Universal Declaration of Human Rights Article 10
interrogate them. The proper justice process
should be applied, along with the protection
of human rights and crime prevention.
Mr. Kosolnavin believes that the NHRC’s role is
not to decide whether or not suspects are
guilty, or to act as their defense lawyer – it is
to coordinate between parties to establish the
truth and negotiate a way to live together
peacefully. He believes that victims of
injustice suffer from the worst human rights
violation as this destroys human dignity. He
says that the United Nations should establish
a year or decade of human rights to
encourage all UN Member States to improve
their justice systems by making the
preservation of human rights a reality.
The Constitution of Thailand (2007) clearly
states in Article 32 that “torture, a brutal act or
punishment by cruel or inhumane means
shall not be made”. In addition, even though
Thailand is party to an international
agreement against torture, cruel or inhumane
treatment and punishment, torturing a
suspect to coerce a confession still occurs in
Thai society. This results from negative
attitudes on the part of some law
enforcement officers, lack of awareness by the
suspects of their rights, and gaps in the law.
He explains that the criminal code of Thailand
already includes a clear definition of torture,
50
Dignity and Justice for All of Us
attempted torture and acting as an
accomplice to torture. As such, any
disagreement on these definitions cannot be
brought to the international court; filing a
complaint and resolving such a dispute must
be done in the country. Therefore, it is
necessary to improve the effectiveness of
enforcement. Apart from the Department of
Rights Protection and Freedom under the
Ministry of Justice, the Office of the National
Anti-Corruption Commission is one of the key
agencies that handles abuse of authority
cases in Thailand.
The National Police Department of Thailand
should ensure that there is no abuse or
exploitation of power in its regular operations.
In addition, suspects should be made aware
of their rights, particularly with regard to the
assumption of being innocent. The
authorities should not practice coercion, issue
threats or carry out torture. According to the
law, any information obtained through
misconduct cannot be submitted as evidence
against suspects. In order to ensure a fair trial
in accordance with human rights principles,
witness and suspect protection measures
should be enforced, and punishment given to
law enforcement officers found guilty of
misconduct.