<p>Sombath Somphone was abducted from the middle of Lao PDR&rsquo;s capital Vientiane in 2012. A decade later, the perpetrators have not been brought to justice, his fate is still unknown, and his friends still hope for some progress in the case.</p>

<p>On Monday (31 October), family and friends gathered to celebrate what would have been the 37th birthday of activist Siam Theerawut, who has been missing for the past three years and whose fate remains unknown.</p>

<p>An art exhibition about enforced disappearance has been postponed indefinitely as the venue&#39;s owner said they were &#39;uncomfortable&#39; after being contacted by the police.</p>

<p>A small parade was held by activists in Siam Square, Bangkok&rsquo;s robust downtown area, in a bid to raise awareness about enforced disappearance.&nbsp;The marchers carried portraits of abducted activists, some of whom were later found dead.</p>

<p>Efforts to criminalise state-sanctioned acts of torture and enforced disappearance have ebbed and flowed over the past decade. While the draft act just approved by the legislature is not without shortcomings, lawmakers finally managed to pass the bill, despite political turbulence.</p>

<p>He worked for the current Bangkok governor and was photographed with an ousted Thai premier and a current Phnom Penh deputy governor. Missing since 2020, Wanchalearm Satsaksit also helped other Thai dissidents flee to Cambodia. But his associates have sought to erase all ties.</p>

<p>Public prosecutors have filed formal charges against a group of officials who stand accused of murdering and concealing the body of a land rights activist back in 2014. Despite the move, civil rights advocates remain skeptical that justice will be served in the case.</p>

<p>CSOs demand the House of Representatives to immediately approve the anti-torture and enforced disappearance bill after the Senate review.</p>

<p>After over 5 months, the Senate ad-hoc committee has finished amending the Prevention of Torture and Enforced Disappearance Bill, omitting certain offenses, reducing the statute of limitations, and erasing civil participation in how the law will be implemented.</p>

<p>As the fate remains unknown of Wanchalearm Satsaksit, an activist in self-imposed exile in Cambodia who was abducted in 2020, his sister and activists campaigning for justice in his case moved closer to being jailed after the latest court ruling in favour of strict enforcement of the Emergency Decree to control Covid-19.</p>

<p>On the International Day In Support of Victims of Torture (4 July), 6 human rights organizations issued <a href="https://www.amnesty.or.th/en/latest/news/1012/">an open letter</a> to the Senate and the Extraordinary Committee raising concerns at the ongoing delay&nbsp;in finalizing and adopting the anti-torture and enforced disappearance bill.</p>

<p>In a meeting on 27 June, the senate <a href="https://pis.parliament.go.th/PARWeb/doc/meeting-agenda/MeetingAgendaDetailForQRCode?meetingId=uxbA2uCkraqFOgaC5gs">approved</a> an ad-hoc committee request to extend discussion of a draft act to prevent torture and enforced disappearances until mid-August so that its stipulations can be thoroughly examined. &nbsp;The bill passed the lower house on 28 February 2022 after a first reading.</p>