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).

<p>A year has passed since the disappearance of Thai human rights activist, Wanchalearm Satsaksit. Witnesses report that he was forcibly abducted from a street near his home in Phnom Penh, where he had been living in self-imposed exile. Despite considerable public interest in the case, the investigation has made little headway.</p>

<p>The mother and sister of Siam Theerawut, who disappeared after fleeing to Vietnam, and the sister of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, who was reportedly abducted while living in Phnom Penh, have been told by the authorities that the status of investigations is a &lsquo;work in progress&rsquo;.</p>

<p>Friends and families of the victims of enforced disappearance gathered at Government House to express sorrow for their loss and submit demands to the authorities ahead of the 2nd anniversary of the disappearance of Siam Theerawut, an activist in self-exile who mysteriously disappeared after reportedly being extradited from Vietnam in 2019.</p>

<p>On the second day of its campaign about political deaths and exiles, the FreeArts Facebook page has posted a photo of a mock body bag with the name of Nuamthong Praiwan, a taxi driver who crashed his taxi into a military tank in opposition to the 2006 coup.</p>

<p>Kornkanok Khumta, an activist from Women for Freedom and Democracy, made a bold move during her online speech at the ASEAN People&rsquo;s Forum 2020 (APF) opening ceremony by mentioning the disappearances of Thai refugees in Laos and Vietnam.</p>

<p>The Committee on Enforced Disappearances has submitted a request to the Cambodian state to take urgent action in the case of Wanchalearm Satsaksit.</p>

<div>The decision by the junta’s lawmakers to drop consideration of a bill on torture and enforced disappearance is largely seen as a major setback by civil society organisations and victims’ families who are calling for answers and justifications.&nbsp;</div> <div> </div>

<div><img alt="" src="https://c1.staticflickr.com/3/2830/32569747524_f069966dbc_o.jpg" /></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>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. </div>

<div>A coalition of human rights organisations has condemned the junta’s suspension of a bill aimed at criminalising state enforced torture and disappearance, arguing the legal gap facilitates human rights abuses.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On 1 March 2017, a coalition of human rights groups including Thai Lawyers for Human Rights, the Cross Cultural Foundation, and the Human Rights Lawyers Association released <a href="http://www.tlhr2014.com/th/?p=3618">a statement</a> expressing alarm that the military government is taking steps backwards in the criminalisation of state enforced torture and </div>