Public consultations for peace in Southern Thailand

Since 2019 the BRN and the National Security Council (NSC), which acts on behalf of the Thai government, have been involved in official negotiations mediated by the government of Malaysia. This process produced a roadmap and a reciprocal political commitment between the conflicting parties referred to as the “General Peace Principles” in March 2022. Since then, the parties have been further negotiating the content of a “Joint Comprehensive Plan towards Peace” (JCPP). The JCPP is a more detailed expression of the General Peace Principles and will provide for a monitored bilateral ceasefire, public consultations, and the establishment of thematic commissions to develop models on governance, social reform, legal and justice reform, human rights, and normalisation.

In this complex and dynamic environment, a consensus has emerged among key stakeholders that public consultations are needed as a key component of the peace process in order to assess public sentiment on the conflict drivers, identify concrete solutions suggested by local communities, and increase the buy-in from society for the peace process and its potential outcomes.

This project conducts preparatory consultation forums to inform and influence the formal peace process and to foster a peace constituency.

The project comprises four main types of activities:

• Capacity-building workshops on methodology and thematic areas covered by the project and peer exchange with other contexts, both on-site and online
• Thirty public consultation forums on ten pre-defined topics that lie at the heart of the conflict in Southern Thailand: governance and political equity, Sharia system reform, education reform, language and cultural diversity, economic affairs and development, security sector reform and ceasefire monitoring, human rights and accountability, women's rights and their role in the peace process, environmental justice and local adaptation, youth development and combating substance abuse
• Documentation of the forum outcomes and promotion of concrete policy proposals through public campaigns
• Targeted dissemination of recommendations towards national stakeholders (peace dialogue panels) as well as regional and international actors.

The project is generously funded by the German Federal Foreign Office. Our partner on the ground is a coalition of civil society organisations called Bina Patani that brings together three inclusive entities: the Pattani Institute for Research and Human Development (INSANI), the umbrella organisation Civil Society Assembly for Peace (CAP), and Pattani Islamic Leadership Network (JAKIP).