Sep 21, 2015 | Advocacy, Non-legal submissions
Today, the ICJ and Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) made a joint submission to the Human Rights Council’s Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review in advance of the Human Rights Council’s review of Thailand in April/May 2016.
In their submission, the ICJ and TLHR expressed concern about the following issues:
(1) the impact of the new legal and institutional framework, imposed since the May 2014 coup d’état, on human rights in Thailand;
(2) instances of suspected enforced disappearance and torture; and
(3) issues concerning international human rights instruments and mechanisms.
A copy of the submission can be found here:
THAILAND-UPR SUBMISSION FINAL AS LODGED-Advocacy-Non legal submission-2015-ENG (full text in PDF)
Aug 20, 2015 | News
The bombing in Bangkok that killed 20 people and injured more than 120 constitutes a serious attack on human rights and demands an impartial and effective investigation to bring the perpetrators to justice, the ICJ said today.
“Targeting ordinary people, mostly tourists visiting a religious shrine, is an assault upon our shared humanity and human rights,” said Sam Zarifi ICJ’s Regional Director for Asia and the Pacific. “Thailand must counter this vile attack with a credible investigation that aims to deliver justice to the victims by identifying the perpetrators and bringing them to justice in accordance with the rule of law.”
“The Thai authorities must also resist the pressure to display progress through hasty conclusions and commit unwaveringly to an investigation that meets international standards and respects all legal and due process guarantees. Only a credible and fair process will provide truth and justice to the many victims and survivors,” he added.
As part of an effective investigation, the ICJ recommends Thailand to:
- protect the rights of the victims including by ensuring they:
o are treated with respect,
o receive regular information about the progress of the investigation and their rights in relation to it,
o receive all necessary support and assistance;
- ensure that the investigation hypothesis is not influenced by discrimination or bias based on ethnic, religious, political or other such grounds; and
- actively seek out and accept offers of assistance from other states including in the areas of:
o intelligence,
o forensic examination of crimes scenes, bodies and vehicles,
o analysis of phone material including call data and cell sites, and
o enhancement and analysis of Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) footage.
Thailand is required to effectively investigate the attack, to prosecute and punish those responsible, and to ensure victims have access to effective remedies and reparation, as part of its international legal obligations as a Party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), including pursuant to the right to life and the right to security of person.
Background:
On 17 August 2015 at approximately 19:00, an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) was detonated near the popular Erawan religious shrine at the Ratchaprasong intersection in central Bangkok.
On 18 August 2015 at approximately 13:00, a second IED was detonated near Bangkok’s Sathorn boat pier that exploded harmlessly in the water.
To date, no groups or individuals have claimed responsibility for either attack.
Contact:
Sam Zarifi, ICJ Asia Regional Director, (Bangkok), t:+66 807819002, e-mail: sam.zarif(a)icj.org
Kingsley Abbott, ICJ International Legal Adviser, (Bangkok), t:+66 944701345, e-mail: kingsley.abbott(a)icj.org
Thailand-BKK Blast-News-Press releases-2015-THA (full text in pdf, THAI)
Photo: Xinhua / Li Mangmang
Aug 6, 2015 | News
Thailand’s Department of Special Investigations (DSI) should launch a special investigation into the apparent enforced disappearance of Karen activist, “Billy,” the ICJ and the Justice for Peace Foundation (JPF) said today.
Today, Billy’s wife, Phinnapha Phrueksaphan, delivered a letter to the DSI requesting it to assume jurisdiction over the case after the police investigation has presented little progress since Billy was last seen in the custody of Kaeng Krachan Park officials on 17 April 2014.
“This is precisely the kind of case the DSI was created to investigate,” said Kingsley Abbott, International Legal Adviser at the ICJ.
“The investigation is complex, the suspects include influential administrative officials and if Billy was forcibly disappeared then an extremely serious crime under international law has been committed. The police investigation does not appear to have advanced significantly in more than a year and so now it’s long past time for the DSI to take over,” he added.
Phinnapha Phrueksaphan also asked the DSI for Pol. Col. Traiwit to be part of any DSI investigation team due to the commitment she thinks he has demonstrated to the investigation so far and to disclose the results of the DNA testing of the blood allegedly found in a Park Official’s vehicle (in which Billy was last seen).
She was supported by Angkhana Neelapaijit, the head of JPF, whose own husband, Somchai Neelapaijit, was the victim of enforced disappearance in 2004 and whose case the DSI is still investigating.
“Thailand must act on its repeated commitments to combating enforced disappearance by handing this case over to the DSI. There are strong parallels between Billy’s case and the case of my husband and there is no reason why the DSI should be investigating one and not the other,” said Angkhana Neelapaijit.
The DSI was created by The Special Investigation Act B.E. 2547 (2004) and is sometimes referred to as the FBI of Thailand. It has the power to assume jurisdiction over special criminal cases including complex cases that require special inquiry; crimes committed by organized criminal groups; and cases where the suspect is an influential person or an administrative official.
Background
Since Billy “disappeared” his wife has been raising their five children on her own.
Thailand, pursuant to its international legal obligations, including as a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, is required to promptly, independently and effectively investigate and, where appropriate, prosecute, punish and provide a remedy and reparation for the crime of enforced disappearance.
The Royal Thai Government has signaled its recognition of the gravity of the crime of enforced disappearance and its commitment to combating it by signing (but not yet ratifying) the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 9 January 2012. The Convention affirms the absolute right not to be subject to enforced disappearance and places an obligation on states to make it a criminal offence punishable by appropriate penalties that take into account its “extreme seriousness.”
The Thai Cabinet is currently considering a draft law that would make enforced disappearance and torture stand-alone crimes in Thailand.
Since July 2014, the ICJ has repeatedly called for the DSI to assume jurisdiction over the case.
For more information see:
https://www.icj.org/thailand-strengthen-efforts-to-solve-the-apparent-enforced-disappearance-of-billy/
https://www.icj.org/thailand-disappearance-of-billy-demands-special-investigation/
https://www.icj.org/thai-authorities-must-urgently-investigate-billys-disappearance/
Contact
Kingsley Abbott, ICJ International Legal Adviser, email: kingsley.abbott(a)icj.org or mobile: +66 94 4701345
Angkhana Neelapaijit, Justice for Peace Foundation, email: angkhana.nee(a)gmail.com or mobile: +66 84 7280350
Thailand-Disappearance Billy-News-PR-2015-ENG (full text of the press release)
Thailand-Disappearance Billy-News-PR-2015-THA (full text of the press release in Thai)
Jun 26, 2015 | Advocacy, Cases, Legal submissions, News
The ICJ submitted today a third party intervention before the European Court of Human Rights in the case of Richmond Yaw and others v. Italy regarding the detention of four migrants in Italian Centres for Identification and Expulsion.
The case raises issues related to the lawfulness of their detention in immigration centres, and the compliance of the mechanisms of judicial review and compensation for unlawful detention with the European Convention on Human Rights.
Taky Berko Richmond Yaw, Yaw Ansu Matthew, Darke Isaac Kwadwo, and Dominic Twumasi, nationals of Guinea, had been detained in the Centre for Identification and Expulsion of Ponte Galeria (Rome).
In these submissions, the ICJ presented the Court with a summary of its findings regarding the law and practice of detention of migrants and the related judicial guarantees in Italy, in its 2014 report, “Undocumented” Justice for Migrants in Italy.
Furthermore, the ICJ presented an analysis of the principles that apply in regard to arbitrary detention of persons detained for the purposes of immigration control under article 5.1.f. ECHR, in particular:
- The principle of legality, including the fact that the basis, procedures and conditions for detention must be provided by law, and the principle that detention must be carried out in good faith; and the due process guarantees related to these principles;
- The requirement that detention be undertaken only pursuant to the permitted purposes of article 5.1.f ECHR, and the need for strict construction of this requirement, and ongoing scrutiny of compliance with it, in particular in the context of long periods of detention;
- The requirements of access to an effective judicial mechanism to secure the right to habeas corpus and review of the legality, necessity and proportionality of the detention of migrants, under article 5.4. ECHR;
- The requirements of an effective remedy and reparation mechanism for unlawful deprivation of liberty under article 5.5 ECHR.
ECtHR-AmicusBrief-Yaw&others v Italy-Advocacy-Legal Submission-2015-ENG (download the third party intervention)
May 29, 2015 | Advocacy, News, Non-legal submissions, Position papers
The ICJ called today on the EU institutions to bridge the final implementation gaps to ensure an effective access to justice to victims of violent hate crimes.
The contribution of the ICJ was submitted as input for the European Commission’s first annual fundamental rights colloquium to be held next October and focused on “Tolerance and respect: preventing and combating antisemitic and anti-Muslim hatred in Europe”.
In its submission, the ICJ finds that the greatest weakness in addressing violent hate crime currently lies primarily in the failure of effective national implementation, which has meant that, despite development of the law, and despite authoritative recommendations from international and EU human rights bodies, the frequency of commission of violent hate crimes appears to have increased, and impunity for such crimes has persisted.
The ICJ considers that there are two main reasons for this lack of implementation: 1) lack of political or institutional will in Member States; 2) lack of implementation tools tailored to the laws, legal institutions and culture of the single national legal system.
The ICJ concluds, in its contribution, that it is the time for the European Union institutions to take up the opportunity to unite the efforts of all those concerned in the administration of justice – judges, court administrators, lawyers, civil society, judicial organizations, bar associations and government officers – throughout the EU to work together on the detailed technical assistance needed for an effective implementation of the right to an effective remedy for victims of crimes motivated by discrimination.
EU-Colloquium2015-ICJContribution-ViolentHateCrimes-Advocacy-non legal submission-2015-eng (download the submission)
