Capital punishment: In 2021, the Narcotics
Code was enacted, enabling the abolishment
of some offenses with mandatory capital
punishment. This allows judges to use their
discretion to order other punishments in lieu of
the capital punishment. Nevertheless, the NHRCT
suggests that the government should review
relevant laws to abolish the capital punishment
for those offenses that do not constitute the
“most serious crimes” to comply with the ICCPR.
Freedom of expression and freedom of
the press: There were prosecutions against people
expressing their opinions critical of the government
during public demonstrations and on social
media. The efforts of the government to tackle
fake news might cause a restrictive and chilling
effect on people wishing to express their opinions.
However, the administrative power in enforcing
the Computer-Related Crime Act B.E. 2550 could
be challenged by judicial review. On the other
hand, the Royal Thai Police established a working
committee to screen prosecutions relating to
offenses under Section 112 of the Criminal Code.
3
Assessment of Human Rights
Situation Relating to Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights
Workers’rights: In 2021, the government
and related agencies has made efforts to protect
many workers’ rights. However, some groups
of workers, such as informal and platform workers,
still faced problems and were not protected
in terms of wages and welfare. Some migrant
workers had difficulties accessing social protection
mechanisms. The smuggling of migrant workers
from neighboring countries continued while
the signing of MOU to import workers legally
was time-consuming and expensive.
Right to health: The government provided
better access to effective health services
by continually developing the primary healthcare
system and establishing the health insurance
system for prisoners with legal status and rights
problems and for migrant prisoners. Nevertheless,
some groups of people still faced obstacles
in accessing healthcare services. Besides, some
health issues required further monitoring, including
the increasing rate of mental health problems
and insufficient assistance resulting from limited
number of healthcare workers.
Right to education: During the COVID-19
pandemic, the government has made efforts
to ensure that education could continue using
online platforms. The government has provided
educational media and equipment, as well as
financial assistance. Additionally, the government
has encouraged the COVID-19 vaccination
in preparation for the re-opening of schools.
However, online education might affect access to
education of students from low-income families
and the quality of education.
Community rights in land, natural
resources, and environmental management:
The government has made efforts to allocate
arable lands for communities through the
work of the National Land Policy Committee.
The government also pursued forest conservation
and prevention of forest encroachment by
legislating laws that allow people to live and
earn a livelihood in forest areas. Nevertheless,
the overall progress of land allocation was quite
limited, while the specified regulations did not
ensure sufficient security of land tenure.
Business and human rights: The government
has prepared an anti-discrimination bill
which prohibits discriminatory practices in various
รายงานผลการประเมิินสถานการณ์์
ด้้านสิิทธิิมนุุษยชนของประเทศไทย ปีี 2564
to resolve the problem in the areas, yet violent
incidents continued to happen from time to time.
The operations of state officers to curb violence
in some cases may affect the rights of the people
and cause concern among them.
17