Winning a seat on the United Nations Human Rights Council (HRC) in October is one thing. But walking the line of good human rights protection seems to be a different issue for the Thai government, which starts its three-year term with the body on Jan 1.
The recent deportation of six Cambodian dissidents is an early warning sign Thailand might not change its colours so easily when it needs to choose between human rights and diplomatic relations with its authoritarian neighbours.
The Bangkok government has again been criticised for having a de facto agreement to return political dissidents wanted by their home country. Late last month, immigration police arrested six Cambodian dissidents and a five-year-old child in Bangkok. They were immediately deported to Phnom Penh last week. These dissidents, who fled to Thailand in 2022, were charged with treason in August over Facebook comments criticising their government. They could face a 10-year jail term if convicted.
The arrests have raised eyebrows. Thailand is a party to the UN Convention Against Torture, which requires members to uphold the principle of non-refoulement. That means officials should not extradite a person to another state where there are substantial grounds for believing they would be in danger of being subjected to torture.
The government is also bound by a provision in the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act 2022, which prevents officials from extraditing refugees and dissidents who entered the kingdom illegally to states or countries where they can face danger.
Yet, governments and officials act as if the international convention and local laws don't exist. These dissidents have been deported for illegal entry.
Another glaring example was when the Prayut Chan-o-cha government returned 109 ethnic Uyghur men from immigration detention centres across Thailand in 2013 at the request of the Chinese government. This year, immigration police have stepped up their surveillance of dissidents and asylum seekers from Mekong region countries. Cambodian dissidents also reported attacks by unknown persons ahead of a state visit by new Cambodian PM Hun Manet.
In July, Y Quynh Bdap, a Vietnamese dissident with UN refugee status, was arrested and would have been deported if media and rights groups had not pressured the Thai government. Bdap is still at the Bangkok Remand Prison.
These cases raise questions about the government's real policy on human rights. Is the HRC seat just an example of its desire to make a mark on the global stage? Does the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act 2022 have any real teeth?
In practice, local officials still use immigration laws to deport dissidents despite their UN refugee status. In reality, the army and police have been accused of torturing rank-and-file officers or suspects in custody, and the national committees formed this year by the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act 2022 rarely convene. In short, the anti-torture law appears like a paper tiger.
The deportation of the six does not bode well. Lawmakers need to ensure the government upholds non-refoulement principles instead of appeasing neighbours. Remaining idle will only result in more dissidents being sent back.