National Human Rights Institutions (NHRIs) in ASEAN: A Comparative Analysis of the Protection Capacity and Impacts on Performances of NHRIs in the Philippines and Thailand

This paper analyses and compares the protection capacity of National Human Rights Institutions (nhris) in the Philippines and Thailand, as well as the impact of governmental action on their performances. Here, protection capacity means the extent to which the law authorizes the nhris to carry out protective functions in dealing with human rights violations. This comparison evidences that the Philippines’ nhri has greater protection capacity and much more stable mandates than the Thai nhri. Moreover, although the two nhris share the same core mandates to receive complaints of human rights violations, to investigate them, recommendation of remedial measures to the concerned parties, and referral to legal channels, the ways in which these mandates are carried out in the two countries differ. Also the legal and political means by which the governments of both countries have impacted the nhris’ performances, differ considerably.