Thailand’s MSDHS issued an official statement, Condemning the Attacks on Civilians along the Thai-Cambodian Border
Islamabad – 28 July 2025 (MT Team) : MSDHS issued an official statement, Condemning the Attacks on Civilians along the Thai-Cambodian Border: Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law with Adverse Impacts on Vulnerable People, Social Welfare, and Human Security.
On 25 July 2025, at the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security (MSDHS), Mr. Varawut Silpa-archa, Minister of Social Development and Human Security, issued an official statement on behalf of the Ministry, Condemning the Attacks on Civilians along the Thai-Cambodian Border: Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law with Adverse Impacts on Vulnerable People, Social Welfare, and Human Security. The Minister stated that on behalf of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand, I express our deepest sorrow, our outrage, and our unwavering solidarity. With the victims, their families, and all affected by the cruel, deliberate attacks launched by Cambodia on Thai civilian areas.
This is not just a breach of borders. It is a breach of humanity. On the 16th and 23rd of July, anti-personnel landmines were planted on Thai soil. They did not simply injure soldiers. They robbed two Thai men of their limbs, their livelihoods, and the futures they once imagined.
And as if that were not enough, on 24 July 2025 the violence crossed a line that cannot be ignored. Civilians were targeted. Without warning. Without mercy. Not even children were spared. A convenience store. A hospital. Places we all know as part of daily life were turned into scenes of horror. Among the thirteenth killed were two nine-year-old boys, and a fifteen-year-old girl. They did not die in a battlefield. They died while simply living. Their dreams their future obliterated in seconds. Over thirty others were injured. Mothers lost sons. Grandparents buried grandchildren. Fathers now stand beside hospital beds watching their loved ones fight to survive or learn to live with missing limbs.
What was stolen from these families cannot be restored by words nor by silence. This is not collateral damage. This is a crime against human dignity. These attacks have shattered the sense of safety for ordinary people, and cast fear into peaceful communities. This suffering is not abstract. It is not a number. It is personal. It is permanent. And it is unjust.
We condemn these acts in the strongest and most unrelenting terms. This is a direct assault on Thailand’s sovereignty and a grave violation of international humanitarian law. Cambodia must be held accountable under: the Geneva Conventions and their Additional Protocols, the Ottawa Convention banning landmines, the Convention on the Rights of the Child, Article 38, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities, Articles 10 and 11 and the Political Declaration of the 69th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
We call on the international community: Do not turn away. Do not remain silent. Because in the face of such brutality Silence is complicity.
The Ministry of Social Development and Human Security of Thailand demands that Cambodia immediately cease all hostile actions, respect Thailand’s sovereignty, and take full responsibility for the irreparable harm caused to innocent lives.
For the sake of peace. For the sake of justice. For the sake of those children who will never grow up.
