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Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Commentary

Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn is from the Law and since the Declaration came about
Faculty of Chulalongkorn University. He has immediately following the Second World War,
helped the United Nations in a variety of it was influenced by the need to remind the
capacities, including as an expert, consultant world that the war itself had been the result
and Special Rapporteur. He also helps of egregious human rights violations due to
Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission Nazism and Fascism – both ideologies
and a number of civil society groups. This is antithetical to the spirit and substance of
Professor Vitit Muntarbhorn
Faculty of Law, Chulalongkorn University his reflection and commentary on Article 30: human rights.

“Article 30 is intriguingly placed at the end of Generally, human rights advocacy is based
“Thailand’s laws, the Declaration as a reminder that the human upon the right of individuals, and increasingly,

policies and rights listed in the Declaration are to be the right of peoples and communities, to call
upon the state to abide by human rights.
promoted, protected and respected rather
practices need to than undermined. Any interpretation of the Article 30 posits another possible angle upon
be tested against Declaration should be influenced by the need the premise that human rights obligations
bind everyone and every entity whether it be
for constructive and progressive interpretation,
the backdrop of based upon the universality of human rights, a state, group or individual. This is particularly
human rights rather than a destructive or regressive pertinent today when, in this age of
globalization, many entities beyond the state
interpretation.
standards” have great impact on human rights. They
The history of the drafting of the Declaration include terrorist groups and a variety of non-
indicates that there was a debate concerning state actors.
whether the injunction against negative
interpretation or use of the Declaration From a Thai perspective, Article 30 can be
should cover persons, groups and/or states. taken to imply a number of considerations.
In the end, all three entities were and are First, given that in the past, many of Thailand’s
encompassed by the Article and the message constitutions were overturned by coups d’état,
is that states, groups and persons (individuals) the preferred orientation is to use peaceful
should not be involved in activities that means of change based on human rights and
compromise the rights and freedoms democratic approaches, while avoiding the
propounded by the Declaration. In essence, it use of force.
is a call against extremism in its various forms,
134 Dignity and Justice for All of Us