Statute of limitations must not deny justice to families of 85 victims killed in Tak Bai incident, say UN experts
Human rights experts* said today they were deeply troubled that the imminent expiration of the statute of limitation for the killing of 85 people by Thai security officials in the 2004 Tak Bai incident would end ongoing attempts to hold those responsible to account.
*The experts: Morris Tidball-Binz, Special Rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, Gina Romero, Special Rapporteur on the Rights to Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and of Association; Gabriella Citroni (Chair-Rapporteur), Grażyna Baranowska (Vice-Chair), Ana-Lorena Delgadillo Pérez and Aua Baldé, Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances; Ben Saul, Special Rapporteur on the promotion and protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms while countering terrorism; Irene Khan, Special Rapporteur on the right to freedom of opinion and expression
** The experts also wrote to Thailand in 2004, to which the Thailand provided three replies. Available here pages 242-246.
The Special Rapporteurs are part of what is known as the Special Procedures of the Human Rights Council. Comprising the largest body of independent experts in the UN Human Rights system, Special Procedures is the general name of the Council's independent fact-finding and monitoring mechanisms that address either specific country situations or thematic issues in all parts of the world. Special Procedures experts work on a voluntary basis; they are not UN staff and do not receive a salary for their work. They are independent from any government or organization and serve in their individual capacity.
The experts noted that, in October 2004, after failed negotiations, security forces opened fire on a large protest outside Tak Bai police station, Narathiwat Province, which had formed following the arrest of six individuals alleged to have provided weapons to insurgents. Reportedly, seven people were killed, and later, 1,370 protestors were arrested and forced to lie on top of each other in trucks during the five-hour trip to a military camp, in conditions amounting to ill-treatment, leading to the deaths of a further 78 people belonging to the Malay Muslim community, a religious minority. Seven other individuals were reportedly forcibly disappeared.
“We welcome the fact that two criminal cases are finally proceeding into this incident with arrest warrants issued against relevant current and former officials. However, we are extremely alarmed that without further action, these will end prematurely when a statute of limitations expires on 25 October 2024,” the experts said.
“We recall that the duty to investigate, prosecute and provide reparations to victims in such cases does not cease even with the passing of significant time and that a failure to investigate and bring perpetrators to justice is itself a violation of Thailand’s human rights obligations. International law also prohibits statutes of limitations for torture and other forms of ill-treatment and, in cases of enforced disappearance, where they exist, they can only apply once the crime ends, that is when the fate and whereabouts of the disappeared person are established with certainty.
“Families have waited for nearly two decades for justice – we urgently call on the Government to take immediate action to prevent further delays in accountability and ensure their rights to truth, justice and reparations are upheld,” the experts said.
They also called for further investigations into the fate and whereabouts of the seven people who disappeared in the incident.
The experts have recently communicated their concerns to the Government of Thailand on this issue.**
