CDC stands firm on NHRC reset plan

The CDC insisted there are facts proving that the recruiting process of the current commissioners was not accepted by the International Coordinating Committee for the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights which had downgraded the Thai NHRC – the prime organ protecting human rights in the country. The CDC stood firm on its version, which would result in the dismissal of the human rights commissioners, Udom said. It said the stipulation would resolve the acceptance issue that the international panel had with the Thai NHRC and required that the commission is made up of more diverse members, the spokesman said. 
Allowing the current NHRC members to complete their term was not a solution to the downgrade, he said. And allowing them to rerun for the position in line with the new law would only cause another chain of problems, Udom said. Other agencies suffering the reset might ask for the same treatment, he said.
Udom said the conflicting ideas of the CDC and the NHRC should not bring disharmony between the two, as they were just differences in perspectives.
A joint law review committee is to be set up following disagreement over the issue. The CDC yesterday revealed it would send five members – Norachit Sinhaseni, Juree Wijitwatakarn, Thienchai Na Nakorn, Pakorn Nilprapan, and Vira Rojanavat – to join the panel.
Earlier, What claimed that the attempt to remove human rights commissioners might have stemmed from the dissatisfaction of “those in power” with certain commissioners.
What criticised the CDC’s spokesperson team as having no authority to raise objections to the NHRC as that is the work of the joint law review committee, not the team. “It’s inappropriate,” he said.
The CDC’s objections, he said, were not correct.