An interview with Senior Researcher at Human Rights Watch. What has Thailand lost in the suppression of the pro-democracy protests at a time when superpowers like the USA and EU have started to pose more questions about Thai politics?

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) of Thailand has released a statement demanding anti-government protesters to respect Thai law at the same time as they are being arrested and threatened by the Thai authorities. While the NHRC also calls for the government to follow international standards in managing assemblies, former commissioners released a more progressive statement calling for the end to harassment of the protesters.

Commissioners Angkhana Neelapaijit and Tuenjai Deetes have resigned from the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRC), effective as of 31 July 2019.

Following a complaint from Surawat Sangkharuek of the People Politics Group about National Human Rights Commissioner Angkhana Neelapaijit being present at the Technological Crime Suppression Division (TSD) when Future Forward Party MP and Secretary-General Piyabutr Saengkanokkul went to hear the charges against him, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) has decided not to forward the complaint to the National Anti-Corruption Commission for further action.

Instead of investigating human rights violations, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has been mandated to defend the image of the military government and this new measure is likely to be permanent, said Human Rights Watch. Two weeks ago, What Tingsamitr, the NHRC chairperson, told the media that the commission is initiating an investigation into the human rights report recently released by the US State Department. What stated that according to the 2017 Constitution, the NHRC is responsible for scrutinising reports on human rights in Thailand.