18 consider becoming a party to the International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 190 to tackle problems related to sexual harassment both in the public and private sectors. It also advises the government to address refusal of termination of pregnancy and non-referral to other medical service providers faced by women and to accelerate legislative process in order to recognize the right to family life of LGBTIQN+ persons. Persons with legal status and rights problems In 2022, the government made efforts to resolve problems and obstacles in the status determination process so that consideration of status applications could be expedited and the process did not put undue burden on the applicants. The cabinet also approved in principle a draft announcement of the National Screening Committee on the criteria, procedures and requirements for granting the status of protected person while budget was allocated for the purpose of disease prevention to persons with legal status problems. The NHRCT played its part by coordinating with the Department of Provincial Administration and other concerned agencies in tackling the issues. Nevertheless, only a small number of people received legal status or Thai nationality. G-status school children still experienced barriers of accessing various rights. Moreover, there were people fleeing unrest situation in Myanmar into Thailand from time to time. Various sectors provided them protection and deliver humanitarian assistance but concerns remained about the safety and well-being of those living in the temporary shelters and the assurance of vulnerable groups to access their fundamental rights. Rights of ethnic groups The government and concerned agencies acknowledged the NHRCT’s recommendations and 001-234 V9 CS6.indd 18 made considerable efforts to solve the problems of ethnic groups. These included conducting a study on the overlap between state protected areas and ethnic groups’ housing and farmlands, and a study on the appropriateness of assisting ethnic groups affected by the government’s policy on natural resources conservation and management, which was partly in response to the request of civil society. However, there were challenges regarding a bill on the protection and promotion of the way of life of ethnic groups that did not make as much progress as expected. The physical survey and adjustment of the national parks boundaries also raised concerns among the ethnic people residing in the areas, while measures of natural resources conservation and management continued to impact the livelihoods of the ethnic groups. Moreover, some members of ethnic groups were subject to being prosecuted by relevant government agencies and private sectors regarding land disputes. Rights of the urban poor The government and concerned agencies attempted to develop a master plan for housing development to provide low-income people nationwide with security in housing and quality of life. Likewise, policies were formulated to tackle the problem of inequality in land and housing, as well as access to fundamental and essential utilities. However, issues and challenges faced by the urban poor remained as the NHRCT received complaints about difficulties regarding access to housing and basic utilities. Therefore, it is recommended that the government formulate a policy which guarantees access to necessary public services, follow up the effort to resolve the problems and drive forward the master plan on housing development for the urban poor across the country to ensure that they have adequate and appropriate housing and standard of living. 3/14/23 8:40 PM