The International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) has submitted a report to the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health, outlining persistent violations of prisoners’ rights to health in Thailand. Submitted prior to a planned visit by Special Rapporteur Tlaleng Mofokeng, the report accuses Thai authorities of failing to ensure that prisoners and detainees attain the highest possible standard of health, as required by Article 12 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights.
In preparing the report, FIDH interviewed 53 former inmates from 25 prisons or detention centers across the country. Findings indicate that timely and adequate healthcare services are largely inaccessible within the Thai prison system. Most facilities lack regular visits by healthcare professionals and seldom have on-site doctors or nurses available. Interviews revealed that paracetamol is often over-prescribed, while other medicines are difficult to acquire.
Additional concerns highlighted in the report include inadequate mental healthcare, slow response to medical emergencies, discrimination, abusive medical practices, the lack of proper gender-specific hygiene products, challenges faced by pregnant prisoners, and substandard food and water. The COVID-19 pandemic has reportedly exacerbated these long-standing issues.
Problems are similarly acute in immigration detention centers (IDCs), where detainees must cover their own medical expenses at outside hospitals. There have been at least nine detainee deaths in IDCs over the past decade, including two Uyghur detainees and a three-year-old boy. FIDH calls on the Special Rapporteur to urge the Thai government to abolish overcrowding, improve living conditions, ensure the availability of quality food, and meet its international obligations, as per the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners, commonly known as the Nelson Mandela Rules, and the Bangkok Rules for women prisoners.
The UN Special Rapporteur on the right to health is scheduled to visit Thailand from February 18 to 28, providing an opportunity to assess these pressing human rights issues firsthand. For further details, the full findings of this report can be read here.