Page 14 - The strategic plan of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (2002-2007)

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1) Children, youth and family ○ ○ ○ Human Rights Situations
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○ and Challenges
Overall situations regarding children, youth and their families ○ ○
appear to be improving, particularly in the areas of health care, ○ ○ ○

education, and social awareness. In addition, in our Thai culture ○ ○ ○
and ways of life, the family unit and the sense of community ○ ○
are still relatively strong. However, the economic and social ○ ○ ○
development has recently showed the undesirable impacts that ○ ○ ○

have weakened the family institution, lessened family member’s ○ ○
potential in all aspects, including the immunisation for children ○ ○ ○

from social illness. Lately, we have witnessed more reports on
various forms of child abuse and exploitation, and the situation ○
gets worse in terms of numbers and seriousness. Among some ○ ○ ○

serious phenomena are also drugs-addicted children and youth, ○ ○ ○
sexually abused and exploited girls and boys, abandoned street ○ ○

children, child labours, refugee children, abused or maltreated ○ ○ ○
children in detention places. ○ ○ ○ ○

Apart from the protection of children’s rights, it is essential ○ ○ ○

that all sectors in the society must be responsible to children ○ ○ ○
and youth in their respective roles. In this light, formal and ○ ○
informal education must be strengthened as it will be a solid and ○ ○ ○

foremost foundation to cultivate a human rights culture within ○ ○ ○
the Thai society. ○ ○ ○

2) Legal and justice system ○ ○ ○ ○

Although the Constitution requires a range of improvement ○ ○ ○
in legal and justice system, there is a felt need to create a ○ ○ ○

human rights culture in the relevant organisations. The areas ○ ○ ○
of concern are the protection of the rights of people who are ○ ○

charged with a penal offence, the administration of juvenile justice, ○ ○ ○
the protection of victims and witnesses of a criminal case, the ○ ○ ○
undue delay in certain quarters of the judicial process, and the ○ ○

treatment of prisoners. ○ ○ ○ ○ ○ ○

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