Support

On this page you can find Andy’s supporters on the Natural Fruit case

• 2018 – Public support statement issued by Finland’s leading private sector co-operative conglomerate S Group (copied in full below) see https://www.s-kanava.fi/en/uutinen/the-freedom-of-action-of-human-rights-defenders-must-be-ensured/4442128_384136

• • 2018 – Minister of State for Asia and the Pacific at the UK’s Foreign & Commonwealth Office Mark Field responds to a UK Parliamentary Question tabled by labour MP Kerry McCarthy expressing the UK Government’s support for Andy Hall see https://www.parliament.uk/business/publications/written-questions-answers-statements/written-question/Commons/2018-04-13/135505/
  • 2018 – For the Business and Human Rights Resource Center’s (BHRRC) page outlining support for Andy Hall, see https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/thai-court-orders-defender-andy-halls-payment-of-10-million-baht-in-damages-to-natural-fruit-co?utm_content=bufferb31a1&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
  • March 2018 UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Statement in Support of Andy Hall, see https://twitter.com/FCOHumanRights/status/979629171621203969
  • April 2018 UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery statement to support Andy Hall, see https://twitter.com/ubhoola62/status/980352377214722049
  • April 2018 Amfori/BSCI statement in support of Andy Hall, see http://www.amfori.org/news/andy-hall-verdict-human-rights-defender-found-guilty-defamation
  • April 2018 180 Nordic Companies protest Andy Hall guilty verdict, see http://axfoundation.se/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/Nordic-comment-on-the-Thai-Court-decision.pdf
  • April 2018 S Group Statement in Support of Andy Hall, see https://www.business-humanrights.org/en/s-group-releases-public-statement-in-support-of-andy-hall-other-human-rights-defenders?utm_content=bufferd2363&utm_medium=social&utm_source=twitter.com&utm_campaign=buffer
  • March 2018 FIDH statement in support of Andy Hall, see https://www.fidh.org/en/issues/human-rights-defenders/thailand-sentencing-of-mr-andy-hall-a-migrant-labor-rights-researcher
  • March 2018 Human Rights Watch Statement in Support of Andy Hall, see https://www.hrw.org/news/2018/03/28/thailand-verdict-threatens-labor-abuse-reporting
  • March 2018 ETI statement in Support of Andy Hall, see https://www.ethicaltrade.org/blog/damaging-brand-thailand-reaction-court-ruling-against-labour-rights-advocate-andy-hall
  • The Observatory for the Protection of Human Rights Defenders, a program that is jointly run by FIDH and OMCT (World Organization Against Torture), issued an urgent appeal on the ongoing cases of judicial harassment against Andy. The text is available online here >>
  • On 6th Oct 2016 the European parliament passed an urgent resolution on the case of Andy Hall’s conviction. In the debate on the resolution, EU Trade Minister Cecilia Malmstrom expressed strong support for Andy Hall, see http://www.europarl.europa.eu/sides/getDoc.do?type=MOTION&reference=B8-2016-1079&language=EN
  • 2016 – 111 companies, unions, NGOs and other stakeholders issued a public letter to the Thai Prime Minister expressing deep concern at Andy Hall’s criminal defamation and computer crimes conviction, see https://s3-eu-west-1.amazonaws.com/www.ethicaltrade.org.files/shared_resources/coalition_letter_andy_hall.pdf?OGL01.l0XGly26.eKtXI0zaC3NXcrhJq
  • 2016 – ETI expresses serious concern over Andy Hall’s conviction, see https://www.ethicaltrade.org/blog/eti-expresses-serious-concerns-over-activist-andy-halls-defamation-verdict-thai-court
  • 2015 – The US State Department Trafficking in Person’s report 2015 (Thailand) refers to Andy Hall’s case: “In addition, advocates expressed concerns that ongoing cases against an anti-trafficking advocate, in retaliation for his research documenting alleged trafficking violations in a food processing factory inThailand, had the effect of silencing other human rights advocates.(…) These developments did not foster a climate conducive to preventing trafficking, identifying victims, and apprehending traffickers.” The report calls on thee Thai government to ensure these unproductive prosecutions against researchers end
  • 2015 – 29 NGOs have called Thailand to end harassment of researchers and human rights defenders in the run-up to the final preliminary hearing on 20th July 2015. The undersigned organisations also wrote an Open Letter to the Prime Minister of Thailand on the case.
  • 2015 – Human Rights Watch has issued a second statement calling for all charges against Andy Hall to be dropped urgently in the run-up to the final preliminary hearing on 20th July 2015
  • The European Union delegation has published a statement on the increasing misuse of criminal defamation laws in Thailand referring to the case of Andy Hall.
  • 2014 – The UK’s Ethical Trading Initiative (ETI) has called for all charges against Hall to be dropped in a statement addressed to the Thai Pineapple Industry Association (TPIA)
  • 2014 – The European Business Social Compliance Initiative (BSCI) has joined calls for all charges against Andy Hall to be dropped immediately in a statement addressed to the Thai Pineapple Industry Association (TPIA)
  • 2014 – United Nordic has called on the Thai Pineapple Industry Association (TPIA) and the Thai Food Processors Association (TFPA) to ensure Natural fruit drop all charges against Andy Hall
  • International Transport Workers Federation ITF issued a statement that Andy Hall’s prosecution and trial is an ‘international embarrassment’ for Thailand, ‘Thailand is on trial’
  • Human Rights Watch supports Andy Hall and sees that criminal dafamation laws should be abolished since they are open to easy abuse and the penalties are disproportionate.
  • Service sector trade organisation UNI Global Union and construction and wood workers’ international federation BWI campaign on behalf of Andy Halland collect names for a petition to be sent to Natural Fruit and Thai industry groups. UNI Global Union’s own article can be found here and BWI’s here.
  • International Trade Union Confederation ITUCdemands renouncing legal actions against Andy Hall, respect for freedom of speech in Thailand and protection of human rights defenders.
  • Food, farm and hotel workers’ global union UIFdemands that companies that have bought raw materials from Natural Fruit assume responsibility over its human rights violations.
  • Thai State Enterprises Worker’s Relation Confederation SERC has asked for support for Andy Hall from ITUC and the International Labour Organisation ILO.  SERC has also published its own statement in which it demands Natural Fruit to drop legal actions against Andy Hall.
  • Human rights organisation Front Line Defendersconsiders the legal actions as an attack against human rights defenders and freedom of speech and continues to update its site on the case.
  • Migrant Forum Asia demands an investigation on Natural Fruit’s actions and renounces the legal actions.
  • Thai Food Processors’ Association TFPA published a statement in which it comittes to fair labour conditions and welcomes independent researches like the one of Finnwatch.
  • Member of European Parliament Mitro Repo submitted a parliamentary question to the European Comission on abuses in retail trade supply chains  right after the publication of  “Cheap has a high price” report. Read the answer here.
  • MEPs Satu Hassi and Barbara Lochbihler have submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission on the human rights situation in Thailand’s export industries and the legal actions against Andy Hall.
  • MEP Sari Essayah has submitted a parliamentary question to the European Commission on the human rights situation in Thailand’s export industries and the legal actions against Andy Hall. The answer was given by Vice-President Ashton.
  • Finnwatch’s statement on legal actions against Andy can be read here.
  • Also Freshfruitportal.com supports Andy, along with The Global Fruit and Radio Labour.
  • Owen Tudor, a blogist for Trades Union Congress TUC has expressed his support for Andy.
  • Southern Shrimp Allience SSA has expressed it’s grave concerns over the law suites in it’s letter to Ambassador CdeBaca from US Department of State: SSA Letter to Ambassador CdeBaca
  • Professor of criminology at the University of Melbourne Fiona Haines has written a supportive commentary The Conversation.
  • British MP John Hayes has promised to support Andy and his family on the case.
  • Uniting Church in Australia has appealed the Australian Government to support Andy: Media Release Uniting Church Australia
  • Earthrights International sees Andy Hall’s case as being about corporations using the law to silence human rights defenders
  • Burma Campaign UK is collecting names for a petition demanding Natural Fruit to drop the charges
  • Australian trade unions and churches have send a letter conserning the case to Thai Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs, Minister of Labour and Thai Ambassador