On 28 March 2017, the Human Rights Committee issued a concluding observation on the second periodic report of Thailand after the Thai delegation made an oral presentation to the Committee on the implementation of the obligations under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) during 13 – 14 March 2017 in Geneva, Switzerland.

The Committee welcomed Thailand’s progress made on various human rights aspects ranging from the setting up of a Committee to follow up on recommendations provided by the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, the passing of the Gender Equality Act B.E. 2558 and the Justice Fund Act B.E. 2558, and the adoption of the 3^rd National Human Rights Plan (2014-2018). The Committee also welcomed the fact that Thailand has become party to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol, and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Committee also recognized development and further recommended that Thailand continues its efforts on such issues as the abolishment or limiting the use of the death penalty only to the most serious crimes, upholding the principle of non-refoulement, establishing a screening mechanism for irregular migrants so as to render appropriate assistance to those in need of protection, applying the no-child in detention policy for migrant children, and improving the conditions of prisons and detention facilities.

The Committee recommended that the Thai Government further promotes civil and political rights, for example, by implementing the Interim Constitution and the draft Constitution, pushing forward the Draft Act on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance, transferring remaining civilian cases in the Military Court to the Court of Justice, limiting restrictions on freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, among others.

According to the Committee’s rules of procedure, the State party is requested to provide, within one year of the adoption of the present concluding observation, information regarding the Constitution and legal framework, extra-judicial killings, enforced disappearances and torture and conditions of detentions. Thailand is due to submit its 3^rd country report in the next 4 years, which is by 29 March 2021.

The Ministry of Justice as the focal point for ICCPR implementation will submit the outcome of this oral presentation of the country report together with the concluding observation to the cabinet for consideration. The Royal Thai Government is determined to promote and protect human rights and will continue to work towards better lives for the Thai people.