The following is based on a communication written by the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders and other UN experts to the Government of Thailand on 26 June 2024. The communication remained confidential for 60 days before being made public, giving the Government time to reply. The Government acknowledged receipt of the communication on 9 July 2024. Regrettably, the Government did not address the questions and concerns expressed in the communication. If more replies are received, they will be posted on the UN Special Procedures communications database.
Since the sending of the communication, Ms. Neelapaijit received a response to her letter from the Ministry of Justice, who said they referred her case to the Office of Permanent Secretary of Ministry of Justice and the Internal Security Operations Command (ISOC). This development is deeply concerning as ISOC is the military intelligence agency responsible for sending plainclothes officers to take photos of Ms. Neelapaijit and Ms. Somwong during the commemorative events in March 2024. The Special Rapporteur also received disturbing information that ISOC had previously been involved in smear campaigns against human rights defenders. The Special Rapporteur calls for an end to the intimidations against Ms. Neelapaijit and Ms. Somwong and for the effective protection of women human rights defenders.
This is a shorter version of the original communication.
BACKGROUND
Topic: the alleged surveillance of woman human rights defender and member of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit, and Ms. Pranom Somwong of Protection International Thailand, during commemorative events for the families of individuals who have been forcibly disappeared.
Ms. Angkhana Neelapaijit is a woman human rights defender and former Commissioner of Thailand’s National Human Rights Commission, who has for years advocated for the rights of victims and the families of disappeared persons. Ms. Neelapaijit’s husband, human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit, was allegedly forcibly disappeared on 12 March 2004, believed to be related to his legal work in the defence of Muslim minorities in southern Thailand. In 2005, Ms. Neelapaijit reported her husband’s case to the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, which transmitted the case to the Thai Government on 15 April 2005. The case is still outstanding[1] and no one has been held accountable yet for his enforced disappearance. In the years she has sought the truth about her husband’s fate and whereabouts and advocated for the perpetrators to be brought to justice, as well as for the rights of disappeared persons victims and their families, Ms. Neelapaijit has been subjected to threats and reprisals. She is the founder of the Justice for Peace Foundation, which provides support to victims of human rights violations, and, in 2019, she was awarded the Magsaysay Award for her contribution to human rights work in Thailand. In 2022, Ms. Neelapaijit became a member of the Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances.
Ms. Pranom Somwong is the Country Representative of Protection International Thailand.
ALLEGATIONS
On 11 March 2024, a two-day event titled “Enforced Justice Instead of Disappearances: Commemorating the 20th Year of Human Rights Lawyer and Defender Somchai Neelapaijit” commenced at the Foreign Correspondent’s Club of Thailand (FCCT). The event was organized by the family of Mr. Neelapaijit to mark the 20th anniversary of his enforced disappearance along with the families of other disappeared individuals and human rights organizations in Thailand. In addition to commemorating the enforced disappearance of Mr. Neelapaijit, the event was also intended to reassert the impact of this violation of multiple human rights on the disappeared and their families, and was attended by families of the disappeared, media, representatives from UN agencies and international organizations and students.
On 12 March 2024, the second day of the event taking place in the Political Science Faculty building of Chulalongkom University, a man and a woman both wearing baseball caps were seen taking photographs of Ms. Neelapaijit and Ms. Somwong. The man and woman were asked to register for the event by the organizers, which they obliged with, registering with the names of [redacted] and [redacted].
The man was noticed taking photos of Ms. Neelapaijit, editing them so as to only include her, and then reportedly sending them to someone on his phone. Informed of this, Ms. Neelapaijit approached the man and woman and inquired as to their presence at the event. He reportedly informed Ms. Neelapaijit that they work for the Internal Security Operations Command, the political arm of the Royal Thai Armed Forces, and that he had sent the photos to his supervisor. Ms. Neelapaijit requested to see the photos they had taken during the event and found that photos had not only been taken of her and Ms. Somwong, but also of the relatives of other forcibly disappeared persons attending the event. The man and woman reportedly remained at the event following this interaction.
On 18 March 2024, Ms. Neelapaijit wrote to the Minister of Justice in his capacity as the Chair of the Committee on the Prevention and Suppression of Torture a letter titled “Urgent Request for Investigation into Alleged Surveillance and Intimidation Targeting Families of the Disappeared” in which she outlined the details of the incident on 12 March 2024 during the event. The letter outlined the international human rights law and national provisions, including section 32 and 19(3) of the Act on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and Enforced Disappearance B.E. 2565, and the corresponding obligations. In the letter Ms. Neelapaijit urged the Minister to “fulfil [his] duties and exercise [his] powers in ensuring the protection, well-being, and safety of the families of the disappeared by putting an immediate end to intimidation through surveillance and instilling fear by public agencies”.
At the time of writing, Ms. Neelapaijit is yet to receive a response to the letter, despite the Ministry of Justice’s reported assurances that complainants would receive a response within 15 days. According to available online updates to track the progress of the letter, it was reportedly designated on 1 May 2024 and is still being processed.
CONCERNS
In the communication, we express our deep concern with regard to the reported surveillance of women human rights defenders Ms. Neelapaijit and Ms. Somwong by agents from the Internal Security Operations Command whilst attending a commemorative event to mark the 20th anniversary of the enforced disappearance of Mr. Somchai Neelapaijit. We are concerned that the presence of these agents at an event of this nature and on this subject matter, and their alleged photographing of Ms. Neelapaijit and Ms. Somwong may not only be considered an act of surveillance, but also an apparent attempt to intimidate the women human rights defenders and other persons attending the event, including the families of disappeared persons.
We take this opportunity to recall, and particularly in the context of Thailand’s recent ratification of the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance on 14 May 2024, that all victims of enforced disappearances and, critically, the relatives of the disappeared whose suffering is rooted in the primary violation against the disappeared person, have the right to know the truth, to obtain justice and reparations and the exercise their shall be enabled to exercise their rights without undue restrictions.
[1] See E/CN.4/2006/56 para 526, and A/HRC/WGEID/126/1 para. 135.
