Posts mislead on UN review of Thailand's royal defamation law - Yahoo News
After United Nations countries reassessed Thailand's record on human rights as part of a new report, social media posts claimed the UN gave the kingdom "a two-month deadline" to amend its royal defamation law. The posts are misleading; although the UN said it expected Thailand to respond to its concerns within four months, any recommendations it makes are non-binding. A Thailand-based human rights lawyer told AFP the kingdom has historically "paid little attention" to requests from the international community to amend the lese-majeste law.
"We're in trouble. The United Nations has given us a two-month deadline to "amend" article 112," reads a Thai-language Facebook post.
It was shared on November 23 in a group with more than 200,000 members.
Article 112 refers to Thailand's lese-majeste law, which prohibits defamation of King Maha Vajiralongkorn and his family.
Thai Lawyers for Human Rights reported that at least 154 people were charged with the controversial law between the start of Thailand's pro-democracy movement in mid-2020 and October 2021.
The post includes a video that features opposition politician Pradermchai Boonchuaylua questioning the Thai police's use of force against demonstrators.
Screenshot of the misleading post captured on December 1, 2021
Similar posts circulated on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.
The posts surfaced online after United Nations member states picked through Thailand's human rights record in a Universal Periodic Review (UPR) -- which all 193 UN countries must undergo every four to five years -- on November 10.
However, the posts are misleading.
While various UN member countries recommended that Thailand amend its lese-majeste law as part of a wide-ranging list of human rights concerns, the kingdom is not obliged to do so.
The UN report states Thailand must respond to its recommendations no later than the 49th session of the Human Rights Council, which is due to kick off on February 28, 2022.
source: https://news.yahoo.com/posts-mislead-un-review-thailands-042050578.html
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