<div>The UN Committee Against Torture last week reviewed Thailand’s record on torture and inhumane treatment, and expressed concerns about Thailand’s prisons which house the 6th highest prison population in the world.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>The issues of the prevalent use of torture in Thailand’s three southernmost provinces and conditions in refugee detention centres were also scrutinized by the panel of 10 experts.&nbsp;</div> <div>&nbsp;</div> <div>This review taking place in Geneva is the first since Thailand became a signatory to the UN Convention Against Torture in 2007. </div>

<div>Enforced disappearance has happened again and again in Thailand. The number of victims may be over 3,000. Still, no one has ever been held to account for these crimes. This story explores how the practice has become systematic and part of the 'culture' of the land of smiles.</div> <div> </div>

<div><strong>2 Victims of Hatred: Reds assaulted in Bangkok</strong></div> <div>Prachatai talked to 2 red-shirts who were assaulted by alleged PDRC guards.</div> <div> </div>

<p>The Asian Human Rights Commission has been following with concern news of the police targeting of gay and transgendered people in Burma, or Myanmar, and has recently obtained detailed information on a number of cases of alleged arbitrary arrest, detention and torture of persons on the grounds of sexual orientation. The AHRC is troubled both by the manner in which this minority group appears to have been deliberately targeted by the police, and by the implications of these police abuses not only for the rights of minorities in democratizing Burma, but also for the rights of all people living there.</p> <p></p>

<div>Many countries have ratified the UN Convention Against Torture and its Optional Protocol, but incidents of torture by state authorities continue to increase in certain parts of the world such as Uganda and Indonesia, experts on human rights and the law said in a seminar on the Human Rights Situation in Different Regions: Torture Prevention on Thursday.&nbsp;</div> <p></p>

<p>AHRC-STM-086-2010</p> <p>May 28, 2010</p> <p><strong>A Statement by the Asian Human Rights Commission </strong></p> <p><strong>ASIA: AHRC calls for one month from May 26th to June 26 to be devoted to finding ways to eliminate use of torture</strong></p> <p>The Asian Human Rights Commission will work to draw the attention of civil society and governments to the endemic torture that is prevalent in almost all Asian countries. Despite many declarations by governments, torture is carried out every day in almost all police stations throughout Asia. The routine practice of torture in normal criminal investigations, including petty crimes, is an experience that many people face in these countries.&nbsp;</p>

<p>A little over a week ago, the Bangkok Post reported that a special inquiry unit under Thailand&rsquo;s Justice Ministry had asked the public prosecutor to lodge charges against six police officers for allegedly torturing a man in their custody.</p>