THAILAND: NHRC not independent nor composed according to international standards

June 4, 2009
ALRC-CWS-11-08-2009

HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Eleventh session

A written statement submitted by the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC), a non-governmental organisation with general consultative status

THAILAND: NHRC not independent nor composed according to international standards

1. In its previous written submission to the Human Rights Council, the Asian Legal Resource Centre (ALRC) pointed to the resurgence of regressive anti-human rights forces in Thailand in the wake of the 2006 military coup as a grave threat to human rights in that country. It identified the repeated overthrow of elected governments by antidemocratic forces, large-scale criminal activity not followed with investigations or prosecutions, Internet censorship, use of the draconian criminal law to hunt critics of government and monarchy and threats to human rights defenders as just some of the challenges in the current period.

2. A specific consequence of the increasing disregard for human rights and human rights institutions in Thailand that has emerged since the last session of the Council, and one which should be of special concern to the global human rights community, is the appointment of new commissioners to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand in disregard to the Principles Relating to the Status of National Institutions on Human Rights (The Paris Principles).

a. Briefly, the terms of the previous commissioners in fact lapsed during 2007, under the interim military-appointed government; however, most of the commissioners continued in their posts under the NHRC Act (1999), which provided that they were to do so until a new commission was appointed.

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