<div><em>Scores of proposed bills threaten to compound dismantling of human rights protections in post-coup Thailand, including undermining the National Human Rights Commission and other institutions</em></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>JAKARTA -- Thailand’s military-appointed institutions have zero democratic legitimacy and should immediately desist from passing new laws and legislation, much of which has serious human rights implications, lawmakers from across Southeast Asia said today.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>“The military-appointed, coup-installed legislature has no legitimacy to act on beha </div>

<p>(New York,&nbsp;<span data-term="goog_244560936" tabindex="0">February 4, 2015</span>) –&nbsp;<a href="http://www.hrw.org/thailand" target="_blank">Thailand</a>’s military-installed Constitution Drafting Committee should scrap a proposal to merge the national human rights commission with the ombudsman’s office, Human Rights Watch said today. The military-appointed constitution drafters’ plan would gut the national human rights agency and pave the way for further repression.</p>

<div style="text-align: center;"><strong>Martial Law and the Military Court: Civil and Political Rights in Thailand (22 May 2014-15 January 2015)</strong></div> <div style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</div> <div>On 2nd Febuary 2015, Thai Lawyers for Human Rights (TLHR) launched a new report, "Martial Law and the Military Court: Civil and Political Rights in Thailand (22 May 2014-15 January 2015)." Following the 22 May 2014 coup, the jurisdiction of the military court system has been extended to civilian cases. </div>

<div> <p dir="ltr"><span id="docs-internal-guid-b104fa98-391e-be25-1ca2-d0b82806f045">Amnesty International &nbsp;(AI) Thailand on Thursday announced the 2014 human rights media awards for the Thai media. Prachatai English’s news story received an honourable mention in the online media category.&nbsp;</span></p> </div>

<div>Throughout Thai history, state officials, especially police and army officers, who perpetrated torture and enforced disappearances, have never been punished and have never admitted their crimes. This year a bill against the 2 crimes was completed which has been praised by experts. However, under the military junta regime, which itself is a threat to human rights, one must be very sceptical about the bill really being passed into law.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p><a href="http://www.khaosodenglish.com/">Khaosod English</a> : Two Thai men have been arrested for allegedly trafficking nearly 400 Rohingya into southern Thailand.&nbsp;</p>

<div><span style="font-size: 11.8181819915771px;">Prachatai’s Thaweeporn Kummetha discussed the situation with Sam Zarifi, Regional Director, Asia and Oceania, of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) about the human rights situation after the military coup d’état in Thailand.</span></div> <p></p>

<div><span style="font-size: 12px;">On the second anniversary of the enforced disappearance of prominent Lao civil society leader Sombath Somphone, we, the undersigned regional and international organizations, firmly condemn the Lao government’s ongoing refusal to provide any information regarding Sombath’s fate or whereabouts.</span></div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The Lao government’s deliberate silence on Sombath is part of a strategy that aims at consigning to oblivion the heinous crime of enforced disappearance. </div>

<div> <div> <div>Thai police on Friday afternoon detained two of five student activists who gave the anti-coup three-fingered salute to the heavily criticized head of the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC). </div></div></div>

<div>(New York) – Thailand’s military government should cancel a plan to encourage prisoners to work on fishing boats given the widespread abuses in the Thai fishery sector.</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>On December 4, 2014, Labor Minister Gen. Surasak Kanchanrat announced a plan to send 176 prisoners whose prison terms are up within one year, and who agree, to work on fishing boats in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand’s major fishery hub. </div>

<p>(New York, December 11, 2014) – Thailand’s military government should cancel a plan to encourage prisoners to work on fishing boats given the widespread abuses in the Thai fishery sector, Human Rights Watch said today.<br /><br />On December 4, 2014, Labor Minister Gen. Surasak Kanchanrat announced a plan to send 176 prisoners whose prison terms are up within one year, and who agree, to work on fishing boats in Samut Sakhon province, Thailand’s major fishery hub. The Labor Ministry said 2,830 male detainees in Samut Sakhon Prison are eligible to participate.<br /></p>

<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; color: rgb(51, 51, 51); font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 13px; line-height: 16px;">9 December 2014 – The murders of two human rights defenders working on land and natural resource issues in the south of Thailand underscore the need for authorities in the country to take urgent measures to ensure the safety and protection of such people, United Nations said today.</p>