26 June 2017
1154
(Bangkok, May 31, 2017)—We, the undersigned civil society organizations,urge Thai authorities and business enterprisesin the country to uphold the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Today, government agencies, representatives of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, business entities, and representatives from the U.N. Development Programparticipated in a seminar to discussimplementing and promoting the Guiding Principles in Thailand.The participants jointly agreed to raise better awareness and understanding of the public and private sectors’ roles under the framework of the Guiding Principles. The Guiding Principles—adopted by the U.N. Human Rights Council in 2011—are 31 foundational and operational principlesclarifying the duties and responsibilities of states and enterprises to respect andprotect human rights and remedyhuman rights violations and abusesin the context of business activities. We commend the effortsof the Thai government and business enterprises in Thailand to promote knowledge and understanding of the Guiding Principles. However,we remain concernedaboutcontinued abuses allegedly committed by business enterprises and government investment projects with impunity in Thailand. Human rights defenders continue to be subjected tounchecked reprisals for engaging in legitimate activities to address alleged abuses by business enterprises and state actors. Human rights defenders involved in business and human rights issues have faced attacks, threats, and incidents of harassment, often without adequate protection from Thai authorities. Business enterprises and Thai authorities have brought trumped-up legal proceedings against human rights defenders who are critical of business operations. Thai authorities and business enterprises have used the Thaipenal code criminalizing defamation, the Computer-related Crime Actcriminalizing aspects offree speech, the Public Assembly Actrestricting gatherings, and the broad powers of National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Orderstotarget human rights defenders. These laws and the stiff penalties they imposeareinconsistent with international human rights standards. Moreover, business activities with potentially adverseenvironmental and human rights impacts often proceed without meaningful consultation orthe inclusion of affected communities in decision-making processes.There is also a general lack of transparency in the governance of and investment in business enterprises in Thailand, Among other obligations, the Guiding Principles provide that states should “protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises,” ensure “the legitimate and peaceful activities of human rights defenders are not obstructed,” and ensure that business enterprises engage in “meaningful consultation with potentially affected groups and other relevant stakeholders, as appropriate to the size of the business enterprise and the nature and context of the operation.” In line with the Guiding Principles, we call on Thai authorities and business enterprisesto: