UN human rights body cautions Thailand over amnesty bill

Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

While in polls, a majority of the Thais support the Amnesty Bill, to even a greater than the current bill have covered, the United Nations on Wednesday called on the Thai government to ensure that any form of amnesty bill, which might be adopted to grant pardon to political offenders, would not allow serious human right abusers to go unpunished. In a press release, the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) voiced concern over the political situation in Thailand who has recently heated up over an amnesty bill proposed by the country’s ruling Pheu Thai Party. The bill, scheduled to be deliberated by the Thai parliament on Wednesday and Thursday, aims to grant amnesty to political offenders involved in political conflict and violence in 2010, which resulted in more than 90 deaths and thousands of injuries. The OHCHR noted that a Truth and Reconciliation Commission of Thailand (TRCT) set up in the wake of the violence issued a report containing serious and substantive findings of human rights abuses. But OHCHR is concerned that the amnesty bill, if adopted, could pardon those involved in serious human rights violations. It urged the Thai government to ensure that any amnesty excludes perpetrators of human rights abuses and to take steps to prosecute them. “We reiterate the previous call by the high commissioner for the government to act on the TRCT’s recommendations and ensure that state officials and others are held to account for their role in serious human rights abuses,” said OHCHR spokesperson Ccile Pouilly. “This would set an important precedent for Thailand,” he added. (Source)

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