Group fights CDC decision to merge NHRC, Ombudsman

CIVIL-SOCIETY representatives yesterday submitted a petition to Borwornsak Uwanno, chairman of the Constitution Drafting Committee (CDC), voicing their opposition to the planned merger of the Ombudsman’s Office and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

The group, led by the Union for Civil Liberty, the Human Rights Lawyers’ Association and the Foundation for Consumers, said the two agencies followed distinctly different modes of operations.

For instance, the petition pointed out, the NHRC and the Ombudsman monitored tasks in completely different ways. The NHRC focuses on the task of verifying legal aspects and complaints related to human rights, including the application of the human-rights concept at the level of state policy implementation. Meanwhile, the Ombudsman merely monitors state agencies when it comes to the conduct of civil servants and the implementation of laws and regulations by government agencies. 

The civil-society network also highlighted the necessity to improve the recruitment process of NHRC commissioners by making it independent of the bureaucracy. 

As for the issue of the NHRC’s efficacy in its operation, the group suggested that the CDC open improved channels for public scrutiny and participation rather than merging the two organisations. 

The CDC chairman agreed to reconsider the merger proposal, but said the drafters had the interests of the general public in mind when they came up with the idea to merge the two.

However, he said, the final decision on whether to amend the clause related to the merger would also depend on other CDC members.

Borwornsak added that the main aim of the merger was to ease the process for the public to file complaints as well as to shorten the investigation period. 

“Under the new constitution, people will be able to submit complaints directly” to the newly merged agency, Borwornsak said, adding that the investigation process would be shortened by one year. 

Previously, complainants wasted a lot of time when appealing to the Constitution Court, as the system required all petitions to be approved first by one of three agencies, namely the NHRC, the Ombudsman’s Office or the Central Administrative Court, the CDC chairman said.

Borwornsak also argued that the future of the NHRC was in doubt, as the term of the current commissioners would expire in June and that the decision to extend their term or nominate new commissioners depended on the National Legislative Assembly.