Rights body challenges Thai UN council bid

“The Thai government should urgently undertake concrete measures to end military rule, stop repression of basic rights and freedoms, and provide justice for victims of abuse. If Thailand wants to be a credible and influential member of the UN Human Rights Council, it needs to urgently restore respects for human rights and return to democratic civilian rule at home,” the rights proponent said in a statement.

Thailand – along with Bangladesh, India, Indonesia and Qatar – is a candidate for the four vacant Human Rights Council seats allocated for the Asia-Pacific region, HRW noted.

In a July 22 letter to the UN General Assembly, HRW claimed the Thai government had promised to give “utmost importance to the promotion and protection of the rights of all people.”

However, Adams added: “Thailand’s pledges to the Human Rights Council can’t be taken seriously so long as the country is under abusive military rule. Thailand’s declarations supporting rights without action to revoke military law and end the repression of speech, association, and peaceful protest will be easily ignored.”

HRW noted that for almost five months since the May 22 coup, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) has “functioned without accountability and enjoyed immunity for its actions”, the statement read. It also added that the junta has blocked more than 200 websites and ordered the media not to criticise them, as well as censored critical stories.

“The NCPO has banned public gatherings of more than five people and any activity deemed anti-coup. The NCPO has arrested people who have publicly criticised the junta and prosecuted them in military courts, where there is no right to appeal. It has banned discussions at universities about human rights, democracy, the monarchy, and the performance of General Prayut’s government as a threat to stability and national security,” the HRW man said.