Thailand’s House of Representatives finally passes torture bill
The House of Representatives has finally passed a draft of the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act. It will come into effect in December.
Of the 289 MPs present, 287 voted in favour, one voted against, and one abstained. The draft act will be proposed to His Majesty the King and will come into effect 120 days after its announcement in the Royal Gazette.
The draft act, proposed by the Rights and Liberties Protection Department, aims to prevent officials from violating laws and protect those who perform duties in line with laws at the same time.
A number of pro-democracy activists and political dissenters have gone missing in Thailand in recent years, such as Wanchalearm Satsaksit, and the bill will go a long way to stop such disappearances in the future.
Wanchalearm was abducted by armed men outside the Mekong Garden Apartment in Phnom Penh on June 4 last year. The incident was recorded on CCTV but nothing has been done to find him.
The 37 year old fled to the Cambodian capital in 2014 after being summoned by the government following a coup in May of the same year.
Porlajee “Billy” Rakchongcharoen, a well-known Karen community leader and environmental activist in Phetchaburi, is another who disappeared.
The previous lack of legislation was contrary to Thailand signing up to the UN’s Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment since 2007 and the country’s signing of the International Convention on the Protection of All Persons from Forced Disappearance in 2012.
Under this new law, torture and enforced disappearance are defined as criminal offenses. It also provides means for the prosecution of government officials for such wrongdoings and protects civil servants who perform their duties in good faith.
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