General News
Thailand in the world spotlight on human rights
By The Nation
NHRC needs to lift its game as policy implementation has been inconsistent
Thailand is either very smart or the silliest country in the world for allowing the international community, especially human rights organisations, to scrutinise its human rights record. In past weeks, Human Rights Watch (HRW) and the International Commission for Jurists have taken Thailand to task for the country's human rights record as well as the use of its National Security Act. The verdict is quite clear: Thailand can do better than it has recently.
One wonders how many countries in the world, especially within Asean, would allow these organisations to dissect the government's legislation and practices to the tee. The latest report on Thai human rights by HRW was a good example of how a well-respected human rights advocacy group would like to see greater improvement of rights practices in Thailand. So, HRW came out with harsh criticism and lists of recommendations. It was a noble objective that the government under Prime MinisterAbhisit Vejjajiva welcomed.
However, HRW overdid it in the press release attacking Thailand's human rights record, especially the government's response to political turmoil due to the polarisation of various political pressure groups.
Except for immature comments by Satit Wongnongtoey, who was upset with the judgement, Abhisit was not perturbed by the report, which he pledged to investigate further on alleged human rights violations here. It was only Abhisit's own ethics and belief in human rights that let such a hard personal attack on him pass. If previous governments had been involved, representatives of the HRW would have been expelled without doubt.
Like rubbing salt into the wounds, the International Commission for Jurists released a report on the use of the National Security Act. The excellent report urged the Thai government to improve on this frequently used legislation to ensure that Thai human rights are properly protected in times of political crisis. Unlike the Human Rights Watch, the ICJ report and its press release laid out all key points with facts and data without any spin.
Thailand genuinely believes in democracy and human rights. This |government has a policy to promote and protect human rights inside the country and within the Asean region. It played a key role in establishing the Asean Intergovernmental Commissioner for Human Rights. As the Asean chair last year, Thailand also tried to encourage broader participation at the grass roots level. But the biggest problem so far has been whenever there are clear policies emanating from Abhisit and concerned authorities on rights issues, officials on the ground have failed to implement them in effective ways, especially in the troubled South. So, there are great discrepancies between pronounced policies and implementation; encouraging the stereotype belief that the Abhisit government has double standards and is hypocritical.
Luckily, Thailand is improving in its human rights record by the day. In the absence of good internal monitoring and a timely human rights report, which should be the responsibility of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), international scrutiny is very important to educate Thai people about the state of human rights in the country. The current NHRC team has been a big disappointment for its failure to probe key human rights issues. There have been only two reports in the past eight years, although an NHRC responsibility has been to publish an annual report. Somehow, NHRC executive members have paid too much attention to their personal welfare - such as choice of cars and forgetting that they have to take care of the human rights and welfare of the Thai people.
Additional Information
Country: Thailand
Website: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/2010/02/08/opinion/opinion_30122020.php
Email: N/A
Phone: N/A
Contact Person: N/A
Source: Mail from: Ms. Wahyuningrum (Yuyun)
When: 09/2/2010
