UN Rights Chief Calls On Thailand’s Coup Leaders To Restore Basic Freedoms
New York, Sep 25 2006 10:00AM
Voicing concern over new restrictions on basic human rights in Thailand after last week’s coup, including free assembly
and expression, the top United Nations rights official today called on the country’s new leaders to ensure fundamental
freedoms and reinstate disbanded rights bodies.
“The forcible and unconstitutional replacement of Thailand’s freely-elected Government on 19 September, the
establishment of martial law, the abolition of the 1997 Constitution, the dissolution of Parliament and the Cabinet as
well as the disbanding of the Constitutional Court, have raised important human rights concerns,” UN High Commissioner
for Human Rights Louise Arbour said in a statement.
She called on the leaders of the Council for Democratic Reform under Constitutional Monarchy (CDRM) to ensure respect
for human rights and fundamental freedoms and reinstate the country’s human rights commission.
“The various decrees issued by the CDRM restrict a number of basic human rights, such as the right to freedom of
assembly, the right to freedom of opinion and expression, and freedom from arbitrary arrest and detention,” Ms. Arbour
said, urging the new authorities to restore the maximum exercise of such rights.
Expressing concern over the disbanding of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), she recalled that Thailand is
party to a number of international human rights instruments, including the International Covenant on Civil and Political
Rights. She urged the CDRM to take all necessary measures to ensure that the country’s international obligations are
respected and to reinstate the NHRC.
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