III 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 114 

Urging the Government of Thailand to protect and uphold democracy, human 

rights, the rule of law, and rights to freedom of peaceful assembly 

and freedom of expression, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MARCH 16, 2023 

Mr. MARKEY (for himself and Mr. DURBIN) submitted the following 

resolution; which was referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Urging the Government of Thailand to protect and uphold 

democracy, human rights, the rule of law, and rights 

to freedom of peaceful assembly and freedom of expression, and for other purposes. 

Whereas the Kingdom of Thailand (once commonly known as 

the ‘‘Kingdom of Siam’’) and the United States of America first established relations in 1818, and entered into 

the Treaty of Amity and Commerce, signed on March 20, 

1833, which formalized diplomatic relations between the 

2 countries; 

Whereas Thailand was the first treaty ally of the United 

States in the Asia-Pacific region, has a relationship with 

the United States that is built upon a commitment to 


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universal values, and remains a steadfast friend of the 

United States; 

Whereas through the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, done at Manila September 8, 1954 (commonly known 

as the ‘‘Manila Pact’’), the United States and Thailand 

expressed a joint desire to ‘‘strengthen the fabric of peace 

and freedom and to uphold the principles of democracy, 

individual liberty and the rule of law’’; 

Whereas, in 1962, the United States and Thailand signed the 

Thanat-Rusk communique ́, through which the United 

States pledged to provide assistance to Thailand if it 

faced aggression by neighboring nations; 

Whereas, through the Treaty of Amity and Economic Relations Between the Kingdom of Thailand and the United 

States of America, done at Bangkok May 29, 1966, along 

with a diverse and growing trading relationship, the 

United States and Thailand have developed strong economic ties; 

Whereas the United States recognizes Thailand as a founding 

member of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations 

(commonly known as ‘‘ASEAN’’); 

Whereas, on November 12, 2022, President Joseph R. Biden 

and the ASEAN leaders elevated United States-ASEAN 

relations to a Comprehensive Strategic Partnership to 

open new areas of cooperation vital to the future prosperity and security of the United States and ASEAN 

member nations; 

Whereas Thailand successfully served as host for the AsiaPacific Economic Cooperation forum in 2022— 

(1) to revitalize economic recovery; 


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(2) to restore connectivity following disruptions from 

the COVID–19 pandemic; and 

(3) to integrate inclusivity and sustainability objectives in tandem with economic goals; 

Whereas Thailand was designated a major non-NATO ally in 

2003, and is one of the strongest security partners of the 

United States, a relationship reaffirmed by the Joint Vision Statement 2020 for the U.S.-Thai Defense Alliance; 

Whereas the Government of Thailand and the Government of 

the United States hold numerous joint military exercises, 

including Cobra Gold, the largest annual multinational 

military exercise in the Indo-Pacific region, which is 

hosted by Thailand; 

Whereas the Government of Thailand continues to be a partner on humanitarian and refugee assistance, including in 

multinational relief efforts following the 2004 Indian 

Ocean tsunami and 2015 Nepal earthquake; 

Whereas Thailand ended its absolute monarchy and 

transitioned to a constitutional monarchy in 1932, and 

has since revised its constitution 19 times, including its 

1997 Constitution, which enshrined democratically elected representatives in a bicameral national assembly and 

the prime minister as head of government; 

Whereas, on May 22, 2014, the Royal Thai Armed Forces 

launched a coup d’e ́tat through which it repealed the 

2007 Constitution, declared martial law, and replaced the 

civilian government with a military junta, known as the 

National Council for Peace and Order (referred to in this 

preamble as the ‘‘NCPO’’), which was led by Army Commander-in-Chief Prayuth Chan-ocha; 


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Whereas, on March 29, 2016, the NCPO unveiled a draft 

constitution and on August 7, 2016, the NCPO held a 

deeply flawed referendum on the new constitution, which 

was intended to legitimize the document; 

Whereas the 2016 referendum was marred by widespread violations of rights to freedom of expression, association, 

and peaceful assembly; 

Whereas the NCPO ignored numerous calls from the United 

Nations and foreign governments to respect people’s 

rights to freely express their views on the draft constitution, and sharply curtailed freedoms in the lead-up to the 

constitutional referendum, prosecuting journalists and 

critics of the draft constitution, censoring the media, and 

preventing public gatherings of more than five people; 

Whereas the new Constitution, which was ratified on April 6, 

2017— 

(1) entrenched Thai military power at the expense of 

civilian political control; 

(2) obligated subsequent governments and members 

of parliament to adhere to a junta-issued ‘‘20-year reform plan’’; 

(3) contains provisions weakening the 500-member 

lower house and reserving 250 seats in the Senate for 

NCPO-appointed senators and NCPO leaders, including 

the top leadership of the military and police; and 

(4) gives outsize power to unelected junta-selected 

senators to choose subsequent prime ministers; 

Whereas, in March 2019, Thailand held elections that— 

(1) several independent monitoring groups, citing 

both procedural and systemic problems, declared to be 

not fully free and fair and heavily tilted to favor the military junta; and 


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(2) resulted in the NCPO’s political party, headed 

by Prayuth Chan-ocha, forming a new government and 

appointing Prayuth as prime minister; 

Whereas, in January 2020, the opposition political party Future Forward was dissolved and banned on order of Thailand’s Constitutional Court following a flawed legal process premised on spurious charges; 

Whereas the Constitutional Court also ruled that Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha did not violate a constitutional 

provision limiting him to 8 years in office, despite having 

remained in power since the August 2014 coup d’e ́tat; 

Whereas the Government of Thailand has not made progress 

in its investigation of violent attacks against some democracy activists and the forced disappearances and killings 

of Thai political dissidents across Asia. 

Whereas, in February 2023, the Government of Thailand 

again delayed key anti-torture legislation, which, although flawed, would help to both clarify the criminalization of torture and to prevent torture; 

Whereas, since February 2020, tens of thousands of protesters across Thailand, composed primarily of students 

and youth, have peacefully called for democratically elected government, constitutional reform, and respect for 

human rights; 

Whereas the Government of Thailand responded to these 

largely peaceful protests with repressive measures, including intimidation tactics, excessive use of force during protests, surveillance, harassment, arrests, violence, and imprisonment; 

Whereas between 2020 and 2023, authorities of the Government of Thailand have filed criminal proceedings against 


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more than 1,800 activists for participating in mass demonstrations and expressing their opinions, including more 

than 280 children, 41 of whom were younger than 15 

years of age; 

Whereas reports published in July 2022 by nongovernmental 

organizations found that Thai authorities used Pegasus 

spyware against at least 30 pro-democracy activists and 

individuals who called for reforms to the monarchy and 

against academics and human rights defenders who have 

publicly criticized the Government of Thailand; and 

Whereas the Government of Thailand continues to consider 

the Draft Act on the Operation of Not-for-Profit Organizations, which, if enacted— 

(1) will represent one of the most restrictive laws 

against nonprofit organizations in Asia; and 

(2) will have an irreversible effect on civil society in 

Thailand and across the Southeast Asia region generally: 

Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the Senate— 

2 (1) reaffirms the strong relationship between 

3 the United States and Thailand, a relationship based 

4 on shared democratic values and strategic interests; 

5 (2) is in solidarity with the people of Thailand 

6 in their quest for a democratically elected govern7 ment, political reforms, long-term peace, and respect 

8 for established international human rights stand9 ards; 

10 (3) urges the Government of Thailand to pro11 tect and uphold democracy, human rights, the rule 


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1 of law, and rights to freedom of peaceful assembly, 

2 freedom of expression, and privacy; 

3 (4) urges the Government of Thailand to create 

4 conditions for credible and fair elections in May 

5 2023, including by— 

6 (A) enabling opposition parties and polit7 ical leaders to carry out their activities without 

8 undue interference from state authorities; 

9 (B) enabling media, journalists, and mem10 bers of civil society to exercise freedoms of ex11 pression, peaceful assembly, and association, 

12 without repercussion and fear of prosecution; 

13 and 

14 (C) ensuring that the tallying of votes is 

15 fair and transparent; 

16 (5) urges the Government of Thailand to imme17 diately and unconditionally release and drop charges 

18 against political activists and refrain from harassing, 

19 intimidating, or persecuting those engaged in peace20 ful protests and civic activity more broadly, with 

21 particular care for the rights and well-being of chil22 dren and students; 

23 (6) calls on the Government of Thailand to 

24 drop consideration of the Draft Act on the Oper25 ation of Not-for-Profit Organizations and reform 


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1 other laws and regulations undermining free expres2 sion and access to information; 

3 (7) urges the Government of Thailand to inves4 tigate and end spyware attacks that have targeted 

5 academics, human rights defenders, and key mem6 bers of various pro-democracy groups; 

7 (8) calls on the Government of Thailand to re8 peal and cease the promulgation of laws and decrees 

9 that are used to censor online content and speech re10 lated to the electoral process, including Thailand’s— 

11 (A) overbroad and vague le`se majeste ́ law; 

12 (B) Computer-Related Crime Act; and 

13 (C) overbroad sedition laws; 

14 (9) communicates to the Government of Thai15 land that continuing violations of the rights of the 

16 people of Thailand to peacefully and democratically 

17 determine their future will make it impossible for 

18 the United States to recognize the next general elec19 tion as free and fair, regardless of outcome; and 

20 (10) unequivocally states that direct or indirect 

21 military or royal intervention before, during, or after 

22 the general election would— 

23 (A) profoundly undermine bilateral rela24 tions between the United States and Thailand; 

25 and 


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1 (B) endanger economic and security assist2 ance to Thailand and regional and economic co3 operation. 

Æ 


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