Human rights in Thailand
Encyclopedia
A plethora of rights were explicitly recognized in the 1997 People's Constitution
. The Constitution outlined the right to freedom of speech
, freedom of press, peaceful assembly, association
, religion
, and movement within the country and abroad.
The Constitution was abrogated in September 2006 following a military coup. The military has not stated when or if a new constitution will be promulgated.
, the rights of traditional communities, and the right to peacefully protest coups and other extra-constitutional means of acquiring power, the rights of children, the elderly, handicapped people's rights, and equality of the sexes. Freedoms of information, the right to public health and education and consumer rights are also recognized. A total of 40 rights, compared to only nine rights in the Constitution of 1932, were recognized in the 1997 Constitution.
by traffickers and selling them into illegal fishing boats that trawl the Gulf of Thailand
and the South China Sea
. These men are promised better paid jobs but instead forced to work as sea slaves as much as 3 years.
Children trafficking is also another major issue in Thailand forcing kidnapped children as young as four to use as sex slaves in major cities like Bangkok , Phuket. Such activities are especially rife in rural areas of Thailand. " New York Review", 25 June 2008
, the right to free speech has been seriously eroded. The military has implemented a ban on political meetings and does not allow for any criticism of them in the media. Political activities of all types were also banned.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance
(SEAPA) noted that Thailand's media environment—prior to the coup considered one of the freest and most vibrant in Asia—had quickly deteriorated following the military ousting of Thaksin Shinawatra
. It noted the closure of around 300 community radio stations in Thai provinces, the intermittent blocking of cable news channels (particularly whenever news on Thaksin and criticism of the coup came up), and the suspension of some Thai websites devoted to discussing the implications of military intervention to Thai democracy. SEAPA also noted that while there seemed to be no crackdown on journalists, and while foreign and local reporters seemed free to roam, interview, and report on the coup as they saw fit, self-censorship was a certain issue in Thai newsrooms.
. Some 180 persons are reported to have died there while in custody in 2004. In a particularly high-profile case, Muslim human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit was reportedly harassed, threatened, and finally forcibly disappeared
in March 2004 following his allegations of torture by state security forces. In 2006, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
stated that he believed that Somchai was dead and that state security forces appeared to be responsible. Five policemen were eventually charged in Somchai's death, though the trial only resulted in one conviction that was overturned on appeal in March 2011. The verdict was denounced by the Asian Human Rights Commission
, and Somchai's wife Angkhana
declared her intention to continue to appeal the case to the Thai Supreme Court.
The Nation
(an English-language newspaper in Thailand) reported on November 27, 2007:
The January 24, 2008 edition of The Economist
reported:
The New York Times reported on April 8, 2003:
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Constitution of Thailand
The Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced...
. The Constitution outlined the right to freedom of speech
Freedom of speech
Freedom of speech is the freedom to speak freely without censorship. The term freedom of expression is sometimes used synonymously, but includes any act of seeking, receiving and imparting information or ideas, regardless of the medium used...
, freedom of press, peaceful assembly, association
Freedom of association
Freedom of association is the individual right to come together with other individuals and collectively express, promote, pursue and defend common interests....
, religion
Freedom of religion
Freedom of religion is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or community, in public or private, to manifest religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship, and observance; the concept is generally recognized also to include the freedom to change religion or not to follow any...
, and movement within the country and abroad.
The Constitution was abrogated in September 2006 following a military coup. The military has not stated when or if a new constitution will be promulgated.
Constitutional guarantees
Many new rights were introduced in the Constitution. These include the right to free educationFree education
Free education refers to education that is funded through taxation, or charitable organizations rather than tuition fees. Although primary school and other comprehensive or compulsory education is free in many countries, for example, all education is mostly free including...
, the rights of traditional communities, and the right to peacefully protest coups and other extra-constitutional means of acquiring power, the rights of children, the elderly, handicapped people's rights, and equality of the sexes. Freedoms of information, the right to public health and education and consumer rights are also recognized. A total of 40 rights, compared to only nine rights in the Constitution of 1932, were recognized in the 1997 Constitution.
Infringement of human rights
The government is reported generally to respect the rights of its citizens. However, the U.S. Department of State has reported significant problems in several areas.Human trafficking
Human trafficking is a major issue in Thailand. This includes misleading and kidnapping men from CambodiaCambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
by traffickers and selling them into illegal fishing boats that trawl the Gulf of Thailand
Gulf of Thailand
The Gulf of Thailand , also known in to Malays as Teluk Siam literally meant Gulf of Siam, is a shallow arm of the South China Sea.-Geography:...
and the South China Sea
South China Sea
The South China Sea is a marginal sea that is part of the Pacific Ocean, encompassing an area from the Singapore and Malacca Straits to the Strait of Taiwan of around...
. These men are promised better paid jobs but instead forced to work as sea slaves as much as 3 years.
Children trafficking is also another major issue in Thailand forcing kidnapped children as young as four to use as sex slaves in major cities like Bangkok , Phuket. Such activities are especially rife in rural areas of Thailand. " New York Review", 25 June 2008
Rights of the press and right to assembly
In the wake of the 2006 Thailand coup d'état2006 Thailand coup d'état
The 2006 Thai coup d'état took place on Tuesday 19 September 2006, when the Royal Thai Army staged a coup d'état against the elected caretaker government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra...
, the right to free speech has been seriously eroded. The military has implemented a ban on political meetings and does not allow for any criticism of them in the media. Political activities of all types were also banned.
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance
Southeast Asian Press Alliance
The Southeast Asian Press Alliance is the only regional organization focused on promoting and protecting press freedom and freedom of expression in Southeast Asia...
(SEAPA) noted that Thailand's media environment—prior to the coup considered one of the freest and most vibrant in Asia—had quickly deteriorated following the military ousting of Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
. It noted the closure of around 300 community radio stations in Thai provinces, the intermittent blocking of cable news channels (particularly whenever news on Thaksin and criticism of the coup came up), and the suspension of some Thai websites devoted to discussing the implications of military intervention to Thai democracy. SEAPA also noted that while there seemed to be no crackdown on journalists, and while foreign and local reporters seemed free to roam, interview, and report on the coup as they saw fit, self-censorship was a certain issue in Thai newsrooms.
Infringement in the South of Thailand
Several problems have been reported in the Southern provinces, relating to the South Thailand insurgencySouth Thailand insurgency
An ethnic separatist insurgency is taking place in Southern Thailand, predominantly in the Malay Pattani region, made up of the three southernmost provinces of Thailand. Violence has increasingly spilling over into other provinces...
. Some 180 persons are reported to have died there while in custody in 2004. In a particularly high-profile case, Muslim human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit was reportedly harassed, threatened, and finally forcibly disappeared
Forced disappearance
In international human rights law, a forced disappearance occurs when a person is secretly abducted or imprisoned by a state or political organization or by a third party with the authorization, support, or acquiescence of a state or political organization, followed by a refusal to acknowledge the...
in March 2004 following his allegations of torture by state security forces. In 2006, Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra
Thaksin Shinawatra is a Thai businessman and politician, who was Prime Minister of Thailand from 2001 to 2006, when he was overthrown in a military coup....
stated that he believed that Somchai was dead and that state security forces appeared to be responsible. Five policemen were eventually charged in Somchai's death, though the trial only resulted in one conviction that was overturned on appeal in March 2011. The verdict was denounced by the Asian Human Rights Commission
Asian Human Rights Commission
The Asian Human Rights Commission is an independent, non-governmental body, which seeks to promote greater awareness and realisation of human rights in the Asian region, and to mobilise Asian and international public opinion to obtain relief and redress for the victims of human rights violations...
, and Somchai's wife Angkhana
Angkhana Neelaphaijit
Angkhana Neelaphaijit is a Thai human rights activist and the wife of disappeared human rights lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit. Amnesty International described her as "a leading human rights defender in Southern Thailand".-Husband's disappearance:...
declared her intention to continue to appeal the case to the Thai Supreme Court.
Deaths relating to the 2003 war on drugs
The government's antidrug war in 2003 resulted in more than 2,500 extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers. Prison conditions and some provincial immigration detention facilities are characterized as poor. In 2004 more than 1,600 persons died in prison or police custody, 131 as a result of police actions.The Nation
The Nation (Thailand)
The Nation is a broadsheet, English-language daily newspaper founded in 1971 and published in Bangkok, Thailand, and is owned by the Nation Multimedia Group.The Nation is a member of the Asia News Network...
(an English-language newspaper in Thailand) reported on November 27, 2007:
"Of 2,500 deaths in the government's war on drugs in 2003, a fact-finding panel has found that more than half was not involved in drug at all. At a brainstorming session, a representative from the Office of Narcotics Control Board (ONCB) Tuesday disclosed that as many as 1,400 people were killed and labelled as drug suspects despite the fact that they had no link to drugs. ... Senior public prosecutor Kunlapon Ponlawan said it was not difficult to investigate extra-judicial killings carried out by police officers as the trigger-pullers usually confessed."
The January 24, 2008 edition of The Economist
The Economist
The Economist is an English-language weekly news and international affairs publication owned by The Economist Newspaper Ltd. and edited in offices in the City of Westminster, London, England. Continuous publication began under founder James Wilson in September 1843...
reported:
Yet a panel set up last year by the outgoing junta recently concluded the opposite: over half of those killed in 2003 had no links to the drugs trade. The panel blamed the violence on a government "shoot-to-kill" policy based on flawed blacklists. But far from leading to the prosecutions of those involved, its findings have been buried. The outgoing interim prime minister, Surayud ChulanontSurayud ChulanontGeneral Surayud Chulanont is a Thai political figure. He was the Prime Minister of Thailand and head of Thailand's Interim Government between 2006 and 2008...
, took office vowing to right Mr Thaksin's wrongs. Yet this week he said there was insufficient evidence to take legal action over the killings. It is easy to see why the tide has turned. Sunai Phasuk, a researcher for Human Rights WatchHuman Rights WatchHuman Rights Watch is an international non-governmental organization that conducts research and advocacy on human rights. Its headquarters are in New York City and it has offices in Berlin, Beirut, Brussels, Chicago, Geneva, Johannesburg, London, Los Angeles, Moscow, Paris, San Francisco, Tokyo,...
, a lobbying group, says that the panel's original report named the politicians who egged on the gunmen. But after the PPPPeople's Power Party (Thailand)The People's Power Party was a Thai political party founded on November 9, 1998 by Police Lieutenant Colonel Garn Tienkaew. The party leader was Somchai Wongsawat, the Party Secretary General was Surapong Suebwonglee, and the Party Spokesperson was Kuthep Saikrajarng...
won last month's elections, those names were omitted.
The New York Times reported on April 8, 2003:
Since the death of 9-year-old Chakraphan, there have been frequent reports in the Thai press of summary executions and their innocent victims. There was the 16-month-old girl who was shot dead along with her mother, Raiwan Khwanthongyen. There was the pregnant woman, Daranee Tasanawadee, who was killed in front of her two young sons. There was the 8-year-old boy, Jirasak Unthong, who was the only witness to the killing of his parents as they headed home from a temple fair. There was Suwit Baison, 23, a cameraman for a local television station, who fell to his knees in tears in front of Mr. Thaksin and begged for an investigation into the killing of his parents. His stepfather had once been arrested for smoking marijuana, Mr. Suwit said. When the police offered to drop the charge if he would admit to using methamphetamines, he opted instead to pay the $100 fine for marijuana use. Both parents were shot dead as they returned home from the police station on a motorbike. Mr. Suwit said 10 other people in his neighborhood had also been killed after surrendering to the police.
See also
- LGBT rights in Thailand
- Censorship in ThailandCensorship in ThailandFreedom of speech in Thailand was guaranteed in the articles 39, 40, 41 in the 1997 Constitution.According to those articles, censorship may be imposed to preserve national security, maintain public order, preserve the rights of others, protect public morals, and prevent criticism of the royal...
- Internet censorship in ThailandInternet censorship in ThailandInternet censorship in Thailand was classified as substantial in the social area, as selective in the political and Internet tools areas, and no evidence of filtering was found in the conflict/security area by the OpenNet Initiative in May 2007. Thailand is on Reporters Without Borders list of...
- Constitution of ThailandConstitution of ThailandThe Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand is the supreme law of Thailand. Since the change from an absolute monarchy to a constitutional democracy in 1932, Thailand has had 17 charters and constitutions, reflecting the high degree of political instability and frequency of military coups faced...
- Human rights in AsiaHuman rights in AsiaHuman rights in Asia primarily rely on the protection and championing by States, non-governmental organizations, and individuals. Unlike Europe, Africa, and the Americas, Asia does not have an intergovernmental convention on human rights. In Asia, human rights are given much importance specially to...
External links
- Freedom of expression in Thailand - IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....
- Asian Human Rights Commission - Thailand homepage
- Rule of Lords Weekly column on human rights & the rule of law in Thailand and Burma
- Royal Thai Police catalogue or torture and murder
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