The Foreign Ministry describes as unilateral and unverified the United States' latest human rights report on Thailand.
"The report is an exercise carried out unilaterally by the United States of America to present the situation in Thailand from an outside perspective. Many of the concerns, statistics and case studies cited in the report come from unidentified or unverified sources," the ministry stated on Sunday.
That responded to the US Department of State's Country Reports on Human Rights Practices released on Saturday. The report on Thailand focused on the continuous and considerable power of the National Council for Peace and Order and abuses in the far South.
"The government is committed to the implementation of the roadmap towards achieving sustained democracy, social harmony and lasting stability ... Laws and orders that have been issued by virtue of the Interim Constitution have the objectives of preserving public order and solving problems that have been long overdue and could not otherwise be addressed with ordinary legislation," the Foreign Ministry stated.
"Nonetheless, the government exercises this power only when necessary, with prudence and in the best interest of the nation. These actions have received widespread support from various sectors across the country," the ministry wrote.
Regarding the far South, it said the overall situation in the three southern border provinces had improved and the government was pursuing dialogue with those of different views. The dialogue was an inclusive process that involved all stakeholders.
"While it is still at the confidence-building stage and the process will take some time, there have been positive developments to be taken note of," the ministry stated.
The ministry saw a bright side to the report, saying it recorded advancement in several areas such as gender equality, combating trafficking in persons, and lifting of prosecution of civilians under military jurisdiction.
The ministry said the report referred to both progress and limitations of the situation in the same manner as it covered more than 190 other countries. Some limitations included in this year's report resembled those in the last year's report, it said.