• News & article

  We cannot lose control of technology

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 19/01/2022

  » The advent of Covid-19 has accentuated digitalisation and its close linkage with automation, algorithms, and artificial intelligence ("the three A's"). The Asian region interfaces closely with this phenomenon, especially because it is the most populous continent. It is also a region with a large number of non-democracies and semi-democracies. This panorama invites care to prevent misuse of those three As.

• News & article

  Gender gaps in politics and business

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 30/03/2024

  » Thailand's most recent report on women's rights -- available on the United Nations' website -- is part of the eighth cycle of reporting under the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), to which the country became a party in 1985.

• News & article

  Soft power charms, with a Thai ripple

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 04/12/2023

  » The term "soft power" has seeped into international relations and it is now a catchphrase with its own global momentum. Yet it should be recalled that in the 1980s, it was used to describe the nature of a weaker state confronted by the "hard power" embodied by a stronger state.

• News & article

  Building a rights protection framework

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 10/11/2023

  » The Asia-Pacific region is a vast conglomeration of large and small countries with a wealth of inter-generational wisdom. Yet, the region does not have a regional inter-governmental human rights protection system. What, then, are some possibilities for the future?

• News & article

  Navigating the uncharted territory of AI

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 30/08/2023

  » Artificial Intelligence (AI), alias robots, has captured the public imagination. Yet, the term "AI" can cover more than robots. Not only does AI embody technology that learns and digests data, exhibiting intelligence paralleling humans, but it is also now a major creative force. Generative AI can offer projections, predictions and propositions, potentially surpassing human intelligence. This leads to the question -- should AI be regulated, and how?

• News & article

  Litigation embroiling Thai politics

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 17/07/2023

  » Thailand is faced with key cases before the judiciary and state agencies which shape not only the fate of litigants but also the political and social space surrounding them.

• News & article

  Humanising policy towards refugees

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 02/03/2023

  » The recent death of a Uighur man -- who had sought refuge in Thailand and was subsequently detained for nearly a decade, was a sad reflection of the unbalanced response towards persons who seek refuge, or "refugees", in this country. Various groups currently seek protection from persecution, armed conflicts and key human rights violations in their country of origin, and they deserve to be treated decently and humanely.

• News & article

  Stepping stones for Asean's rights body

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 05/10/2022

  » In 2009, Asean established a long-awaited regional human rights body in the form of the Asean Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR). This commission has now undertaken a self-assessment of its work in recent years, and it covers some of the innovative measures identified below. Complementary to AICHR, there also came into being the Asean Commission on the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC) and other sectoral bodies.

• News & article

  Beating scams, trafficking no easy task

  News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 01/09/2022

  » This region has been in the news in recent weeks in regard to online scams and human trafficking, compounded by other forms of exploitation such as forced labour and forced criminality.

• News & article

  Calling Thai domestic abuse to account

  Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 04/08/2022

  » Developing societies (including Thailand) have enjoyed the presence of extended families, in contrast with the smaller unit of nuclear families. This broader coverage, encompassing not only the parents and children but also grandparents and other dependants, has offered a social safety net to support family members. Yet, that extended unit has now been disintegrating for some time, compounded by the stress due to Covid-19. What then are the areas needing more attention to tackle the changing scenario?

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