Vitit Muntarbhorn

Who is Vitit Muntarbhorn?

Vitit Muntarbhorn is an international human rights expert and professor of law at Chulalongkorn University in Bangkok, Thailand.

Muntarbhorn, born in November 1952, was educated at Oxford and Brussels, and was called to the Bar in England before going on to lecture in law at various universities in Austria, Canada, Denmark, England, France, Switzerland and Thailand. He served as the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography from 1990-1994. In 2004 he was awarded the UNESCO Prize for Human Rights Education.

Muntarbhorn was nominated to the position of United Nations Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights in Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in 2004. His term ended in June 2010. During his six years of service, North Korea repeatedly rejected his requests for meetings.

Muntarbhorn remains involved in various UN activities, principally as a member of the Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations of the International Labour Organization, and has served as an expert or consultant with the OHCHR, UNHCR, UNDP, FAO, UNICEF, UNESCO, the WHO and the United Nations University. He was involved in the elaboration of the Yogyakarta Principles on LGBT rights.