Human Rights in Thailand: Rhetoric or Substance on “Asian Values”

This chapter examines the notions of human rights in the Thai context. It argues that the discourse of human rights in Thailand emerged as a national issue when politicians and local authorities were forced to react to human rights situations and conflicts at the grassroots, especially in the far south of Thailand. The apparent contradiction between state security and human rights protection invariably emerges, especially when the rhetoric of “sovereignty” and “national interest” were appealed to for protecting the government’s stability, instead of the people.