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World Report 2022

KEYNOTE

COU
NTRI
ES
LANG
UAGE
S 
DONATE NOW
Tha
ilan
d

Events
of 2021
 Pro-
democr
acy
demons
trators
display
the
three-
finger
resistan
ce
symbol
in
Bangko
k,
Thailan
d, June
24,
2021.

© 2021
AP
Photo/S
akchai
Lalit

Youth-Led Democracy Protests

Covid-19 State of Emergency, Restrictions on Freedom of Expression 

Torture and Enforced Disappearance

Lack of Accountability for State-Sponsored Abuses

Human Rights Defenders, NGO Law

Violence and Abuses in the Southern Border Provinces

 Refugees, Asylum Seekers, and Migrant Workers

Gender Inequality

Key International Actors

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Keynote
With Autocrats on the Defensive, Can Democrats Rise to the Occasion?

Kenneth Roth

Former
Executi
ve
Directo
r
hy, and
enforce
da
nationw
ide
state of
emerge
ncy
using
the
Covid-
19
pandem
ic as a
pretext.
The
authorit
ies
suppres
sed
youth-
led
democr
acy
protests
,
someti

Yout
h-Led
Demo
cracy
Prote
sts
protests
across
Thailan
d in
2020
and
2021.
Rather
than
engagin
g with
them on
the
issues,
the
authorit
ies
seemed
intent
on
preventi
ng
protests
from
gaining
support
and
The youth-led uprising became widely known for its iconic three-finger salute displayed by tens of thousands in the streets de
nted by
the
largely
underpr
ivileged
,
heavily
impacte
d, urban
poor.
These
proteste
rs,
some as
young
as 12,
are
demand
ing
Prime
Ministe
r Prayut
step
down
as a
first
step
toward
als, as
well as
teargas
grenade
s and
rubber
bullets
to
disperse
the
crowds.
While
the
authorit
ies clai
med to
follow
internat
ional
standar
ds for
crowd
control,
in
practice
riot
police
Covid
-19
State
of
Emer
gency
,
Restr
iction
s on
Freed
om of
Expr
ession
 
authorit
ies’
broad
powers
to
restrict
fundam
ental
freedo
ms with
impunit
y. It
was the
fourtee
nth
extensi
on
since
March
2020.
At
least 1,
100
people 
who
took
part in
number
29,
empow
ering
the
authorit
ies to
censor
online
expressi
on and
prosecu
te
individ
uals
respons
ible for
commu
nication
s that
may
“instiga
te fear”
or
distort
informa
tion
about
prosecu
tions
after a
three-
year hia
tus. The
authorit
ies have
since
charged
at
least 15
1
people,
includin
g 12
children
, under
Article
112 of
the
penal
code in
relation
to
various
activitie
s at
,
includin
g
Arnon
Namph
a, Parit
Chiwar
ak,
Jatupat
Boonpa
ttararak
sa, and
Panupo
ng
Jadnok,
have
been
put in
pretrial
detentio
n in
lèse-
majesté
cases
that
could
take
years to
In January 2021, former opposition leader Thanathorn Juangroongruangkit was charged with lèse-majesté and cybercrimes fo
In January, the Bangkok Criminal Court sentenced Anchan Preelert to 87 years in prison (later halved after she pleaded guilty),

Tortu
re
and
Enfor
ced
Disap
peara
nce
On September 16, the parliament approved the first reading of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disap
Torture
and
enforce
d
disappe
arance
have
long
been
proble
ms in
Thailan
d. Most
of the
reporte
d cases
have
not
been
resolve
d, and
hardly
anyone
has
been
punishe
d.
military
conscri
pts.
During
the five
years of
military
rule
after
the
2014
coup,
many
people
taken
into
incomm
unicado
military
custody
alleged
they
were to
rtured
or
otherwi
se ill-
treated
Muslim
lawyer 
Somcha
i
Neelapa
ijit in
March
2004.
In
recent
years,
at least
nine
dissiden
ts who
fled
persecu
tion in
Thailan
d have
been fo
rcibly
disappe
ared in
neighbo
ring
countrie
s. In
against
Torture
and
Other
Cruel,
Inhuma
n or
Degradi
ng
Treatm
ent or
Punish
ment an
d also
signed,
but did
not
ratify,
the Inte
rnationa
l
Conven
tion for
the
Protecti
on of
All
Lack
of
Acco
untab
ility
for
State-
Spons
ored
Abus
es
Despite evidence showing that soldiers were responsible for most of the casualties during the 2010 political confrontations wi
The government also has failed to pursue criminal investigations of extrajudicial killings related to anti-drug operations, espec

Hum
an
Right
s
Defen
ders,
NGO
Law
The
govern
ment
has
failed
to
fulfill
its
obligati
on to
ensure
human
rights
defende
rs can
carry
out
their
work in
a safe
and
enablin
g
environ
ment.

On May 4, a gunman fatally shot Somsak Onchuenjit, a lawyer and land rights activist, in Trang province.
The police has made no progress in investigating violent attacks in 2019 targeting prominent democracy activists Sirawith Seri
to
prosecu
te
soldiers
who
shot
dead
ethnic
Lahu
activist 
Chaiya
phum
Pasae i
n
March
2017 in
Chiang
Mai
provinc
e and
park
officials
involve
d in the
murder
of
ethnic
Karen
to
protect
human
rights
defende
rs
from re
prisals 
and end
the
abusive
use
of strate
gic
lawsuits
against
public
particip
ation (S
LAPP).
Former
Nationa
l
Human
Rights
Commi
ssioner
and
Human
Rights
Commi
ssion of
Thailan
d,
which
was do
wngrad
ed by
the Glo
bal
Allianc
e of
Nationa
l
Human
Rights
Instituti
ons in
2016
because
of its
substan
dard
selectio
n
In February 2021, the government approved in principle the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations Bill. The authorities wo
funding
. The
bill also
permits
the
authorit
ies to
enter
NGO
offices
for
inspecti
on and
to
obtain
electron
ic
commu
nication
s. After
massive
internat
ional
criticis
m and a
growin
g
national
Viole
nce
and
Abus
es in
the
South
ern
Bord
er
Provi
nces
unilater
al
ceasefir
e
announ
cement
by
Barisan
Revolus
i
Nasiona
l (BRN)
to
facilitat
e
humanit
arian
assistan
ce for
people
affected
by the
Covid-
19
pandem
ic. The
ceasefir
e ended
The government has not prosecuted members of its security forces responsible for torture, unlawful killings, and other abuses
Refug
ees,
Asylu
m
Seeke
rs,
and
Migr
ant
Work
ers
d is not
a party
to the
1951
Refuge
e
Conven
tion or
its 1967
protoco
l. The
authorit
ies
continu
e to
treat
asylum
seekers
as
illegal
migrant
s
subject
to
arrest,
detentio
n, and
deportat
recogni
zed as a
refugee
by the
UN
High
Commi
ssioner
for
Refuge
es, on
bail
after
she was
arrested
on
illegal
entry
charges
. The
Malaysi
an
authorit
ies
unsucce
ssfully
attempt
The
authorit
ies have
made
no
progres
s in
investig
ating
the
apparen
t
enforce
d
disappe
arance
of
exiled
dissiden
ts
from Vi
etnam a
nd Laos
 in
Bangko
k.
nations
for Lao
Hmong,
ethnic
Rohing
ya, and
Uighurs
, and
people
from
Myanm
ar and
North
Korea
held in
immigr
ation
detentio
n. More
than 50
Uighurs
and
several
hundred
Rohing
ya
remain
in
Despite government-instituted reforms in the fishing industry, many migrant workers face forced labor, remain in debt bonda
internat
ionally
recogni
zed
worker
rights,
such as
protecti
on for
freedo
m of
associat
ion and
collecti
ve
bargaini
ng.
Migrant
workers
are
barred
in law
from
organizi
ng and
establis
hing
constru
ction
sites,
markets
, and
worker
dormito
ries to
be
tempora
rily
sealed
off
during
the
pandem
ic,
locking
tens of
thousan
ds of
migrant
workers
inside
with
limited
access
to
Thamm
akaset
Compa
ny
Limited
 continu
es
to retali
ate agai
nst
migrant
workers
, rights
activists
, and
journali
sts who
report
on
abusive
labor
conditio
ns at its
chicken
farm in
Lopburi
provinc
e.
In July, Thailand was downgraded in the US Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report from Tier 2 to the Tier 2 Watchlist for the first ti

Gend
er
Inequ
ality
importa
nt
advance
,
but falls
short of
fully
protecti
ng
pregnan
t
people’
s
reprodu
ctive
rights.
The
crimina
l code
continu
es to
impose
up to
six
months
in jail
and
fines on
dignity
of
same-
sex
couples
and
providi
ng them
with
importa
nt legal
protecti
ons.
The
current
draft,
howeve
r, still
needs
improv
ements
to
comply
with
internat
ional
standar
Despite
being a
popular
destinat
ion for
gender-
affirmin
g health
care,
Thailan
d
continu
es to
lack a
procedu
re by
which
transge
nder
people
can
change
their
legal
gender. 

Key
Inter
natio
nal
Actor
s
g NGO
law and
other
major
human
rights
issues,
but did
not
publicly
speak
out.
The
United
States,
Europe
an
Union,
United
Kingdo
m,
Australi
a, and
Canada
have
been
instrum
The EU
continu
ed to
take
steps
towards
the
resumpt
ion of
negotiat
ions for
a
bilateral
free
trade
agreem
ent with
Thailan
d,
which
have
been
frozen
since
the
2014
coup.
raised
by
member
states
and
rights
groups
include
d
torture,
enforce
d
disappe
arance,
freedo
m of
expressi
on,
associat
ion and
peacefu
l
assembl
y,
refugee
s, the
rights

Brows
e
Countri
es
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         
        
         

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