International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICCPED)

20 Sep 2023
Human rights groups have called on the Thai government to immediately accede to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) and to immediately lift the reservations made by Thailand under the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT).
31 Aug 2019
On the International Day of the Disappeared (30 August), former human rights commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit published an open letter to the government, parliament, and other relevant agencies calling for the Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Bill to be presented to the elected House of Representatives for re-consideration.
13 Mar 2017
  Amnesty International and the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) regret the decision of Thailand’ National Legislative Assembly (NLA) to further delay the passage of essential legislation criminalizing torture and enforced disappearances.
26 Sep 2016
Since 1991, 101 Thai citizens have been subjected to enforced disappearance. This has motivated a drive to draft a law against enforced disappearance to make accountable state officials and their supervisors if they are aware of the offence, to prohibit defamation prosecutions against complainants and to ensure that every minute is counted. Academics are concerned that the bill will be dropped or distorted and noted that Article 44 of the Interim Constitution alone can override any law against enforced disappearance because of its supra-constitutional power.
30 Aug 2016
Thailand’s government has failed to abide by its pledge to make enforced disappearance a crime under Thai laws, Human Rights Watch said today. August 30 is the United Nations International Day of the Victims of Enforced Disappearances.
25 May 2016
The Thai government should promptly act on pledges to make torture and enforced disappearance criminal offenses, Human Rights Watch said today.
19 Jan 2016
Almost two years of after the disappearance of a Karen activist, the police have found several flaws in the testimony of national park officers and put up a 200,000 baht reward for information. Last Thursday, 14 January 2016, Angkhana Neelapaijit, Head of the Sub-Committee on Civil Rights of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), held a meeting to review progress in the case of the enforced disappearance of Porlajee Rakchongcharoen, aka Billy, a Karen human and community rights activist, who disappeared on 17 April 2014.
7 Jan 2016
Calling on Thailand to criminalize enforced disappearance in its laws in line with international standards, the top United Nations human rights official today urged the Government to take decisive and sustained steps to investigate the whereabouts of at least 82 people listed as disappeared.
29 Dec 2015
In a landmark case to set a legal standard on enforced disappearance, the Thai Supreme Court has acquitted five police officers allegedly involved in the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit, a Muslim human rights lawyer.   After 11 years of legal struggle by Somchai’s family, the Supreme Court of Thailand on Tuesday, 29 December 2015, confirmed the Appeal Court acquittal of five policemen accused of involvement in the enforced disappearance of Somchai.
13 Mar 2015
Paris, Bangkok, 12 March 2015: Thailand must urgently ratify the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance (ICPPED) and step up efforts to investigate the enforced disappearance of Somchai Neelapaijit, FIDH and its member organization Union For Civil Liberty (UCL) said today. The two organizations made the call on the 11th anniversary of Somchai Neelapaijit’s disappearance.
13 Mar 2015
A new ICJ report criticizes the Thai Government’s failure to take the steps necessary to establish the fate and whereabouts of missing lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, saying it illustrates the challenges of achieving justice in cases of serious human violations in Thailand. In the report, Ten Years Without Truth: Somchai Neelapaijit and Enforced Disappearances in Thailand, the ICJ documents the tortuous legal history of the case.
12 Mar 2015
A civil society organisation has urged police to step up measures to investigate the disappearance of a Karen human rights defender, pointing out that the case is being neglected. The Cross Cultural Foundation (CrCF), a civil society organisation which promotes and monitors human rights in Thailand, on Wednesday submitted a letter to Police Region 7 in order to urge the police to step up efforts in investigating the disappearance of Pollachi Rakchongcharoen, aka Billy, a Karen human rights activist who disappeared on 17 April 2014.
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