The National Human Rights Commission yesterday voted to challenge a section in the organic bill which would see current NHRC members lose their jobs.
The move came after the National Legislative Assembly last week passed the organic bill on the NHRC, which would force the six commissioners to vacate their posts once the bill is enacted.
NHRC chairman What Tingsamitr said the commissioners voted 4:2 to challenge Section 60 of the bill. A joint panel between the NHRC, the NLA and the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC) will be set up to review the section.
Mr What said the section contravenes the charter, which prohibits the enactment of laws that restrict civil rights and liberties or prevent state officials from performing their duties.
He said the commission would also consider other sections of the bill to see if they run counter to the charter.
"It was wrong to say that allowing the current NHRC to stay on is wrong and makes the NHRC look bad. The question we need to ask is if the move is in the public interest and was made in good faith," said Mr What.
He said the NHRC members are not merely protecting their own interests, adding the work is demanding.
The NLA president signed the bill on Monday and forwarded it to the NHRC yesterday.
The CDC, which drafted the bill, said the new batch of commissioners is necessary to ensure that the NHRC complies with international standards.
The potential NHRC replacements were chosen based on a new set of criteria, which is both acceptable to the United Nations and ensures that the new members are diverse, the CDC said.
Critics have said the current NHRC members cannot fully represent the commission at the UN due to how they were selected.
Last year the Geneva-based National Human Rights Institutions downgraded the status of the Thai commission to "B", citing its politically-biased nature and unacceptably slow processes.
But Mr What dismissed such criticism.
"Why do they want to 'set zero' for the NHRC? The truth is that those in power aren't happy with the performance of certain members and want to make a change," he said.
"But must they have a clean slate?"
He said the NHRC members should be allowed to finish out their terms, adding that serving as caretakers in the interim would hurt Thailand's reputation.
