The CDC held a seminar at Parliament yesterday to gather public opinion on the NHRC—an independent agency tasked with overseeing human-rights issues.

During the five-hour-long session, the participants who were mostly members of civil society groups and active citizens, said they wanted to see commissioners from different backgrounds so they could deal with a diverse number of issues in the country.

In order to achieve that end, they suggested that the process recruiting committee also have members from diverse backgrounds.

The current NHRC, comprising seven members selected by the National Legislative Assembly (NLA), took office in late 2015.

There is a high possibility that they will be wiped out given that the referendum-endorsed constitution has set out new and different qualifications for commissioners.

Before yesterday’s seminar, CDC spokesman Norachit Sinhaseni explained that the new charter makes it mandatory for independent agencies to be reset to square one.

Participants also observed that the current human-rights commission is more like a paper tiger, pointing out that the NHRC would be more effective if it had the capacity to take cases to court.

CDC chairman Meechai Ruchupan said the drafters were writing an organic law on the commission, which would also help solve the many issues it faces.

For instance, he said, many people observed that the commission lacked diversity and hence was not able to deal with as many rights issues at it should. To tackle this, Meechai said, the new organic law may set up new recruitment methods. He said five of the commissioners should come from different backgrounds, while the other two would be handpicked.

As for writing reports or communicating with outsiders, Meechai said the NHRC should be more active in explaining to the outside world that some rights issues were more about tradition and culture, and not a violation of people’s rights. He used the parent-children metaphor, apparently referring to the lese majeste law, which is slammed by the international community as a violation of freedom of expression.

The CDC chairman also acknowledged that the NHRC found it difficult to write reports and that in the new law, the charter drafting commission will pave the way for the NHRC to hire experts to do the job.