"Thailand: Drop Criminal Defamation Lawsuits against 14 Myanmar Workers", 06 Feb 2018

Thammakaset Company Limited should immediately drop criminal defamation charges against 14 migrant workers from Myanmar who alleged serious labor rights violations, and Thai authorities should decriminalize defamation, Fortify Rights said today. The trial is scheduled to commence... tomorrow and is expected to last three days. If convicted, the workers face up to one year in prison... “Thailand should protect migrant workers and rights defenders when they speak out about abuses, and urgently decriminalize defamation,” said...Fortify Rights. “These types of cases are all too common in Thailand. They’re a mark of the high costs paid by whistleblowers and truthtellers for simply exercising their rights.”... On May 31, 2017, Thai authorities and business entities committed to implementing the U.N. Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. Among other obligations, the Guiding Principles provide that states should “protect against human rights abuse within their territory and/or jurisdiction by third parties, including business enterprises” and ensure “the legitimate and peaceful activities of human rights defenders are not obstructed.”... The United Nations Working Group on the issue of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises... will undertake its first official visit to Thailand between March and April 2018 to assess Thailand’s implementation of the Guiding Principles...