Bangkok: The National Human Rights Commission is urging the Cabinet to approve the draft Clean Air Act within 60 days. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sent a letter to the Prime Minister urging the Cabinet to expedite the approval of the Clean Air Act draft law within 60 days of the first parliamentary session. The NHRC is also preparing to hold a forum on May 6th to discuss solutions to the PM2.5 crisis, involving the government, civil society, and political parties.
According to Thai News Agency, Ms. Syamamol Kaiyurawong, a member of the National Human Rights Commission, revealed that the air pollution problem from PM 2.5 dust has worsened, especially in the North and other regions of the country, affecting public health on a wide scale. The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) places great importance on enacting laws to prevent and resolve air pollution problems that impact public health and well-being. Previously, in August 2023, the NHRC sent a letter to the Prime Minister informing him of recommendations regarding air pollution in eight provinces in upper Northern Thailand. Subsequently, in March 2024, the NHRC sent letters to the President of the Senate and the President of the House of Representatives providing opinions and suggestions for consideration of the Clean Air Management Act, which at that time was being submitted to the House of Representatives in seven versions. Finally, in December 2025, the NHRC sent another letter to the Prime Minister informing h im of recommendations for resolving PM 2.5 air pollution. However, following the dissolution of the House of Representatives by Royal Decree on December 12, 2025, the aforementioned Act, which was under consideration by the Senate, was dropped.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) believes that the public continues to face serious and unavoidable problems from PM 2.5, which affect health and daily life. Furthermore, Thailand is in the process of joining the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which places great importance on clean air standards and sustainable environmental policies. Therefore, to ensure Thailand has legislation that will be a crucial mechanism for systematically and effectively addressing air pollution, and that is consistent with human rights principles and internationally accepted environmental protection principles-especially the prevention principle, the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle, and the principle of decentralization-the NHRC believes it is essential to have legislation to address air pollution systematically and effectively.
Recently, Ms. Pornprapai Kanjanarin, Chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, sent a letter dated April 23, 2026, to the Prime Minister requesting that the Cabinet expedite the confirmation of the draft Clean Air Management Act within the 60-day timeframe from the first parliamentary session after the general election, as stipulated in Section 147 of the 2017 Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand.
The National Human Rights Commission stated that the right to a healthy environment with clean air is a fundamental human right that all people are entitled to. Air pollution in Thailand originates from various sectors, including industry, transportation, forestry, agriculture, and urban areas, as well as transboundary pollution. This directly impacts the right to health, economic rights and living standards, and the right to access information, such as timely, comprehensive, and easily understandable alerts about air pollution levels. The World Bank estimates the health damage from air pollution in Thailand to be over US$45 billion, or 3.89% of the country's GDP, with a particularly severe impact on the tourism sector.
In order to unite all sectors in Thailand in finding solutions to the urgent PM 2.5 dust crisis, the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) is scheduled to hold a forum entitled "Uniting Forces to Find Solutions to the PM 2.5 Dust Crisis: Protection of Rights and the Next Steps for Clean Air Laws" on Wednesday, May 6, 2026, from 9:00 AM to 4:30 PM at the Rama Gardens Hotel, Bangkok. The objective is to listen to and exchange opinions on the situation, impacts, and solutions to PM 2.5 with representatives from the government, civil society, academics, and political parties. This information will be compiled to formulate recommendations for improving laws and policies related to preventing and resolving air pollution in Thailand.