Showing 11 - 20 of 39
An Israel-Palestine conflict explainer
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 23/10/2023
» The armed attacks by militants from the Gaza Strip, an area controlled primarily by the Hamas group, into southern Israel in early October and the subsequent armed responses from Israel deserve to be put in a historical and political context. Gaza is one of the two parts of Palestinian territory, the other part being the West Bank, both of which are part of an age-old conflict which has not been resolved but regrettably has been left to fester.
Fight for the right to clean environment
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 11/09/2023
» A year ago, the international community was heartened by the UN General Assembly's proclamation of the right to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment as a human right to be enjoyed by all, universally. In essence, what does the right mean?
Ratify enforced disappearance pact now
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 14/08/2023
» As of last year, according to UN figures, there were nearly 80 unresolved cases of enforced disappearances in Thailand. Considering the country now has a law in place against enforced disappearances, in force since earlier in the year, how should we prevent and remedy these crimes?
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.
Time travelling with human rights
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 03/07/2023
» If humanity had to travel with human rights (past, present and future), what might be pivotal dates interplaying with our destiny? 1993, 2005, 2023 and 2033 might well be candidates for testing our recent chronology.
Towards a global summit of the future?
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 19/06/2023
» If international plans are on course, there will be a global Summit of the Future (SOF) in 2024 at the UN General Assembly. Given that 2023 is already witnessing various global activities for the 30-year milestone of the 1993 Vienna World Conference on Human Rights, as well as a summit on the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), what could be the value-added of the SOF? And perhaps the value-subtracted?
Overcoming statelessness in Thailand
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 05/06/2023
» There are about 500,000 stateless people in Thailand, of whom over 100,000 are children. Recently, various national agencies, supported by UNHCR and Unicef, hosted a national consultation on statelessness. It was a timely opportunity to identify preferred directions.
Poll outcome invites shared wisdom
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 22/05/2023
» That was the week that was, beginning on May 14, 2023, Thailand's monumental and momentous national election day. The results of the election were historically in favour of democratic change, with the Move Forward Party (MFP) gaining the most seats in the Lower House. It is leading a coalition of parties, aspiring to form the next government and winning over 310 seats in total, despite shenanigans from arch-conservatives.
Righting the wrongs of development
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 27/03/2023
» A key issue with which the world community has had to grapple since the end of the Second World War is that of "development", especially from the angle of national and international measures to ensure responsiveness to the rights and needs of the peoples of the land, without discrimination and violence, and to overcome historical and other injustices.
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?