and instead formed a government with Move Forward’s rivals – leaving Kannavee and his party in opposition.

Kannavee was back in the headlines this March when he accused the Pheu Thai-led government of forcibly deporting 40 Uyghur asylum seekers to China after 11 years spent in Thai immigration detention. Beijing has long been accused of committing crimes against humanity targeting Uyghurs and other minorities in Xinjiang.

Citing a leaked audio clip from one of the asylum seekers, he said the Uyghurs had asked for sanctuary in a third country rather than China. Kannavee said the Uyghurs had also contacted UNHCR seeking refugee status.

International law prohibits countries from sending anyone back to a country where they would face serious risk of persecution or violence. The deportation drew international condemnation, with the UNHCR calling it “a clear violation of international human rights laws and standards”.

Rejecting the criticism as baseless, then-deputy prime minister Phumtham Wechayachai lashed out at Kannavee, calling him a “big liar”. Phumtham, a senior Pheu Thai politician, argued that no third country had offered to take the Uyghurs and that China had provided assurances that the deportees would be treated humanely.

Kannavee hit back, saying the deportations had damaged Thailand’s reputation on the global stage.