Engage Thailand Founder Gives Lecture “Justice on the Brink: Thailand's Struggle for Human Rights and Democracy” at Cornell Law
On November 13, 2024, at Cornell University, Engage Thailand Founder Sirikan "June" Charoensiri gave a talk titled, “Justice on the Brink: Thailand's Struggle for Human Rights and Democracy.” There were over 50 people in the audience, some of whom June got to engage with personally after the talk. We thank the Gender Justice Clinic, the Berger International Speaker Series, Briggs Society for International Law, and Phi Alpha Delta for making this event possible.
June shared with the Cornell community–including American, international, and Thai students, staff, and faculty–the ongoing challenges facing Thailand in our fight for justice and freedom, particularly what she's learned from her experience working at Thai Lawyers for Human Rights. In her presentation, June went over the pro-democracy movement, the 2023 election, and the issues stemming from Thailand’s current constitution. She also explained nature of the political persecution facing dissidents in Thailand, highlighting especially the abuse of the lese-majeste law or Article 112 and the breaches of children’s rights.
June ended the talk by inviting members of the audience to support Thai political prisoners via Engage Thailand’s campaign with Freedom Bridge, a Thailand-based project aimed to help political prisoners and their families. Many participants were eager to write letters to political prisoners. Some staff and faculty even took the initiative to invite their colleagues and students outside of the event to do the same.
