A long-stalled bill criminalising torture and political disappearances was passed by the House of Representatives on Wednesday, as victims’ families struggle for answers in scores of unsolved missing-persons cases.
The bill easily cleared the third and final reading with a vote of 359-3, with one abstention.
The legislation will now go to the Senate for approval, which could be in the next parliamentary sitting in May.
The legislation combined four similar bills proposed by the cabinet; the House committee on law, justice and human rights; the Prachachat Party and the Democrat Party. They were integrated during scrutiny as part of the second reading, with the cabinet’s version used as the core bill.
The House approved bill contains 34 sections in five chapters as well as a provisional clause.
Scrutiny panel chairman Chavalit Wichayasut (Pheu Thai, Nakhon Phanom)…
