On 30 September 2024, the ICJ filed two submissions ahead of the Committee Against Torture’s examination of Thailand’s second periodic report under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, scheduled for 5 and 6 November 2024.
This marks ten years since the Committee last reviewed Thailand’s compliance with its treaty obligations under the Convention in 2014.
In its first submission, the ICJ provided information and analysis to assist the Committee in making recommendations addressing Thailand’s implementation of various articles of the Convention. This submission highlights concerns, including the inadequate criminalization of torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment (CIDT/P), and enforced disappearance; domestic legislation that could result in immunity; concerns over de facto impunity; the lack of progress in investigations into allegations of torture, CIDT/P, enforced disappearance, and custodial deaths in disputed circumstances; insufficient protection for victims and witnesses; lack of/inadequate redress and compensation measures; and threats and reprisals against those exposing these violations.
The second submission is a joint report by the ICJ and SHero Thailand, aimed at addressing Thailand’s obligations under the Convention to prevent, investigate, and prosecute gender-based violence (GBV).
This joint submission analyzes laws that neither appropriately nor adequately prohibit all forms of GBV and that fail to impose effective, proportionate, and dissuasive sanctions and punishments, particularly regarding various forms of sexual and domestic violence.
The submission also discusses the low level of prosecutions for sexual and domestic violence offences, including due to laws that obstruct access to justice for GBV survivors/victims, persistent gender stereotyping by justice sector actors, Thailand’s failure to ensure gender-sensitive procedures, and other resource-related obstacles to addressing GBV, among other concerns.
In addition to the submissions made, the ICJ will brief the Committee in advance of its consideration of Thailand’s compliance with the Convention’s obligations, which will take place in Geneva, Switzerland, in November this year.
Following its review, the Committee Against Torture will publish its Concluding Observations and recommendations, a document that highlights positive aspects of the treaty’s implementation and areas where Thailand needs to improve and take further action.
Contact
Melissa Upreti, Regional Director, ICJ Asia and the Pacific Programme, e: melissa.upreti@icj.org
Sanhawan Srisod, Associate International Legal Adviser, ICJ Asia and the Pacific Programme; e: sanhawan.srisod@icj.org