Senator has battled for 20 years to bring justice and freedom to Thais across the country
Senator Angkhana Neelapaijit, 68, has been praised for her unwavering confidence and work for the promotion and protection of human rights in the country over the past two years. Her determination, courage, talent and passion have inspired Thai people and communities to honor and guard equal right for all.
With these skills, Ms Angkhana this time receives the People of the Year Award from the Bangkok Post.
The rapid shift to human rights keeper happened when Ms Angkhana lost her beloved husband, Somchai Neelapaijit, a Muslim attorney who is believed to be a victim of enforced disappearance during the unrest in the South in 2004.
Having graduated from the Bachelor Nursing Science Programme at Mahidol University, she won reputation from world owing to her violent attempts to contact for justice for her missing family.
It is believed that his departure was related to his fight against the harsh treatment of Muslims living in the heavy South.
In the 20 years since he went missing, Ms Angkhana has not ceased her efforts to burn the government’s awareness of human rights to ensure people receive their fundamental rights and freedoms that should never be violated, regardless of their beliefs or way of life.
In 2009, she founded the Justice for Peace Foundation ( JPF), a network of human rights and peace advocates that has done important work in documenting the human rights situation in the deep South by raising public awareness, providing legal assistance to victims and training women about human rights and the peace process.
In 2015, Ms Angkhana was appointed as a director of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand, a article from which she resigned in 2019. Amnesty International described her as” a major animal rights keeper in the South”.
She raised her passion by translating the country’s acceptance of the International Convention for the Protection of all People against Enforced Removal in May 2024 into motion.
The agreement is a vital tool which obligates states to take critical measures to prevent the horrible crime of enforced disappearance, keep perpetrators responsible and give redress for victims and their families. No circumstance in Thailand has been registered under the ratified convention so much.
Due to the efforts of this excellent human rights keeper, she won the 2019 Ramon Magsaysay Award. The RMAF board of trustees recognised her unwavering confidence in seeking justice for her spouse and many other victims of violence and conflicts in southern Thailand, as well as her organized and unwavering work to reform a weak and cruel legal system.
The RMAF board was effusive in its praise of this humble individual who has been able to achieve such a strong impact in deterring human rights abuses. It has described her as” a stoic leader who has been championing justice for the marginalised in Southern Thailand, case after painful case”.
According to her message written on the RMAF’s website, Ms Angkhana said that the honour she received is not just a symbol of victory, or the end of her and other survivors ‘ struggles for rights and justice. It represents a recognition of the continuing struggle for human rights, justice, freedom, democracy and the rule of law for all survivors of human rights abuses in the country and in our region.
Ms Angkhana also said she found that many human rights challenges faced by Thailand and other Asian countries– such as violent extremism, poverty, refugee crises, and absence or lack of freedom of expression– are only the tip of the iceberg.
Hence, each and every one of us has a choice to work to promote the upside rather than the downside of humanity. All have a sense of responsibility towards each other to respect social diversity while protecting equality, she added.
“]This ] awardee has shown the story of an ordinary woman’s struggle for justice, democracy and the rule of law”, she wrote.
Angkhana NeelapaijitSenator, former National Human Rights Commissioner