On 28 October 2020, Mrs. Prakairatana Thontiravong, Acting the NHRCT Chairperson revealed that, at the meeting on 27 October 2020, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) resolved to approve the draft NHRCT’s Regulation on the Promotion of Cooperation and Coordination on Human Rights in the Region B.E. 2563 (2020). The regulation has the aim to enhance the role to promote and protect the rights of people all over the country through the existing “the regional human rights education and coordination centres”, which have been co-established between the NHRCT and six regional universities, which are 1) the Faculty of Political Science, Prince of Songkla University, Pattani Campus, in the most Southern region 2) the Faculty of Law, Khon Kaen University in Northeast 3) the Faculty of Political Science and Law,  Burapha University in the East 4) the Faculty of Law, Suratthani Rajabhat University in the South 5) the Faculty of Law, Chiang Mai University in the North and 6) the Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences, Phetchaburi Rajabhat University in the West.
          Mrs. Thontiravong said that the regulation will officially recognize the duty and responsibility of those centres such as the role in human rights education by undertaking activities to raise awareness and understanding, the role of preliminary protection of people whose rights are violated as assigned by the NHRCT, the role to conduct surveillance and monitoring of human rights incidents or situations as well as coordinating or seeking cooperation with government agencies, private organizations, civil society organizations, educational institutions and other agencies. The centres will provide people in their respective regions with easy, comprehensive and timely accessibility to the protection and promotion of human rights. The regulation will be effective once it is publicized in the Royal Gazette soonest.
          Mrs. Prakairatana emphasized the great importance the NHRCT has attached to the accessibility of people in all regions of the country, including their participation in the NHRCT activities. Therefore, the NHRCT cooperated with educational institutions to establish regional human rights education and coordination centers and undertook various activities including engaging local youth leaders networks for raising human rights awareness, training teachers how to use the NHRCT’s human rights teaching handbook for students at primary and secondary schools, providing training for trainers programme on human rights education facilitators. The activities subsequently connected people and networks at local, national and international levels,
           “The NHRCT in its capacity of national human rights institution well recognized the necessity of people’s physical accessibility as stated in the Paris Principles. While awaiting its regional office to be established very soon, the roles of regional human rights education and coordination centres have effectively bridged the gap by enhancing these local people’s accessibility to the NHRCT both in terms of promotion and protection," Mrs. Thontiravong finally said.
Attachment