• News & article

  Ukraine, the UN and the ties that bind

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 21/01/2023

  » The United Nations (UN) represents the pinnacle of the post-Second World War system. But just how effective is it today in the face of the crisis facing Ukraine, triggered by its next door neighbour Russia?

• News & article

  Gateways for action on Myanmar crisis

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 11/01/2023

  » The coup in Myanmar in 2021 brought back to power a junta-based regime and compounded grave violations, adding fuel to a recurrent crisis. A constructive gateway for action in December 2022 was thus the adoption of the UN Security Council (SC) Resolution 2669, the first substantive resolution highlighting urgently needed measures on the issue.

• News & article

  Disappearances bill nears final vote

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 06/06/2022

  » A recent seminar on May 24 hosted by the Ministry of Justice together with international organisations highlighted various stepping stones in the struggle against torture and enforced disappearances in Thailand. There was detailed discussion of the draft national law on the issue. There was also analysis of Thailand's most recent report on its implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment (CAT), which was an eye-opener for the public.

• News & article

  UN review shows human rights flaws

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 17/11/2021

  » The international human rights system consists primarily of two parts: international human rights treaties to which countries are invited to become parties on the basis of their consent, and the UN's own jurisdiction, through the UN Human Rights Council, covering all countries even if they do not consent to the coverage. The Universal Periodic Review (UPR) belongs to the latter part of the system and Thailand's recent appearance before this process on Nov 10, in public and online, was eye-opening.

• News & article

  On torture and enforced disappearances

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 23/09/2021

  » The House's approval of bills on the prevention and suppression of torture and enforced disappearances last week is a welcome development to the human rights issue in Thailand.

• News & article

  A multi-track strategy for North Korea

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 01/09/2021

  » North Korea or the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) has been a conundrum for the international community for over half a century. Cloistered and undemocratic, the power base keeps a tight rein over its population with heavy surveillance and pervasive constraints. The latest news that recently it restarted to activate its nuclear facility at Yongbyon is most disturbing, as the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has already imposed sanctions on the country to end its nuclearisation. Is there any strategy to deal with the country in an engaging manner?

• News & article

  Solidarity needed to halt crisis

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 16/03/2021

  » The desperate situation in Myanmar calls for concerted international solidarity to counter the Feb 1 coup d'etat and its heinous consequences. To date, scores of people have been killed by junta forces, while several thousands have been detained. The crisis compounds two disquieting situations of a longstanding and multi-faceted nature in the country -- the mistreatment of the Rohingya population (a Muslim community) and the decades-long civil war between the authorities and different ethnic groups.

• News & article

  Protecting migrants, refugees in our age of conflict

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 07/01/2020

  » There are about 270 million international migrants today who cross borders in search of new vistas. Many such as "expatriates" do well. However, many, particularly those who are pushed out of their homes, are caught in a trap of dislocation, dispossession and coercion, often due to armed conflicts, discrimination and violence. The number of forced migrants now stands at about 70 million people globally -- some 30 million who cross borders as "refugees" and some 40 million forced to move in their country of origin as "internally displaced persons".

• News & article

  Can Asean deal with international crimes?

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 03/09/2018

  » The issue of accountability for international crimes has come to the fore poignantly with the report of the UN's Independent International Fact-finding Commission on Myanmar. The Commission finds that there are reasonable grounds to believe that genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes have been committed in the country, particularly impacting on the Rohingya community in Rakhine state. Significantly, it calls upon Asean to "develop strategies to ensure accountability for perpetrators of crimes under international law, including through sustained engagement with Myanmar and support for an international justice mechanism".

• News & article

  Charter intricacies and electoral delicacies

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 28/07/2018

  » Thailand has witnessed 20 constitutions since 1932. The most recent, the 20th, came into effect last year, after an interim constitution, the 19th, which emerged as a result of a coup d'etat in 2014.

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