Dear Mr Kofi Annan,
The Asian Human Rights Commission sends greetings to you on the occasion of your 25-27 May 2006 visit to Thailand to commemorate the 60th Anniversary of His Majesty the King’s accession to the throne, and to present him with the Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award of the United Nations Development Programme.
As you are aware, Thailand’s democracy and national institutions are at this moment facing enormous challenges. Recent events have brought recognition that the judiciary is the ultimate guardian of democracy, human rights and the rule of law. People in all parts of Thailand–including His Majesty the King–have stressed the importance of an active judiciary capable of intervening assertively during a national crisis.
Thailand has experienced severe turbulence and violence in recent times. Thousands have been killed in a succession of “drug wars” that since 2004 have undermined the foundations of the country’s courts and laws. Thousands of others in the south have been killed, abducted and tortured by security forces that are operating under emergency regulations there which place them beyond the law. Across the entire country, police officers illegally detain persons, falsify allegations, intimidate witnesses, and torture and murder with impunity. Human rights defenders, environmentalists and political opponents of the current government are frequent targets.
There are as yet no effective avenues for investigation and prosecution in cases of gross human rights abuse. The police responsible for the deaths of alleged drug dealers have been promoted, as have military officers responsible for mass deaths in custody in the south. The officers who abducted celebrated lawyer Somchai Neelaphaijit in 2004 have all but escaped justice, despite unceasing efforts by his family and human rights defenders in Thailand and abroad to have them brought to justice.
Thailand should in coming years show valuable leadership in the UN reforms that you have rightly initiated, including in the new Human Rights Council. However, there are a number of important preconditions to this involvement of which the government must be made aware.
First, the government of Thailand needs to do much more to bring its police and military forces into line with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, to which Thailand is a party. The UN Human Rights Committee last year gave concise and pointed recommendations on how to do this, including the establishing of an independent agency to monitor and investigate abuses by the police. However, there is no evidence that the government has taken steps to implement any of the committee’s important advice.
Secondly, the government of Thailand needs to ratify the core international human rights conventions. Among these, the most pressing is the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. It is a matter of national shame that the authorities have delayed ratification of this treaty for years, under various pretexts and excuses. Thailand will not acquire a credible voice on human rights internationally until it joins this treaty. It should also ratify the optional protocol to the ICCPR, to entitle its citizens to take individual complaints to the Human Rights Committee at any time.
Thirdly, if the government of Thailand is to show any sincerity on human rights, it must give unimpeded access to independent experts working under UN mandates. As you may be aware, the Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial executions has been blocked from the country without justification since his first request to visit in 2004. In his report for last year, the rapporteur pointed out that if he is denied access to places where killings are occurring, his mandate is without meaning. We would therefore expect that obtaining access for this rapporteur, along with other interested experts, would be a high priority for you in discussions with the concerned authorities.
There are many UN agencies based in Thailand that could do much to help national institutions meet their human rights obligations under international law. The UNDP especially is in a unique position to offer technical support and material assistance. It could contribute its expertise and resources to the writing of an improved law on witness protection, and development of a genuinely independent and effective witness protection office. It could better inform local professionals on how to create a legal structure to guarantee the use of forensic science in criminal investigations and trials, and likewise offer firm support to independent agencies for the development of forensic science in Thailand. It could do much towards to the modernising of criminal investigation as a whole, and the creating of possibilities for adjudication of human rights abuses in the courts.
These are just a few of the areas for work in Thailand to which the UN could direct special attention. All are deserving of it, and there are many others besides. In any case, whatever contribution is made it should not be seen as a contribution only to Thailand. As an important example for its neighbours, when Thailand makes reforms these have good effects across borders. By the same token, if measures are not taken to support and exhort Thailand on institutional reforms for the protection of human rights, the consequences will also be carried into neighbouring countries.
Your encouragement of judicial independence and strengthening of institutions for the rule of law in Thailand will be of enormous value at this critical time in its history. Your observations on the need for speedy justice for the victims of disappearances, extrajudicial killings, torture and other gross abuses, including Somchai Neelaphaijit, will have a definite effect for the victims and their families. Your words of support for human rights defenders and others struggling against great odds will go a long way to protecting them from threats and attacks.
Your visit to Thailand comes as millions across the country are seriously asking themselves what needs to be done to build a stronger democracy, uphold the rule of law and defend basic human rights there. You have before you an historic opportunity to encourage the government of Thailand to work harder towards these goals and meet the demands of its people in building a complex modern society. The Asian Human Rights Commission believes that it is an opportunity not to be missed, and one that millions in the country, including those in government, are anxiously awaiting. We too look forward to your visit, and your contribution to the vibrant dialogue on democracy and the rule of law that is going on in Thailand at this time.
Yours sincerely
Basil Fernando
Executive Director
