Human rights commission says compliance among Islamic leaders will be essential
PUBLISHED : 2 Jan 2024 at 18:49
The cabinet has acknowledged a proposal seeking legal amendments to raise the minimum age of marriage from 17 to 18 to be consistent with international principles.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is proposing to make the change, said Rudklao Suwankiri, a deputy government spokesperson.
Under the proposal, amendments must be made to the Civil and Commercial Code and relevant laws. A minimum age of 18 would be in line with guidelines set out in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) mechanism of the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Criteria and practices according to Islamic principles, especially where forced childhood marriage is concerned, must be improved to be consistent with international human rights principles, the NHRC said.
When the minimum age for marriage was adjusted under the Civil and Commercial Code, the Central Islamic Council of Thailand was required to make adjustments as well in order to comply.
However, the NHRC saw that non-fulfilment of a commitment made to a UPR working group in 2016 to adjust the minimum age was tantamount to a violation of human rights, said Ms Rudklao.
The rights commission forwarded its proposal to the cabinet, seeking it to assign agencies such as the Justice Ministry, the Social Development and Human Security Ministry and the Central Islamic Council of Thailand to jointly amend the laws, the spokeswoman said.