Amnesty International
Dec 30, 20212 min
“In its current form the excessively restrictive law could easily be misused to obstruct the work of or even shut down a wide range of grassroots, national and international civil society groups in Thailand, threatening its status as a regional hub for local and international NGOs,” said Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director.
Roseann Rife, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director said-
The list of prohibitions in the draft law are so broad, numerous and open to abuse that they could significantly impact the day-to-day operations of civil society.
“Of the many problematic sections of the latest draft, one forbids not-for-profits from affecting ‘public order,’ ‘good morals’ or the ‘happy normal existence of other persons.’ All of these vague terms leave organizations at risk from authorities’ unchecked, discretionary power. In a country of 70 million people, any of these provisions could easily be applied arbitrarily to severely restrict freedom of expression, association, peaceful assembly, and other human rights.”
“Amnesty International would like to stress the importance of a transparent and meaningfully inclusive consultative process and urge Thai authorities to seek more input from the public, not-for-profit organizations and their partners so that this law is in line with international human rights standards.”
“We call on the Thai government to withdraw the Draft Act immediately and reaffirm its constitutional and international human rights obligations.”
Source: Amnesty International
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