21 รายงานผลการประเมินสถานการณ์ ด้านสิทธิมนุษยชนของประเทศไทย ปี ๒๕๖๒ In the prevention and eradication of torture and enforced disappearances, a progress was made with the proposal of the Bill on Prevention and Suppression of Torture and the Disappearance of Persons B.E. .... to the House of Representatives. The government cooperated with the UN Working Group on Enforced or Involuntary Disappearances, and the investigation into the case of Mr. Porlaji Rakchongcharoen or Billy yielded a significant progress. As for the situation regarding the exercise of freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, it was found that in general the public were able to exercise such freedom without state interference, as a result of the abolition of the Head of NCPO’s order that banned political gatherings since late 2018, and the NCPO’s announcement that ordered the media to refrain from presenting information that criticize the government in 2019. There were still some cases of using the Computer-related Crimes Act B.E. 2550 (2007) and its amendments to prosecute political activists for expressing their opinions. The number is relatively lower than in 2018, and most of the cases involved disseminating false and deceptive messages to the public. Nevertheless, civil society organizations still have concerns about the enforcement of relevant laws due to the ambiguity of certain words that may subject to interpretation and discretion of the authorities. On issues related to civil and political rights, the NHRC has made recommendations to the government and relevant agencies, including the recommendations to adjust regulations or practices that obstruct access to the Justice Fund; to protect human rights defenders who carry out peaceful activities from threats, intimidation or attacks; to speed up the transfer of pending cases at the Military Court to the Court of Justice; and to accelerate the consideration of the Bill to Prevent and Suppress Torture and Enforced Disappearances B.E. ...., taking into account the compliance with the Convention Against Torture (CAT), for immediate enforcement. The government should address the concerns of the public regarding ambiguous enforcement of laws with provisions restricting freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, such as the Computer-related Crimes Act B.E. 2550 (2007) and its amendments, the Broadcasting and Television Businesses Act B.E. 2551 (2008), and the Public Assembly Act B.E. 2558 (2015). 2. The situation of economic, social and cultural rights Important issues include rights to employment and social security, rights to education, rights to health, and human rights related to business operations. In 2019, the government adopted a policy to promote employment among population groups that may have relatively less access to job opportunities, such as informal workers. New laws have been enacted to protect workers in the fishery sector and to prohibit forced labor. However, international trade problems had led to the closure of many factories, resulting in the layoffs of workers. The adoption of artificial intelligence in the business sector may lead to more layoffs. And there were problems with the protection of labour rights of out-sourced workers or service contractors in the government sector. Improvement of labour relations law is underway.