UN experts* today (12 March) deplored the continued failure to clarify the fate and whereabouts of Thai human rights lawyer Somchai Neelapaijit 22 years after his enforced disappearance.

“Enforced disappearance is a continuous crime and an ongoing violation of the victim’s human rights,” the experts warned. “The offence begins with the disappearance and persists for as long as the perpetrators continue to conceal the victim’s fate or whereabouts.”

Somchai Neelapaijit was forcibly disappeared in Bangkok on 12 March 2004. His enforced disappearance is believed to be linked to his legal representation of individuals alleging torture and ill-treatment in Thailand’s southern border provinces. His fate and whereabouts remain unknown, and no one has been held accountable to date. 

“As a party to the International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance, Thailand is obliged to conduct prompt, thorough, independent and impartial investigations and to guarantee the rights of disappeared persons and their families to truth, justice and reparation,” the experts said.

“These rights do not cease with the passage of time,” they said. “On the contrary, prolonged inaction entrenches impunity, undermines confidence in the rule of law and hinders prevention.”

They also expressed serious concern over reprisals and acts of intimidation directed at Neelapaijit’s wife, woman human rights defender Angkhana Neelapaijit, in connection with her long-standing pursuit of truth and accountability. Over the years, UN experts have raised concerns regarding threatening phone calls and risks related to the withdrawal of protection measures, online harassment and gender-based attacks targeting her and other women human rights defenders.

“Families searching for truth, justice and reparations must never face intimidation,” the experts said. “Women relatives and human rights defenders, in particular, often face gender-specific forms of harassment designed to silence and discredit them.”

They urged States to take all necessary measures to ensure that relatives of disappeared persons, as well as all those involved in the investigation of a case, are protected against ill-treatment, intimidation or reprisal, and investigate and punish any such incidents.

“Commemoration must not replace unveiling the truth and ensuring accountability,” the experts said. “The passage of 22 years does not diminish the State’s responsibility. Truth, justice and reparations remain imperative.”

The experts are in contact with the Government of Thailand regarding Somchai Neelapaijit’s case. The threats and reprisals faced by Angkhana Neelapaijit and the need to ensure her protection were raised  with Thai authorities by Special Procedures in 2011, 2014, 2023 and 2024.