Wat was reacting to comments by chief charter drafter Meechai Ruchupan on Friday that the constitutionally independent NHRC is likely to be the next to be “set to zero” given that the current NHRC’s international status was degraded for not fully complying with Paris Principles on human rights.

Wat, however, said that each NHRC member, if not considered qualified for the seat, should be considered on an individual basis. The re-registration would require the NHRC members to seek new jobs since they were required to quit their previous occupations, he said.

NHRC member Tuenjai Deetes, however, agreed with the idea of revamping the NHRC. “I admit that the current NHRC members were not chosen from diverse sources,” she said. “Going back to square one would help the NHRC members become more independent of each other and less partisan.”

Tuenjai admitted that the re-registration, if it happens, might not be fair to the current members, given that they have been in the position for less than two years. But whether an exemption could be made for them in the yet-to-be-drafted organic law is another matter, she added.