NGOs Seek US Help To Persuade Thailand To Drop Bill Regulating Non-Profits – Eurasia Review

By Kunnawut Boonreak

Dozens of concerned NGOs are asking the U.S. government to lobby Thailand to drop a draft law they say would effectively place civil society under government control, and deal a blow to the fight against human trafficking.

In a joint letter to U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken this week, 41 NGOs aired their concerns and asked for his agency’s intervention to persuade the Thai government to withdraw the so-called Draft Act on the Operations of Not-for-Profit Organizations, which the cabinet has approved.

If enacted into law, the bill to regulate Non-Governmental Organizations operating in Thailand would allow the authorities to inspect their offices and seize communications, among other measures, according to the NGOs.

“The provisions in the bill represent clear violations of the right to freedom of association, enshrined in the International Covenant…