Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced that Australia would be ‘elevating’ its relationship with Thailand to that of a ‘Strategic Partnership’.
The Prime Minister stated that the new partnership will ‘enhance cooperation in key areas, including defence and security, cyber affairs, anti-money laundering and combating transnational crime’.
The partnership must have human rights at its heart; Amnesty International has serious concerns in regards Thailand’s ongoing crackdown on freedom of expression and assembly, use of death penalty, impunity issues, and crackdown on freedom of association and right to privacy must be addressed.
Amnesty International has written to the Foreign Minister, Senator Marise Payne, asking her to use this partnership as a way to shine a light on these human rights violations.
