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HYPOCRISY! #Thailand was just elected to the UN Human Rights Council - all while it perpetuates #DigitalDictatorship
HYPOCRISY! #Thailand was just elected to the UN Human Rights Council - all while it perpetuates #DigitalDictatorship, persecutes its people for expressing political opinions, commits transnational repression, and silences People’s movements, among other human rights violations.
Thailand was elected as one of the members of the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on Wednesday 9th October, 2023. Along with 18 other countries, Thailand won the Asian seat with 177 votes, and will serve as a member starting 1st January, 2025, until the end of 2027.
Human rights advocates in Thailand and across #SoutheastAsia have long raised concerns about the hypocrisy that Wednesday’s decision would demonstrate. The UNHRC, an intergovernmental body within the United Nations system, plays a crucial role in monitoring human rights violations globally, stopping abuses, establishing global norms for promoting and protecting human rights, and enhancing capacities for these protections in various countries. These are not values that the Thai political establishment currently puts into practice. In 2023, Thailand was ranked as 'Not Free' by Freedom House in their ‘Freedom in the World’ report, putting into light the lack of true democracy in the country. Although Thailand has since moved to the ‘Partly Free’ category as of this year, the authorities continue their crackdown on anyone speaking truth to power and demanding justice. This year 2024, Thailand is also ranked as ‘Not Free’ by Manushya Foundation and Freedom House in our joint ‘Freedom of the Net: Thailand Report’ citing reasons like online intimidation, charges of insulting the monarchy, abusive jail sentences, and digital surveillance against activists.
As of May 2024, 40 individuals are being charged under Sections 112 and 116 for political reasons, according to TLHR, while many others are facing other human rights abuses, such as judicial harassment, enforced disappearances and transnational repression. For instance, the ongoing case of Y Quynh Bdap, Vietnamese dissident and recognized UNHCR refugee jailed in Thailand and at risk of deportation back home where he faces torture, highlights how the Thai conservative political power prioritizes self-interest over its legal and moral obligations. While Thailand has not ratified the 1951 Refugee Convention, and claims it is not bound to protect refugees, its recent ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearances (ICED), and the 2023 Anti-Torture Act must be honored. Section 13 of the Act prohibits Thai authorities to deport individuals facing torture, and Thailand’s new role in the UNHRC only heightens its responsibility to upload these legal protections.
#WeAreManushyan ♾️EqualHumanBeings
Now more than ever, we must all stand in solidarity in holding the Thai government accountable for its international human rights obligations and ensure that Thai authorities know the responsibility they hold in being a member of the UNHRC. We hope this will lead to more transparency in respecting and protecting human rights in Thailand, and we call upon the Thai government to remedy past and present human rights violations accordingly.
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