Groups urge Thai action against torture, disappearances
BANGKOK — Rights groups are urging Thailand’s government to enact legislation banning torture and forced disappearances as its human rights record comes under United Nations review.
Tuesday’s review in Geneva by the U.N. Human Rights Committee comes shortly after Thailand’s legislature unanimously ratified a U.N. treaty against forced disappearances. But groups such as Human Rights Watch say Thailand needs domestic laws explicitly prohibiting torture and forced disappearances to effectively comply with the treaty.
Last month, Thailand’s legislature failed to pass a bill against torture and enforced disappearances, saying it needed more study. The U.N. expressed concern over the matter, which is to be discussed at Tuesday’s review of Thailand’s compliance with a civil and political rights treaty ratified in 1996.
“I don’t think they’re trying enough. Ratification of international law is not enough,” said Pornpen Khongkachonkiet, director of the Cross Cultural Foundation, a Thai anti-torture organization. “They need to do things domestically.”