In landmark review, UN calls for protection of women human rights defenders

On July 24, 2017, the UN Committeeon the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) releasedits Concluding Observations on Thailand following the review ofthe country’s combined sixth and seventh periodic reports on July 5, 2017. TheCommittee oversees State parties’ compliance with their legal obligations underthe Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women.

“For the first time, the CEDAWacknowledged that women human rights defenders are under attack in Thailand.It’s time for the Thai Government to stop denying that women human rightsdefenders are being targeted and take urgent measures to protect them instead,” said FIDH Vice-PresidentGuissou Jahangiri.

Inits Concluding Observations, the Committee expressed serious concern that womenhuman rights defenders have increasingly become targets of lawsuits,harassment, violence, and intimidation by authorities and business enterprisesdue to their work. The Committee called on the Thai Government to adopt andimplement, without delay, effective measures for the protection of women humanrights defenders to enable them to freely undertake their important workwithout fear or threat of lawsuits, harassment, violence, or intimidation. Italso urged Thailand to effectively investigate, prosecute, and adequatelypunish all cases of harassment, violence, and intimidation against women humanrights defenders, and provide effective remedies to victims.

“Women human rights defenders remainat risk of attacks, harassment, threats, and intimidation. The Thai Governmentmust go beyond words and show it is genuinely committed to implementing the UNCommittee recommendations and ensuring the protection and safety of women humanrights defenders,” said OMCT Secretary General Gerald Staberock.

The concerns and recommendationsexpressed by the CEDAW echoed those raised by the Observatory, ProtectionInternational (PI), and the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development(APWLD) in their joint report “In harm’sway: Women human rights defenders in Thailand.” The report, releasedahead of Thailand’s CEDAW review, documented the pattern of repression of womenhuman rights defenders in Thailand, especially rural women, since the 22 May2014 coup d’état.

TheObservatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders (the Observatory) wascreated in 1997 by FIDH and the World Organisation Against Torture (OMCT). Theobjective of this programme is to intervene to prevent or remedy situations ofrepression against human rights defenders. OMCT and FIDH are both members of ProtectDefenders.eu,the European Union Human Rights Defenders Mechanism implemented byinternational civil society.

For moreinformation, please contact:

· FIDH: Samuel Hanryon / Audrey Couprie: (+ 33) 1 43 55 25 18

· OMCT: Delphine Reculeau: (+41) 22 809 49 39