Bangkok, Paris, 28 November 2024. On 22 November 2024, the CAT issued its findings (known as "Concluding Observations") following the review of Thailand’s second periodic report under the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, which took place on 5 and 6 November 2024 in Geneva, Switzerland. The CAT monitors the implementation of the Convention’s provisions by state parties, including Thailand.
In its Concluding Observations, the CAT was concerned that prisons continued to face high levels of overcrowding and deteriorating conditions of detention. The CAT expressed further concern over the disproportionate effects suffered by women, who experienced high rates of incarceration due to the country’s strict drug laws and policies, and faced additional challenges in detention, including access to specific hygienic needs. It also remained "seriously concerned" over the high number of deaths in custody and the authorities’ failure to carry out credible investigations into most of those cases. The CAT called on Thai authorities to strengthen efforts to improve conditions of detention and alleviate overcrowding in prisons, and to ensure that the special needs of detained women are met. For cases of deaths in custody, the CAT urged the authorities to conduct prompt and impartial investigations into such cases and prosecute those responsible.
In addition, the CAT expressed "grave concern" over allegations of deplorable detention conditions in immigration detention centers and the fact that irregular migrants and stateless persons may be subject to criminal prosecution and indefinite detention without proper access to judicial review. The CAT called on Thai authorities to ensure that the regime and conditions of immigration detention are fully compliant with international standards and that administrative detention of migrants is applied only as a last resort, when determined to be strictly necessary and proportionate, and for as short a period as possible, with regular judicial review. It also recommended that Thailand’s laws, including the Immigration Act, conform to international standards that prohibit criminal prosecution and indefinite detention for irregular entry.
The CAT also raised concern over the undue restrictions to access to places of detention by external organizations, including the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) and civil society organisations, to inspect and monitor detention conditions. The CAT recommended the government ensure the representation of non-governmental organisations in monitoring bodies and consider favorably their requests to conduct visits to places of detention.
With regard to torture, the CAT expressed concern over torture and ill-treatment, in some cases resulting in death of military recruits. It called for prompt, impartial, thorough, efficient, and independent investigations into all allegations of torture and ill-treatment by law enforcement officials, the prosecution and punishment of all persons suspected of having committed torture or ill-treatment, and appropriate and timely redress and compensation for the victims and/or their family members. It also recommended authorities ensure the jurisdiction of civilian courts over cases of torture, ill-treatment, and wrongful death involving military recruits.
While noting that Article 13 of Thailand’s Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Act established the non-derogable principle of non-refoulement, the CAT was concerned regarding its application in practice, as evidenced by the case of Montagnard human rights defender and refugee Y Quynh Bdap, who is at risk of extradition to Vietnam. The CAT called for the guarantee of the non-refoulement principle in both law and practice, and effective procedural safeguards for those facing return or extradition to another country.
The CAT was also concerned by the "apparent lack of progress" in investigating and prosecuting enforced disappearances in Thailand, including the cases of human rights defenders Porlagee "Billy" Rakchongcharoen and Somchai Neelapaijit, and by the "pattern of disappearances" of Thai political activists abroad and of foreign political activists in Thailand. The CAT called for prompt, impartial, thorough, efficient, and independent investigations into all allegations of enforced disappearance, the prosecution and punishment of all persons suspected of having committed such crime, and appropriate and timely redress and compensation for the victims and/or their family members. The CAT also recommended the government use "all available national and international cooperation mechanisms" and, when necessary, establish such mechanisms, to resolve cases involving allegations of enforced disappearance of Thai nationals abroad.
The CAT was concerned that Thai courts continued to impose the death penalty, including for drug-related and other offenses, and that "a significant number of persons" remained under death sentence. The CAT recommended the Thai government consider a moratorium on the death penalty and a review of legislation and policy to abolish capital punishment.
With regard to human rights defenders, the CAT expressed concern over "recurring reports" of attacks and reprisals against them, including through threats, physical attacks, enforced disappearance, killings, and the use of Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation (SLAPP). The CAT called on the authorities to ensure "an enabling environment" for human rights defenders, "vigorously investigate" all allegations of torture, ill-treatment, and harassment, including judicial harassment, of human rights defenders, and take appropriate steps to ensure their effective protection against SLAPP lawsuits.
Most of the the above-referenced findings and recommendations mirrored those included by FIDH and UCL in their joint submission to the CAT and their most recent reports concerning conditions in prisons and immigration detention centers (IDCs) in Thailand.
During the review of Thailand, several CAT members also raised the issue of the use of Article 112 of Thailand’s Criminal Code "lèse-majesté" against human rights defenders and its harsh punishment that caused concerns of degrading treatment. These concerns were not addressed by the Thai government delegation.