At the administrative meeting No. 14/2563 on 31 March 2020, the National Human Rights Commission of Thailand (NHRCT) considered its Action Plan for the fiscal year of 2020 in accordance with the NHRCT’s strategies of 2017- 2022 and discussed the need to review the plan due to the situation of COVID-19 disease outbreak. The NHRCT thus resolved to set priority of human rights impacts regarding the outbreak of novel coronavirus or COVID-19 as a top priority issue for its operation this year.
                Mr. What Tingsamitr, Chairperson of the NHRCT, said that the NHRCT meeting raised concerns on several impacts of the rights of people currently occurred, ranging from the right to health, economic  rights of  labours and minimum standards of living  which were all affirmed by the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The situations of vulnerable or marginalized groups in the society, who may not get access to or benefit from government measures to prevent the widespread of disease and compensation, were also discussed. They included the poor, older persons living alone, persons with disabilities, homeless people both adults and children, migrant workers and workers in the informal sector. The information was now being collected from the NHRCT network organizations and if necessary, a specific mechanism may be established for systematic monitoring and evaluation.
                “Although the government agencies currently put all efforts to solve immediate problems related to the COVID-19 outbreak which effects people of all walks of life, the NHRCT views that the impacts will last long before the crisis was over. Therefore, the NHRCT will closely monitor the situation in a systematic manner, create awareness among various sectors, and if necessary propose recommendations to relevant agencies in order to promptly solve problems and timely provide remedial measures. This is considered a duty of every sector in the society to give cooperation during the time of crisis and must help each other to leave no one behind.
 

01/04/2020