Showing 1 - 10 of 78
Beware of refugee repatriation scams
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 13/03/2025
» Please beware that there is a contemporary political malady. Regrettably, there is the disconcerting malpractice whereby those who have been granted refuge or asylum in a neighbouring (or other) country are pushed back or repatriated to the country of origin or areas of danger, without adequate guarantees of safety and dignity.
Anti-torture push needs serious review
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 06/01/2025
» Back in 2007, the government agreed to be a party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, otherwise known as the "CAT".
Anocha saga reopens
News, Editorial, Published on 02/12/2024
» Anocha Panjoy's disappearance 46 years ago remains a haunting chapter in Thailand's history.
Behind Thailand's winning UNHRC bid
Oped, Kavi Chongkittavorn, Published on 22/10/2024
» Thailand's being elected to the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) for the 2025-2027 term was not a stroke of luck.
Reimagining human rights and China?
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 23/09/2024
» Should human rights be reimagined, especially in the context of China? From one angle, the answer is obvious. Plenty of norms are already agreed upon globally without the need for reimagination, and China is part of that universality. Yet given the situation on the ground level and the evolving nature of human rights, there might be room for some innovative reimagination, and this deserves balanced reflection.
Activists' fate awaits action
News, Editorial, Published on 02/09/2024
» Last Friday marked International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances. Unlike in the past, the return of a Shinawatra family member to Government House has rekindled hope the new prime minister will help locate political activists -- many of whom were affiliated with the red-shirt movement -- who disappeared in neighbouring countries like Cambodia and Laos.
Lessons from Bangladesh's recent uprising
News, Jayati Ghosh, Published on 19/08/2024
» The popular insurrection that ousted Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her Awami League government offers important lessons for the international community. While the unrest was undoubtedly fuelled by the regime's repressive and increasingly anti-democratic tactics, the underlying causes of public discontent are often overlooked.
Our UN obligations on disappearances
News, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 15/07/2024
» Enforced disappearance is the technical term for a heinous crime whereby a person or persons are deprived of their liberty, such as detention in an unknown place ("incommunicado"). This is accompanied by a cover-up by the state.
Thai Human Rights Council aspirations
Oped, Vitit Muntarbhorn, Published on 17/05/2024
» Thailand's quest for membership of the UN Human Rights Council (HRC), Geneva, for the period 2025-2027, is rightly gaining interest among the general public. With a new foreign minister today, it is intriguing to prospect whether there will be more (or less) momentum in the competition towards the winning post -- with elections for the HRC due in New York in October.
Angkhana fights on after 20 long years
News, Editorial, Published on 17/03/2024
» During the peak of the violence in the Deep South, prominent human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit was abducted and disappeared without a trace on March 12, 2004. Despite two decades having passed, truth and justice remain elusive, compounding his family's pain stemming from an unjust justice system.