The European Parliament,

-having regard to its previous resolutions on Thailand, in particular its resolution of 8 October 2015,

-having regard to the Council conclusions of 23 June 2014 on Thailand,

-having regard to Statement by the Spokesperson of the European External Action Service of 8 August 2016 on the constitutional referendum in Thailand,

-having regard to the Statement of the UN Human Rights Office for South-East Asia (OHCHR) of 20 September 2016 on the sentencing of labour rights activist by Bangkok court,

-having regard to the Statement by Maurizio Bussi, ILO Country Director for Thailand, Cambodia and Lao PDR of 21 September 2016 on the Conviction of labour rights activist Andy Hall in Thailand,

-having regard to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948,

-having regard to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) of 1966 to which Thailand is a state party,

-having regard to rule 135 of its Rules of Procedure,

A.   whereas on 11 and 12 August 2016 several bombs exploded in the resort town of Hua Hin, while several blasts hit the island of Phuket;

B.  whereas on 20 September 2016 Bangkok South Criminal Court found Andy Hall guilty of defaming the Natural Fruit Company under Article 328 of the Thai Criminal Code and violation of Article 14(1) of the Computer Crime Act;

C.  whereas Andy Hall was sentenced to a fine of THB 200,000 reduced to THB 150,000, and four years imprisonment, reduced to three years and suspended for two years; whereas Andy Hall has pleaded not guilty and can appeal the ruling;

D.  whereas Andy Hall’s research was included in a Finnwatch report which alleged that labour rights violations were taking place at Natural Fruit Company, whose employees included migrant workers from Myanmar;

E.  whereas Thailand ratified the ILO’s Occupational Safety and Health Convention on 23 March 2016 and Maritime Labour Convention on 7 June 2016; whereas Thailand has ratified 17 ILO Conventions;

F.  whereas on 7 August 2016 the Election Commission reported that, in a national referendum, a large majority of the people of Thailand have voted in favour of the proposed Constitution;  

G.  whereas former Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra has called for fairness and said Thailand’s military junta should treat her the same way their allies are treated accused of wrongdoing after a state-appointed committee recommended she pay a 35 billion THB fine;

1.  Welcomes the EU's strong commitment to the Thai people with whom the EU has strong and longstanding political, economic and cultural ties; stresses that the EU, as a friend and partner of Thailand, has repeatedly called for the democratic process to be restored;

2.  Strongly condemns the bomb attacks in Thailand on 11 and 12 August 2016; extends its condolences to the families of the victims;

3.  Expresses its concern about the conviction of Andy Hall, which undermines the capacity and willingness of researchers, rights groups and migrants' themselves from bringing Labour rights abuses suffered by migrants in Thailand to light;

4.  Regrets the use of criminal defamation laws, carrying penalties of imprisonment, against human rights defenders reporting on human rights violations;

5.  Welcomes Thailand’s ratification of the ILO’s Occupational Safety and Health Convention and Maritime Labour Convention (MLC);

6.  Notes with concern that during the campaign period for the constitutional referendum there were serious limitations to fundamental freedoms, including restrictions on debate and campaigning;

7.  Calls for the lifting of the current restrictions on freedom of expression and assembly;

8.  Calls on the Thai authorities to create the conditions for a genuine democratic transition leading to early general elections; stresses that the main stakeholders need to engage in an inclusive dialogue and work together peacefully towards this aim;

9.  Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Vice-President of the Commission/High Representative of the Union for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, the Commission, the Council, the Government and Parliament of Thailand, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights and the governments of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states.