Paris, 13 May 2025. Born in London, United Kingdom (UK), in 1947, Jon was the eldest of three sons of renowned economist and academic Puey Ungphakorn. After earning a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from the University of Sussex, he became a lecturer at Thailand’s Mahidol University.
In the mid-1970s, during Thailand’s political unrest, Jon moved back to the UK with his father, where he assisted student activists who had fled political persecution in Thailand. Jon later returned to Thailand, where in 1980 established the Thai Volunteer Service (TVS), a foundation aimed at creating a space for young generations to effect social change through volunteer work.
In 1991, Jon founded the AIDS-Access Foundation, an organisation which pioneered in the fight against HIV’s stigma. He led the group until 2000, when he was elected Senator, a position he held until 2006. He served as member of the Senate’s Committee on Public Participation and chairperson of the Senate’s Sub-committee on Public Health. In 2004, he also co-founded the independent online news portal Prachatai.
A tireless advocate for human rights, democracy, and social justice, Jon consistently paid particular attention to the plight of vulnerable and marginalized individuals, which earned him the prestigious Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2005.
In 2009, he founded iLaw, of which he was the executive director until 2022. Under Jon’s leadership, the organization rose to prominence for its campaigns for democracy, freedom of expression, and other civil and political rights through engagement with civil society and the general public. These have included efforts towards the amendment of Article 112 of the Thai Criminal Code (lèse-majesté) and the repeal of repressive laws and decrees adopted in the aftermath of Thailand’s latest military coups d’état in 2006 and 2014.
In recent years, despite his declining health, Jon continued to actively participate in civil society-led initiatives to promote and achieve legal reforms in Thailand. This included the campaign for the drafting of a "people’s Constitution" which led to the successful submission to Parliament of a draft constitutional amendment bill backed by more than 100,000 signatures in September 2020.
Jon’s support to human rights and democracy went well beyond Thailand’s borders. Notable have been his public positions on transnational issues, such as enforced disappearances, the impact of dams, the right of migrants, and the fight against military dictatorship in Myanmar.
After iLaw became a member organization of FIDH in 2016, Jon was always one of the first to positively and enthusiastically respond to requests for solidarity by other individuals and groups across Asia. FIDH will always remember Jon for his sharp intellectual acumen, profound sense of humanity, and firm commitment to democracy and human rights. His unique character and dedication will be painfully missed by FIDH and its member organisations in Asia and beyond.