A/HRC/41/43/Add.3 Comments by the Royal Thai Government on the Report of the Working Group on the issues of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on its Visit to the Kingdom of Thailand (A/HRC/41/43/Add.1) 1. The Royal Thai Government notes the report of the Working Group on the issues of human rights and transnational corporations and other business enterprises on its visit to Thailand from 26 March – 4 April 2018. 2. Thailand thanks the Working Group for its acknowledgment of the practices, efforts and initiatives of the Thai government agencies and business enterprises in preventing and mitigating human rights risks and their impact on business activities. 3. Thailand recognizes the efforts of the Working Group in identifying the gaps in, and challenges concerning, Thailand’s human rights promotion and protection. Thailand previously studied the draft Report and proposed corrections to errors of fact and law, accompanied by detailed explanation, but several of these have not been included by the Working Group. 4. Thailand is obliged to point out that some references in the Report are misleading, while others reflected one-sided observations on the part of the Working Group. Some parts of the Report are unfortunately based on unrelated incidents, involve prejudicial cases, and/or ignore counter-evidence suggesting that the accusations made were unfounded and that the conclusions and recommendations formed were predetermined. The Report also insufficiently outlines Thailand’s general context and, in some parts, depicts half-truths regarding the temporary political conditions in the country, Thai investment abroad, in particular the case of the Xe Pian Xe Namnoy hydropower project, the issue of human rights defenders, and ethnic minorities, among other things. 5. Nevertheless, Thailand remains committed to cooperating with the Working Group in the promotion of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) at home and abroad. The Working Group’s visit was a mutual learning experience. 6. Thailand’s comments on the Report of the Working Group are set out below. General context (Paras. 5 – 10) 7. While the Report has been revised to include the 2017 Constitution,1 the 20-year National Strategy (2018-2037) and the 11 supporting National Reform Plans, it does not thoroughly elaborate on the significance of these frameworks, which reaffirm the ground rules of human rights promotion and protection, help to create a system conducive to sustainable and responsible business conduct, and ensure access to effective remedies for victims of business-related human rights violations. Thailand views that the Report focuses excessively on the interim Constitution as well as measures and conditions that are not always directly related to the business context. For example, the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 3/2015, Article 12 on the temporary prohibition of political gatherings of 5 persons or more has been revoked and retrospectively applied to dismiss all previous charges. Businesses’ engagement with the business and human rights agenda (Paras. 11-13) 8. Thailand has a strong network of collaboration among businesses, trade associations and financial institutions. This network has made relentless efforts to raise awareness and harmonize business policies and practices with international standards, including the 1 2 For an unofficial translation of the 2017 Thai Constitution, please go to https://cdc.parliament.go.th/draftconstitution2/download/article/article_20180829093502.pdf.