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  • OPINION

    Slowly moving away from the death penalty

    Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 22/04/2021

    » One of the interesting developments in Thailand is that official circles are gradually moving away from the death penalty as a sanction against crimes. This is witnessed by the Ministry of Justice's campaign to invite the public to look at options beyond the death penalty. What if there is a large proportion of the population in the country which still favours its retention rather than abolition? There is a need to balance with the international trend and the country's obligations.

  • OPINION

    Having another go at a UNHRC seat

    Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 03/08/2023

    » Thailand is planning to be a candidate in the next round of elections for the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC), with voting on the matter due at the UN General Assembly in 2024 for a seat in 2025-2027. What might be the reasonable expectations for this and what might be an appropriate strategy for the nation to be sufficiently self-prepared?

  • OPINION

    Lessons from the Khmer Rouge tribunal

    Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 18/02/2023

    » One of the saddest episodes of Southeast Asian history was the period during the 1970s that witnessed the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cambodia. The group was driven by a warped ideology, and it perpetrated myriad crimes against the general population. Millions were killed and displaced through a range of atrocities. Decades later, an internationally supported tribunal, the Extraordinary Chambers in the Courts of Cambodia (ECCC), or the Khmer Rouge Tribunal, was set up to prosecute the leaders of the group, and it is now ending its work. What are some of the key lessons the global community can learn from this?

  • OPINION

    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.

  • OPINION

    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.

  • OPINION

    Halting child trafficking remains tricky

    News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 19/11/2018

    » One of the positive developments in Thailand in recent years has been the governmental commitment to eradicate human trafficking. It has been complemented by a spate of court cases against human traffickers, with some evident successes. Yet, there remains a challenging situation, particularly where children are the victims, compounded by the complexity of a transfrontier situation and the opacity of the vested interests behind the sex market.

  • OPINION

    The new face of gender equality

    Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 09/02/2018

    » Welcome to some innovative and refreshing action in favour of gender equality recently! A few days ago, Malaysia’s highest court, the Federal Court, passed a judgement in favour of a Hindu woman whose husband had changed his religion to Islam, without her knowledge, and whose husband then changed the religion of the children to Islam, without the mother’s consent. The court underlined that consent on the part of both parents was needed to change the religion of the children.

  • OPINION

    Mixed bag in global fight for sexual identity equality

    Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 04/11/2017

    » Everyone has some form of sexual orientation and gender identity. Sexual orientation denotes a person's attraction towards others, while gender identity concerns a person's self-perceived identity, which may be different from the sex assigned at birth, as well as the expression of gender identity. The issue is particularly interlinked with the lives of lesbians, gays, bisexual and transgender people, abbreviated as "LGBT". There are implications for Intersex persons (persons born with atypical features) -- abbreviated as "I", although their concerns are more related to the issue of sex characteristics.

  • OPINION

    Human rights still in second place to 'Asian values'

    News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 22/11/2015

    » Earlier this year, a famous global weekly published an article titled “Asian Values”. Basically, it was delving into the longevity of various successful dynasties in the Asian region. Such is the debate in 2015.

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