The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) will scrutinise two reports from Human Rights Watch (HRW) previously denounced by the Foreign Ministry. The new constitution orders the NHRC to investigate reports on human rights in Thailand, said a commissioner.
On 1 January 2018, What Tingsamitr, the NHRC chairperson, revealed that the Commission would appoint a committee to investigate two HRW reports. These are the “2018 World Report” and “Hidden Chains: Forced Labor and Rights Abuses in Thailand's Fishing Industry.”
What explained that the investigation is in accordance with the 2017 Constitution and the Organic Act on the NHRC, which allocates to the Commission a new responsibility to scrutinise reports on human rights in Thailand. The Commission must decide the accuracy of such reports, and publicly release their evaluations.
What reported that this is the first time the NHRC will investigate a human rights report published by a foreign organisation under the new constitution.
Angkhana Neelapaijit, a member of the NHRC, told Prachatai that when the constitution was being drafted, the Commission conveyed a view to the Constitution Drafting Committee that the NHRC should not be responsible for investigating human rights reports. While the Commission believes responding to international reports is a duty of the government, it has no choice but to comply with the new regulations.
“The NHRC has to investigate both reports according to the law. But the NHRC is not a government spokesperson who has the duty to clarify human rights violations on behalf of the government,” Angkhana stated. “But we will investigate as a constitutional organisation which has a duty to investigate the facts when we receive reports of human rights violations.”
The Foreign Ministry has already published statements condemning both HRW reports for “obvious political biases”. The Ministry argued that the junta made efforts in 2017 to show its commitment to human rights. Such efforts purportedly include the junta’s designation of 2017 as ‘a year of human rights’, a new constitution that passed a controversial referendum and increased suppression of human trafficking.
Angkhana Neelapaijit
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