Dec 1, 2021 | DFF, Statements
Mr. Ayuth Sintoppant
Director General, Department of Corrections
Suanyai Sub-district, Mueang District
Nonthaburi Province
Thailand
Bangkok, 30 November 2021
Re: Ongoing restrictions on prison visits and correspondence
Dear Mr. Ayuth,
We, the undersigned national and international human rights organizations, urge the Department of Corrections to accelerate the lifting of restrictions on prison visits and correspondence that have been put in place since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020.
On 18 March 2020, the Department of Corrections temporarily suspended all in-person visits by families of inmates in prisons and correctional institutions nationwide, as part of the government’s measures to contain the spread of COVID-19.
While we welcome Justice Minister Somsak Thepsutin’s announcement that 38 prisons have reopened for family visits since 12 November 2021, we note that visits are still suspended in the remaining 97 correctional facilities across Thailand.
Since March 2020, all communications between prisoners and their families can only be conducted through video or phone calls on the Line messaging application or e-mails, depending on the availability in each prison. Online visitation measures introduced by the Department of Corrections have placed unjustifiable obstacles for visiting families of inmates. These include limited visitation time of 10 minutes per visit, only one visit per month, and the prohibition of online meetings for inmates undergoing quarantine. In addition, some families of inmates who do not have access to online communication channels are unable to have any contact with their relative in detention.
Visits from lawyers have been subject to prison authorities granting permission pursuant to the disease prevention guidelines set out by the Ministry of Public Health. On multiple occasions, prison authorities have denied permission for meetings between lawyers and prisoners, citing the COVID-19 situation or the mandatory quarantine period for prisoners. In many cases, prison authorities monitored or intervened in these meetings or examined documents or correspondence between lawyers and prisoners. In some prisons, communication equipment, such as mobile phones and computers, has been insufficient, resulting in limited meeting time between lawyers and their clients.
While we acknowledge that restrictions on visits were put in place to protect the health and well-being of prison staff, prisoners, and visitors during the pandemic, these restrictions should respect the right of prisoners to have contact with their families, friends, and the outside world. We recall that in their Interim Guidelines on COVID-19, the United Nations (UN) Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) recommended that “any preventive measures need to take the rights and needs of families of prisoners into consideration as well as avoid placing extra-burden upon them” and that “interference with privacy or family must not be arbitrary or unlawful.”
The Interim Guidelines also state that during the COVID-19 pandemic, “prisoners’ ability to meet with legal counsel must be maintained, and prison or detention authorities should ensure that lawyers can speak with their client confidentially.”
Contact with the outside world through visits, telephone calls, and correspondence, and access to a lawyer, are guaranteed under Thailand’s 1936 Penitentiary Act (amended in 2017). Under Article 60, prisoners “shall be permitted to contact persons outside prison.” Article 61 requires that prisons “arrange a place for prisoners to personally meet and consult with lawyers.”
Contact with the outside world and access to a lawyer are also part of international standards related to prison conditions. Rule 58 of the Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (the Nelson Mandela Rules) states that prisoners should be allowed, “under necessary supervision, to communicate with their family and friends at regular intervals […] by receiving visits.” Rule 61.1 stipulates that “prisoners shall be provided with adequate opportunity, time and facilities to be visited by and to communicate and consult with a legal adviser of their own choice or a legal aid provider, without delay, interception or censorship and in full confidentiality, on any legal matter, in conformity with applicable domestic law. Consultations may be within sight, but not within hearing, of prison staff.”
Prison visits and contact with the outside world also contribute to ensuring the humane and dignified treatment of prisoners, which is guaranteed under Article 10(1) of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR). In addition, under Article 37 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) children deprived of their liberty have the right to maintain contact with their families through correspondence and visits.
Extended periods of limited contact with the outside world have a negative impact on the mental health of prisoners, exacerbating their existing vulnerability to emotional and psychological distress. Ensuring that prisoners can maintain regular social contact with their families and friends is therefore of great importance to protecting their well-being.
As the Thai government announced the official “re-opening” of the country to visitors on 1 November 2021, we urge you to take urgent and necessary steps to re-open prisons to family members and lawyers as well. As 64% of the total prison population (183,304 out of 284,224) has been fully vaccinated as of 28 November 2021, the Department of Corrections should make swift progress towards the full resumption of regular visits and communications between prisoners and their families without unnecessary and disproportionate restrictions. We also call on the Department of Corrections to guarantee that prisoners can meet and communicate with their legal representatives. Any interference in these communications must be justified.
Finally, we note the use of masks, physical distancing, ventilation of indoor space, crowd avoidance, and hand hygiene remain key to reducing transmission of SARS CoV-2 even with the emergence of the Omicron variant. Contact tracing of COVID-19 cases to interrupt chains of transmission of SARSCoV-2 is strongly advised.
We urge you to consider these recommendations and urgently act upon them.
Yours sincerely,
ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR)
FIDH – International Federation for Human Rights
Fortify Rights
Human Rights Watch
Manushya Foundation
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR)
Union for Civil Liberty (UCL)
Sep 30, 2021 | CCHR, Tools for MPs
The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent economic recession have revealed the failure and fragility of
our economic system, which has prioritized business interests over people and the environment,
deepened inequalities, and failed to protect the most vulnerable.
To recover from the recession caused by the pandemic, countries are now adopting recovery measures
to boost their economy. The type of economic model these measures will support is crucial in shaping
our future, and this moment presents an ideal opportunity to break away from the past and shift
towards a more just, sustainable and resilient economy.
Shifting towards a greener economy is an essential part of “building back better” by moving away from
fossil fuel-dependent industries and instead towards clean and renewable sources of energy that help
reduce Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming.
It will not only help the region to more rapidly absorb the immediate impact of the recession, but also to
avoid and be more resilient to future similar shocks and crises caused by climate change.
To help parliamentarians seize this opportunity APHR evaluated recovery measures taken in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste between February 2020 and April 2021.
This assessment was undertaken to identify best practices MPs can adopt in their respective countries,
as well as structural obstacles they need to overcome to promote a transition to a green economy.
These toolkits are designed for MPs to help them advance a green economic recovery after COVID-19.
DOWNLOAD IN ENGLISH | BURMESE | BAHASA INDONESIAN | KHMER | LAO | MALAYSIAN | TETUM | THAI
| VIETNAMESE
You can read the full report here.
Sep 30, 2021 | CCHR, Statements
Please click here for a Thai translation of this statement
Please click here for a Malay translation of this statement
Please click here for a Bahasa Indonesian translation of this statement
JAKARTA – Despite Southeast Asia being one of the world’s most at-risk regions from the impacts of climate change, governments in the region have failed to capitalize on the opportunity to build back better from the COVID-19 pandemic by introducing recovery measures that help promote a transition to a green economy, a new report has found. Many have instead used their COVID-19 recovery packages to enact policies that contribute to global warming and create major barriers to a low-carbon economic transition.
The new report, entitled “Building Back Better: Southeast Asia’s transition to a green economy after COVID-19”, published today by ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR), evaluated pandemic recovery measures taken by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste between February 2020 and April 2021.
“The COVID-19 pandemic, and the economic recession that followed, has brought into sharp focus the injustices ingrained in our current economic model, which for too long has pursued profits over people and the environment, exacerbated existing inequalities, and done nothing to protect the most vulnerable,” said Charles Santiago, chair of APHR and a Malaysian Member of Parliament (MP). “The economic recovery from the pandemic has presented the perfect opportunity to change towards a green and sustainable economy that works for everyone.”
“While our governments have so far fallen drastically short when it comes to implementing much-needed policy changes, as MPs we have a crucial role to play, and must do everything we can to urge the leaders in our region to invest in smart policies for a green transition,” Santiago said.
APHR found that governments have adopted limited green policy measures as part of their national COVID-19 recovery plans, with examples including subsidies and tax reductions for environmentally friendly products, tax increases for environmentally harmful products, as well as investment in clean transport and energy infrastructure.
However, these measures were critically undermined by numerous “brown policies” that increase greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. For example, bailouts with no green strings attached for high GHG-emitting businesses such as aviation, oil and gas, and land development exceeded USD 50 billion in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Singapore.
The issue of how to tackle climate change is particularly timely, ahead of the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26), which will begin in Glasgow, Scotland, in late October, APHR said.
“It is mind blowing that while world scientists keep warning us that we are running out of time, and while people and economies of the region are increasingly feeling the impacts of climate change, our governments are continuing to support the highly emitting industries of the past, and have not prioritized policies and budgets that promote green and sustainable development of the region,” said Mercy Barends, an APHR Board Member and Indonesian MP.
Among the focal countries, Singapore had the most recovery measures across sectors that supported a green recovery, whereas Indonesia and the Philippines had the most recovery measures opposing it, APHR found.
“Initiating a green recovery would have huge benefits for our region. Not only would it help limit global warming, but would also help us to recover quicker from the pandemic, as well as build an economy that is more resilient,” said Pita Limjaroenrat, a Thai MP and APHR member.
“Lawmakers lie at the heart of fulfilling climate change commitments, whether that’s through our role in pushing progressive legislation, overseeing national budgets, or in our mandate to be the voice of our constituents, who will be the worst affected by climate change if no action is taken,” he said.
Sep 30, 2021 | CCHR, Reports
Report, September 2021
The COVID-19 pandemic and its subsequent economic recession have revealed the failure and fragility of
our economic system, which has prioritized business interests over people and the environment,
deepened inequalities, and failed to protect the most vulnerable.
To recover from the recession caused by the pandemic, countries are now adopting recovery measures
to boost their economy. The type of economic model these measures will support is crucial in shaping
our future, and this moment presents an ideal opportunity to break away from the past and shift
towards a more just, sustainable and resilient economy.
Shifting towards a greener economy is an essential part of “building back better” by moving away from
fossil fuel-dependent industries and instead towards clean and renewable sources of energy that help
reduce Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and global warming.
It will not only help the region to more rapidly absorb the immediate impact of the recession, but also to
avoid and be more resilient to future similar shocks and crises caused by climate change.
To help parliamentarians seize this opportunity APHR evaluated recovery measures taken in Indonesia,
Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Timor-Leste between February 2020 and April 2021.
This assessment was undertaken to identify best practices MPs can adopt in their respective countries,
as well as structural obstacles they need to overcome to promote a transition to a green economy.
DOWNLOAD IN: ENGLISH (FULL REPORT)
EXECUTIVE SUMMARIES: BURMESE | BAHASA INDONESIAN | KHMER | LAO | MALAYSIAN | TETUM | THAI | VIETNAMESE
TOOLKITS TO HELP MPs TO ADVANCE A GREEN ECONOMY ARE AVAILABLE HERE
Jul 19, 2021 | RM, Statements
Click here for a Thai translation of this statement
Click here for a Malay translation of this statement
JAKARTA – As COVID-19 cases surge in Thailand and Malaysia, as well as elsewhere in the region, Southeast Asian lawmakers urge these governments to take more inclusive measures to protect everyone without discrimination, regardless of their migration status, ASEAN Parliamentarians for Human Rights (APHR) said today.
“While we are all affected by the pandemic, governments are excluding migrant workers from their social and public health policies in their response, leaving them behind and struggling to survive. We will never recover from this health crisis if we do not provide care for everyone, including all migrants. Government policies must ensure that they have equal access to immediate aid, testing, treatment, and vaccinations, without fear,” said Mercy Barends, an Indonesian Member of Parliament (MP) and APHR Member.
Amid record highs of daily COVID-19 cases and deaths in Thailand and Malaysia, migrants have been disproportionately affected. Widespread infections have been found among migrant worker communities due to over-crowded and unhygienic living conditions that increase the risk of COVID-19 spreading. Meanwhile, many migrant workers have lost their jobs and incomes, are facing severe financial challenges, and a shortage of food and clean drinking water. They continue to face discriminatory obstacles in receiving medical treatment and assistance from the government.
The governments of Thailand and Malaysia must include migrant workers in social protection measures on an equal basis as those of its citizens, and ensure that criteria for accessing essential services are not based on nationality, citizenship or immigration status, APHR said. Migrants who have contracted COVID-19 should be treated immediately and all should be granted access to vaccinations in the same manner as citizens.
As a long-term solution, ASEAN Member States must improve social protection and implement labor reforms, in line with their commitments made in the ASEAN Declaration on Strengthening Social Protection.
Last month, Thailand’s Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha announced the closure of camp sites for construction workers until the end of July, confining migrants in congested conditions with limited access to medicine and food. Shortly after, the Minister of Labor announced it would stop proactive COVID-19 testing and healthcare assistance for migrant workers in Bangkok and surrounding provinces. Meanwhile, approximately two million undocumented migrants are excluded from Thailand’s national COVID-19 vaccination programme, and migrant workers are not eligible for cash hand-out remedies.
In Malaysia, migrants are facing similar obstacles to receiving assistance, while ongoing raids, arrests and detentions by authorities are deterring migrants from coming forward for testing, medical treatment, or to be vaccinated. The fear of accessing essential services will likely result in an increase in undetected infections that can affect all communities, including through spikes in COVID-19 cases in overcrowded and unsanitary detention centres, as they did last year.
“These policies and actions contribute to the increasing stigma and hate speech against migrants online and offline. It is disgraceful that the governments of Thailand and Malaysia are contributing to divisive anti-migrant rhetoric, for what appears to be political gain at a time when they are coming under heavy criticism for their failure to contain the spread of the virus,” said Teddy Baguilat, former MP of the Philippines and APHR’s Interim Executive Director.
