A/HRC/41/43/Add.1 that investment (78 per cent) being in the ASEAN region. 1 As part of efforts to promote economic growth, a range of major projects are being promoted by the Government, including the eastern economic corridor and special economic zones. 6. In 2016, the Government launched “Thailand 4.0”, which sets out a series of goals to be achieved by 2032 to transform Thailand into a high-income country and reduce social disparity. The Thailand 4.0 strategy is planned to align with and support the twelfth national economic and social development plan for the period 2017–2021, which is based on the “sufficiency economy philosophy” and aims to set out development directions and strategies to achieve the objectives of security, prosperity, and sustainability. 2 7. Since 2014, the country has been headed by an interim military Government under the National Council for Peace and Order. A new Constitution drawn up by the Council was ratified in 2017, after its approval through a national referendum, replacing the interim Constitution that had been enacted by the Council in 2014. That prompted the promulgation of the 20-year national strategies (2018–2037) and national reform plans covering 11 areas and providing guidelines for the country to move forward in line with the Thailand 4.0 agenda and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. 8. A transition back to civilian rule and the holding of elections under the 2017 Constitution was announced for early 2019; elections were held on 24 March 2019. 9. The 2014 interim Constitution empowered the National Council for Peace and Order to rule by decree, issue any order for the sake of reforms in any field (art. 44) and declare that all such orders were legal, constitutional and conclusive (art. 47). The 2017 Constitution confirmed that orders issued by the Council were constitutional and lawful and should remain in effect until they are revoked. 10. Under the 2014 interim Constitution, the National Council for Peace and Order issued a series of public orders; the Working Group learned that several of them restricted the enjoyment of a number of human rights. Notably, Council order No. 3/2015 restricted the rights of individuals wishing to take part legitimately in non-violent protests, including in the context of large-scale development projects. By order No. 3/2015, political gatherings of five or more persons were prohibited, and the military authorities were permitted to confiscate property and search and detain individuals for up to seven days without a court order. The Government informed the Working Group that moving towards the general elections scheduled for 24 March 2019, the Council had issued order No. 22/2018 to repeal, wholly or partially, nine previous orders, including order No. 3/2015 (art. 12 only). III. Engagement of businesses with the business and human rights agenda 11. The Working Group held meetings with representatives of the business sector and found that while the business and human rights agenda was still new, there was growing interest in and awareness of its importance, especially among larger companies with exposure to global markets. The Working Group learned about a number of initiatives, such as the code of ethics of the Chamber of Commerce and the code of conduct of the Federation of Thai Industries. The Working Group encouraged the harmonization of these frameworks with the Guiding Principles. During a meeting with the Thai Stock Exchange, the Working Group learned that several major Thai companies were listed in different global sustainability indexes. 12. The Government informed the Working Group that the Global Compact Network Thailand has chosen business and human rights as one of its key themes to streamline the Guiding Principles and the guidelines and standards of Organization for Economic 1 2 Stock Exchange of Thailand, “2016 outward foreign direct investment of Thai listed firms”, available at www.set.or.th/highlights/files/20170731_en_setresearch.pdf. See www.nesdb.go.th/nesdb_en/ewt_w3c/ewt_dl_link.php?nid=434 5. 5