Page 26 - รายงานผลการประเมินสถานการณ์ด้านสิทธิมนุษยชนของประเทศไทย ปี 2563

As for the situation in the southern border provinces, statistical data shows that the
number of casualties and injuries in unrest incidents in 2020 declined compared to the
previous year. The government and the state agencies concerned have provided assistance

to the people affected by violence by unrest incidents in the area to compensate for their
loss or inconvenience. Efforts have also been made to address the unrest through peace
dialogue, training to provide knowledge and understanding of human rights principles
to security officers, and improvement of detention places for suspects that would allow for

monitoring of treatment of detainees. However, there are still issues affecting human rights
which need to be continuously monitored, e.g. claims about torture of suspects in national
security cases, complaints about the conduct of DNA tests by the authorities in some areas
without clear explanation, thus causing mistrust among the people, and suspension of mobile
phone signal for those who have not registered upon obtaining SIM cards until there is proof
of identity by face recognition. Such measure may affect the right of access to information of

mobile phone users amidst the spread of COVID 19 situation. The NHRCT suggests that the
government agencies concerned should give priority to fostering understanding and building
trust with the local people when it comes to necessary action which may affect their rights.
This would result in better cooperation from the local people in curbing the unrest situation
in the area.

Regarding capital punishment, there are divergent views in the Thai society on the issue.
Those who support such punishment see it is an imperative mean to suppress crimes while

others see it as a cruel punishment that is contradictory to the fundamental human rights
principle of “the right to life”. The NHRCT has made recommendations to the government
and concerned agencies to intensify communication efforts to continuously provide
proper information to the public about capital punishment in a more effective manner.
The justice system should also be improved. The government has been recommended

to consider abolishing capital punishment for crimes which do not fall under the scope and
definition of “most serious crimes”, including considering alternative measures to be used
once capital punishment is abolished, e.g. changing capital punishment to life imprisonment.

With regard to freedom of expression, concern has been expressed by some parties
about the enforcement of the Computer Crimes Act (No. 2) B.E. 2560 (2017), particularly the
interpretation of certain terms e.g. “public safety” or “economic security” in the definition
of the crime in a manner which may restrict the exercise of the freedom of expression too

excessively and is not consistent with the purpose of the law. The NHRCT has therefore
recommended that the government should set clear operational guidelines to reduce
discretion by the authorities and to ensure that the law is enforced in accordance with
its intention. As with freedom of the press, one issue of concern is when the media presents
a news story in a way which may affect human rights and dignity, for example, the case
of mass shooting in Nakorn Ratchasima province. Although the freedom of the press is

guaranteed by the law, the media have special duty and responsibility to respect the rights

24 คณะกรรมการสิทธิมนุษยชนแห่งชาติ
National Human Rights Commission of Thailand