Article 3 “Human dignity is not an artificial value; rather, it is one of the values that make us truly Thai” Commentary As a person who has a long working experience with the Thai justice system, Mr. Chanchao Chaiyanukit, Deputy Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, points out that inefficient police investigations coupled with a lack of viable witnesses and sound evidence are the main reasons why guilty parties have been able to escape justice in the past. Finding witnesses and gathering evidence are normally done only by police officers. However, in practice, this can also be done by the victims themselves or anyone else who is related to the case, he explains. From a human rights perspective, Mr. Chaiyanukit considers that what happened to the couple from Ban Tab Sadao highlights the existing imbalance in Thai Mr. Chanchao Chaiyanukit society between the use of authority on one hand, and the respect for the rights and security of people’s lives on the other. This imbalance results from a lack of awareness about human rights by most of society. Mr. Chaiyanukit explains that despite the fact that many different organizations have long been advocating for the respect of human rights in Thailand, a major obstacle is the Thai people’s view that human rights is a concern for mainly Western countries and does not concern Thai society. Therefore, a major challenge for human rights workers in this country is to help Thai people understand that human dignity is not an artificial value; rather, it is one of the values that make them truly Thai. Our Voices are Heard in Thailand 19