Page 147 - Dignity and justice for all of us our voices are heard in Thailand

Article 30

Second, Thailand’s laws, policies and practices provisions which offer better protection to
need to be tested against the backdrop of victims and witnesses, such as to enable them
universal/international human rights to be protected by a screen in court, shielding
standards, to see whether they are in them from having to come face to face with
conformity with them. Where they are lower those persons they accuse of having harmed
than those universal standards, they need to them. Also, women law enforcement officers
be reformed to ensure that they respect and will now be trained in how to interview
do not undermine those standards. On a women victims of violence. These provisions
welcome note, Thailand is now a party to a reflect developments of international human
large number of human rights treaties, of rights law, which aim for more victim-
which the Declaration is the progenitor. This sensibility and gender-sensitivity.
development is, of course, dependent upon
effective implementation at the national and Fourth, non-state actors need to abide more
local levels. strongly by human rights standards.
Interestingly, there has been a global call for
Third, currently there are various laws and more transparency, accountability and
practices which evidently diverge from the responsibility of the corporate sector to
content of human rights visible in the respect human rights – at times under the
Declaration. Security-related laws, such as the title ‘Corporate Social Responsibility’ or
Martial Law Act, the Emergency Decree, the ‘Corporate Responsibility’. While initiatives in
new National Security Law and various Thailand on this front are nascent, one
components of the Criminal Code, need to be concrete example is that parts of the
closely examined to ensure that they comply corporate sector have been supportive of a
with those standards. Likewise, capacity coalition advocating humane practices and
building among law enforcement personnel non-discrimination in regard to employees
needs to be initiated so that they have the affected by HIV and AIDS.
knowledge base, mindset and behaviour that
are compliant with human rights standards. Fifth, while some of those who are engaged
On a positive front, it should be recognized in acts of violence here, there or elsewhere
that various recent reforms concerning the claim that they were or are also the victims of
Criminal Law offer improved protection of human rights violations, it is important to
human rights. For example, there are new underline that one crime does not justify
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