1. Background (brief history)

The Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) is the national human rights mechanism of Thailand that officially came into existence in 2001 after being mandated by the 1997 “People’s Constitution.” The objectives of the agency are to promote, protect, and educate people about cultural, social, economic, and political rights and gender equality and to monitor and investigate human rights violations in the country. 

 

   2. Areas of expertise

Although, NHRCT focuses on promoting various aspects of human rights, one major issue that its initiatives and agenda targets is ensuring and enhancing gender equality and women’s rights.  NHRCT carries out its responsibility of protecting and promoting human rights and women’s rights by:

• Implementing and upholding international obligations, such as the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) agreement.

• Providing recommendations to government agencies on ways to modify laws and policies related to women’s rights and submitting annual reports to the Parliament on the situation of human rights in the country.

• Monitoring and investigating incidents of human trafficking, gender-based violence, and other human rights violations and bringing these matters to the attention of the justice system.

• Disseminating information on and promoting education and research in human rights.

 

   3. Strengths in the ICPD

With its emphasis on protecting women’s economic, political, and social rights, the NHRCT’s mission coincides with several aspects of the ICPD agenda.  NHRCT works to implement its own and the ICPD’s agenda by providing the following strategies and services:

• Investigating the violation of women’s rights, including incidents of martial rape, domestic violence, and human trafficking, through its Sub-Commission on Women’s Rights and providing legal consultation services to the victims of such abuses.

• Supporting partner institutions with financing and technical assistance to conduct research studies related to abortion, sexual and reproductive rights, the relationship between teen pregnancies and the denial of certain health care services, etc., so that such information can be used to provide recommendations to other government institutions on how to address these issues. 

• Ensuring affirmative action measures and gender-based quotas in the workforce to give women greater opportunities to seek decision-making positions and economically empower themselves, as well as, to prevent discrimination against women in places of employment.

 

   4. Quality assurance/ previous evaluation

The Office of the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand is a strategic partner of UN Women in the Asia-Pacific Region.  As part of its regional CEDAW Southeast Asia Programme, UN Women has worked with NHRCT to improve women’s access to justice in Thailand by building capacity judges and legal personnel on CEDAW and women’s human rights issues, raising awareness about gender-sensitivity in the handling of legal cases, and encouraging female-friendly judicial processes . Additionally, in 2015 NHRCT collaborated with the UN Women’s Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and the  Foundation for Women (FFW) to organize a two-day national workshop entitled “The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women : CEDAW and Roles of the Corporate Sector and Women Rights.”  The workshop, which was open to NHRCT staff, government officials, and members of UN Women, focused on building the capacity of NHRCT to comply with and implement the CEDAW and tracking the progress of women’s rights in Thailand.

 

   5. Experience in South-South Cooperation initiatives

NHRCT is as a full member of the Asia Pacific Forum (APF), which is a regional organization consisting of the national human rights institutions of 15 countries in the Asia-Pacific region and is a partner of UN Women and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA). Through the annual APF meetings and partnership networks, NHRCT and other member institutions share their expertise, working methodologies, and knowledge concerning common human rights challenges, such as gender inequality, develop cooperative partnerships, and establish best practice standards on approaching key human rights issues.