Thailand will try to strike a balance between national interest and security pressures when the country announces further commitments to human rights issues in a key United Nations meeting slated for Thursday in Geneva.
The exploitation of a Burmese migrant worker involved in a precedent-setting appeal for compensation did not end when she became an accident victim. Nang Noom, in her hospital room in Chiang Mai.
Thailand led by then ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Sisahak Phuangketkeow, on Oct 5 announced that it would voluntary commit to 100 of 172 recommendations made by the UN Human Rights Council. The decision came after three-hours of intense talks, during which the 47-member council made 52 interventions, mostly regarding social and economic policies, the universal health coverage scheme, discrepancies and inequalities in Thai society, problems related to the truth and reconciliation process following the political unrest in 2010, freedom of opinion and expression, the continuing deadly insurgency in the three southern border provinces and the rights of migrant workers.
Now the UN Human Rights Council is awaiting more pledges from Thailand in the forthcoming meeting. The country will declare on Thursday that it will agree to another 32 recommendations and reject the remaining 40.
The commitments to be reflected in the national report are the product of the universal periodical review (UPR) process hailed by civil society as a fresh impetus for closer scrutiny of human rights in Thailand. Attempts to reach a decision did not come easy, however, due to pressures inside and outside the country.
In fact, the process after the October meeting stalled as Thailand was confronted with the massive flooding and as the new government, installed last July, was just getting its feet wet. As a result, Thailand was unable to complete the "homework" it had been given in Geneva of gathering viewpoints and opinions from all stakeholders. The Foreign Ministry, a core coordinating agency, has done its best to cope with the pressure from its peers on the council.
Among future commitments expected from Thailand are its assurances that all allegations of extra-judicial killings by security personnel over the past 10 years will be fully investigated and the perpetrators brought to justice, that it will take immediate steps to improve the situation in southern Thailand so the special security laws can be lifted and that it will implement measures to ensure that security forces and other governmental bodies cooperate fully with official investigations on human rights abuses in the country.
It will reject the following recommendations by the council: that Thailand abolish the provisions in the Martial Law Act and Section 17 of the Emergency Decree which grant state officials immunity from criminal and civil prosecution, review Section 112 and the Computer Crime Act to ensure freedom of expression and get rid of the death penalty.
Other recommendations Thailand will reject in the upcoming meeting include a call to ratify the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court and the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the accession to the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families; and the accession to the UN Convention on the Status of Refugees and the 1967 Protocol, and the 1954 Convention on the Status of Stateless Persons.
The government's plan to say "no" on those issues was met with disappointment by the Civil Society and Human Rights Coalition of Thailand, which consists of 16 community and advocacy groups. It has called for the government to change its mind in order to boost Thailand's leading role on human rights issues.
The NGO alliance also has echoed international calls to ratify the Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance which Thailand signed on Jan 9 to ensure protection of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly; and to combat impunity by ratifying the Rome Statute which Thailand signed in 2001, among others.
Thanin Katethong, an expert at the National Security Council (NSC), said during a panel discussion at the National Human Rights Council that the NSC took into account all elements including the inception of the Asean Economic Community and the UPR process when drafting a new report on the country's human rights improvements.
Thailand, said Mr Thanin, deserved sympathy and understanding from human rights advocates within and outside the country as "we did not ignore those calls but needed time for reflection and contemplation to see "what we can do and how we can do it".
Krisna Bovornratanaraks, director of the military legislation and foreign affairs division under the Defence Ministry, said Thailand's position should not be too lenient nor too aggressive to the international calls. "Whatever we could do or are doing or why we cannot do it should be explained to the international community clearly," said Col Krisna. Thailand has to embrace any principles or implement recommendations based on national interest and domestic contexts, he added.
Angkhana Neelapaijit, chair of the Working Group for Justice and Peace, raised in the forum several concerns about real implementation, particularly measures that would ensure that no minors are included in village volunteer rangers units, implement principles of equity for women and children in the deep South without citing religious principles and while avoiding discrimination, and implementation of the Emergency Decree.
"How can other countries understand our situation [as pointed out by other participants] when we do not abide by international regulations that we inform them whenever ther is an extension of the Emergency Decree?" said Ms Angkhana.
Nadhavathna Krishnamra, chief of the social division at the Foreign Ministry's Department of International Organisations, said the UPR follow-up committee, chaired by the ministry permanent secretary, has so far functioned as a venue for including all stakeholder agencies in the discussions.
At least, the committee has helped fulfil the initial task of raising awareness and fine-tuning understanding among participating agencies. But other challenges remain that will require efforts from other fronts to implement the promises made, said Mr Nadhavathna.
"The UPR [follow-up process] is not a panacea that will solve all the problems, such as southern issues, but it is an impetus for collaboration and discussion to resolve our common concerns and for trying to build alliances in addressing various issues between stakeholders," he said.
Niran Pitakwatchara, a human rights commissioner, said the UPR process reflects international recognition of the voices of civil society. With democratisation sweeping the world, government agencies should therefore do some serious soul searching.
He expressed hope that all government agencies which include human rights principles in their statutes should dust off the wording and turn it into reality.