IV 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. RES. 369 

Supporting the United States-Thailand alliance and 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 ahead of the 2023 general elections in Thailand, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 5, 2023 

Ms. WILD submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Affairs 

RESOLUTION 

Supporting the United States-Thailand alliance and 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 

ahead of the 2023 general elections in Thailand, 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; 


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•HRES 369 IH 

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 

universal values, and remains a steadfast friend of the 

United States; 

Whereas through the Southeast Asia Collective Defense Treaty, done at Manila on 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 on 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; 


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•HRES 369 IH 

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

(1) to revitalize economic recovery; 

(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 1 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 currently hosts more than 95,000 refugees, primarily from Burma, and is an important United 

States partner in the provision of humanitarian assistance to Burma; 

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; 


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•HRES 369 IH 

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

launched a coup d’etat 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; 

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 5 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 


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•HRES 369 IH 

(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 

(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’etat; 

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, 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 proVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:02 May 06, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00005 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6300 E:\BILLS\HR369.IH HR369

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•HRES 369 IH 

tests, surveillance, harassment, arrests, violence, and imprisonment; 

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

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 prodemocracy 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; 

Whereas, in October 2022, the Government of Thailand abstained from a vote on a United Nations resolution to 

condemn Russia’s illegal and illegitimate annexation of 4 

eastern regions of Ukraine; 

Whereas, in December 2022, the Government of Thailand 

hosted senior ministers from the Burmese military junta 

despite efforts by the United States and ASEAN to isolate the junta’s leadership diplomatically; 

Whereas, in 2022, China was Thailand’s largest trading partner, with bilateral trade reaching $107,000,000,000 and 

accounting for nearly one-fifth of Thailand’s total foreign 

trade volume; 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 impose severe restrictions on nonprofit organizations operating in Thailand; and 


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•HRES 369 IH 

(2) will have an irreversible chilling effect on civil society in Thailand and across the Southeast Asia region 

generally: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That the House of Representatives— 

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 

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

13 freedom of expression, and privacy; 

14 (4) urges the Government of Thailand to create 

15 conditions for credible and fair elections in May 

16 2023, including by— 

17 (A) enabling opposition parties and polit18 ical leaders to carry out their activities without 

19 undue interference from state authorities; 

20 (B) enabling media, journalists, and mem21 bers of civil society to exercise freedoms of ex22 pression, peaceful assembly, and association, 


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•HRES 369 IH 

1 without repercussion and fear of prosecution; 

2 and 

3 (C) ensuring that the tallying of votes is 

4 fair and transparent; 

5 (5) urges the Government of Thailand to re6 lease and drop charges against political activists and 

7 refrain from harassing, intimidating, or persecuting 

8 those engaged in peaceful protests and civic activity 

9 more broadly, with particular care for the rights and 

10 well-being of children and students; 

11 (6) calls on the Government of Thailand to 

12 drop consideration of the Draft Act on the Oper13 ation of Not-for-Profit Organizations and reform 

14 other laws and regulations undermining free expres15 sion and access to information; 

16 (7) urges the Government of Thailand to inves17 tigate and end spyware attacks that have targeted 

18 academics, human rights defenders, and key mem19 bers of various prodemocracy groups; 

20 (8) calls on the Government of Thailand to re21 peal or revise laws and decrees that are used to cen22 sor online content and speech related to the electoral 

23 process, including Thailand’s— 

24 (A) lese majeste law; 

25 (B) Computer-Related Crime Act; and 


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•HRES 369 IH 

1 (C) sedition laws; 

2 (9) communicates to the Government of Thai3 land that continuing violations of the rights of the 

4 people of Thailand to express themselves and partici5 pate in the political process will make it impossible 

6 for the United States to recognize the next general 

7 election as free and fair, regardless of outcome; and 

8 (10) unequivocally states that direct or indirect 

9 military or royal intervention before, during, or after 

10 the general election would— 

11 (A) undermine bilateral relations between 

12 the United States and Thailand; and 

13 (B) endanger economic and security assist14 ance to Thailand and regional and economic co15 operation. 

Æ 


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