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Thailand

This article is part of the series: Politics and government of Thailand

King Bhumibol Adulyadej Prime Minister Surayud Chulanont 2005-2006 political crisis 2006 coup d'état Council for National Security Sonthi Boonyaratkalin Civilian interim government Cabinet of Thailand National Assembly Political parties Elections April 2006 (invalidated) October 2006 (cancelled) next (2007) Constitutions 1997 Constitution (abrogated) 2006 Interim Constitution Next Constitution (referendum) Constitutional Court Provinces and districts Human rights South Thailand insurgency Foreign relations Foreign aid

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The constitution provides for freedom of speech, press, peaceful assembly and association, religion, and movement within the country and abroad.

Contents 1 Constitutional guarantees 2 Infrigement of human rights 2.1 Rights of the press and right to assembly 2.2 Infringement in the South of Thailand 2.3 Deaths relating to the 2003 war on drugs 2.4 Human trafficking and prostitutions 3 References 4 See also 5 External links

The Constitution of Thailand was abrogated in September 2006 following a military coup, repealing the fundamental human rights noted below. The military has not stated when a new constitution will be promulgated or whether it will continue to guarantee the human rights of the people of Thailand.

A plethora of fundamental human rights were explicitly recognized in the 1997 People's Constitution. For the first time, the right to human dignity, not only the rights and liberties of an individual, were protected.

Many new rights were introduced in the Constitution. These include the right to free education, the rights of traditional communities, and the right to peacefully protest coups and other extra-constitutional means of acquiring power, the rights of children, the elderly, handicapped people's rights, and equality of the sexes. Freedoms of information, the right to public health and education and consumer rights are also recognized. A total of 40 rights, compared to only nine rights in the Constitution of 1932, were recognized in the 1997 Constitution.^[1]

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The government is reported generally to respect the rights of its citizens. However, the U.S. Department of State has reported significant problems in several areas.

In the wake of the 2006 Thailand coup d'état, the right to free speech has been seriously eroded. The military has implemented a ban on political meetings and does not allow for any criticism of them in the media. Political activities of all types were also banned. The Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) noted that Thailand's media environment -- prior to the coup considered one of the freest and most vibrant in Asia -- had quickly deteriorated following the military ousting of Thaksin. It noted the closure of around 300 community radio stations in Thai provinces, the intermittent blocking of cable news channels (particularly whenever news on Thaksin and criticism of the coup came up), and the suspension of some Thai websites devoted to discussing the implications of military intervention to Thai democracy. SEAPA also noted that while there seemed to be no crackdown on journalists, and while foreign and local reporters seemed free to roam, interview, and report on the coup as they saw fit, self-censorship was a certain issue in Thai newsrooms.

Several problems have been reported in the Southern provinces, relating to the South Thailand insurgency. Some 180 persons are reported to have died there while in custody in 2004. Security forces have sometimes operated in “a climate of impunity,” and have used excessive, lethal force against criminal suspects, and reportedly have committed or been connected to numerous extrajudicial, arbitrary, and unlawful killings.

The government’s antidrug war in 2003 resulted in more than 1,300 extrajudicial killings of suspected drug traffickers. Prison conditions and some provincial immigration detention facilities are characterized as poor. In 2004 more than 1,600 persons died in prison or police custody, 131 as a result of police actions.

Trafficking in women and children and forced prostitution and labor are serious problems in Thailand. It is conservatively estimated that 200,000 women and children are engaged in prostitution as part of Thailand’s illegal sex tourism industry. Of these, between 30,000 and 40,000 prostitutes are under the age of 18 years; this figure does not include foreign migrants, many of whom come from Burma, China, and Laos. Thai and migrant women also are trafficked to Japan, Malaysia, Bahrain, Australia, South Africa, Europe, and the United States for prostitution and sweatshop labor.

1. ^ Thanet Aphornsuvan, The Search for Order: Constitutions and Human Rights in Thai Political History, 2001 Symposium: Constitutions and Human Rights in a Global Age: An Asia Pacific perspective

• Gay rights in Thailand
• Censorship in Thailand
• Constitution of Thailand

• Freedom of expression in Thailand - IFEX
• Asia Death Penalty blog monitors the death penalty in Asia, including in Thailand

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This article contains material from the Library of Congress Country Studies, which are United States government publications in the public domain.