National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) members will lose their jobs once the organic bill governing the commission comes into effect, according to a vote in the National Legislative Assembly (NLA).
The NLA voted 199-0 with four abstentions yesterday to pass the organic bill on the NHRC, effectively forcing the six human rights commissioners to vacate their posts once the bill receives royal endorsement and is enacted into law.
The immediate loss of the seats, suggested by the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), which wrote the bill, was not endorsed by the majority of panelists which scrutinised the measure.
Most of the scrutiny panelists were in favour of NHRC members staying on for another three years once the bill goes into effect.
The organic bill was widely debated in the NLA, with the scrutiny panel having representation by stakeholders, including the constitution drafters.
The CDC representatives on the scrutiny panel stood firm in their belief that the incumbent NHRC members must leave office once the bill becomes law.
Another group of panelists, who were in the minority, spoke in favour of keeping the commissioners until the end of their six-year terms, while the majority of members insisted on keeping the commissioners on for another three years.
Juree Wijitwathakarn, a CDC member on the scrutiny panel, argued the current NHRC commissioners could not fully represent the commission at the United Nations, because the way they were selected to sit on the NHRC does not comply with international criteria.
Contrary to UN rules, members of the NHRC do not come from diverse backgrounds, while the process to select them had been rushed, not allowing for an open debate on their qualifications, said Ms Juree.
She said "setting zero" for the current commissioners would lead to their replacements being chosen based on a new set of criteria which is both acceptable to the UN and ensures that new members are diverse.
Ms Juree said that due to membership selection issues, the current NHRC members could only attend UN meetings as observers, who are unable to vote or otherwise express their opinions.
Atthasit Kramol, a scrutiny panellist, said appointing the entire batch of commissioners would be easier than replacing any individual member.
But Pirom Sriprasert, representing the NHRC on the scrutiny panel, said there was no need for the commissioners to vacate their seats right away, as the NHRC's membership status would not be reviewed by the UN again until at least November 2018.
The organic bill will be forwarded to the CDC and the NHRC, which will then decide whether the bill contravenes the charter.
If the commission raises concerns, a joint panel will take another look at it.
