With regards to the Amnesty International’s report on the State of the World’s Human Rights 2015 – 2016, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs wishes to make the following clarification:

• The latest annual report of Amnesty International provides a summary of human rights situations covering 160 countries in 5 regions around the world whereas the synopsis on Thailand’s human rights’ situation is merely a part of its entire report;

• We regret that the Report only presents issues of concern while leaving out several points on positive developments in Thailand. The Report also ignores the daunting challenge facing Thailand which is the need to strike the right balance between freedom of assembly and freedom of expression and the need to prevent political conflicts from re-emerging. The Report is, therefore, imbalanced and does not consider the particular context of Thailand.  In addition, the said report does not reflect various positive developments derived from the Royal Thai Government’s genuine efforts in improving human rights standard. These include, for example, Thailand’s leading role in hosting international meetings on irregular migration in the Indian Ocean; cracking down on networks of traffickers and officers complicit in the illegal activities; and the amendments and passage of 164 bills which have been forwarded  to the National Legislative Assembly (NLA) for enactment. Since coming to office, a number of human rights related laws have been passed, for example, the Gender Equality Act, the Amendment to the 2008 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act, and the Justice Fund Act. The Government has also implemented policies to reduce inequalities, protect vulnerable groups, and regularise migrant workers from neighbouring countries;

• On the issue of civil liberty, Thailand supports and highly values freedom of expression and human rights in accordance with international practices. For example, press can freely criticize the government. Nevertheless, the government is obliged to maintain a minimal degree of restriction to uphold public order and prevent social divisiveness as the country is gradually undertaking the comprehensive reform towards social harmony and a strengthened and sustainable democracy;

• The Government views reports by Civil Society, including that of AI, as a perspective and reflection from outside that should be listened to. We believe that constructive engagement and dialogue as well as partnership with Civil Society on various social issues including human rights would lead to effective promotion and protection of human rights for all in the country.