(BANGKOK, May 2023)—On May 10, 2023, Thailand’s Move Forward Party pledged to reintroduce to the new parliament a marriage equality bill to ensure the rights of LGBTI+ people in Thailand. During a rally ahead of Thailand’s general elections on May 14, 2023, former MP Nateepat Kulsetthasith said that the party would revive the marriage equality bill that had passed two readings under the previous legislature and criticized other parties for not supporting the bill.
Fortify Rights has directly engaged on multiple occasions Move Forward Party representatives about the need for marriage equality in Thailand, advocating for the party to prioritize this issue as part of its election campaign. Since 2022, Fortify Rights published four news releases, including on June 7, 2022, September 16, 2022, November 1, 2022, and July 3, 2023; and two short films on February 15, 2023 and June 22, 2023 to highlight efforts and challenges under Thailand’s previous parliament to enact a marriage equality bill that would provide LGBTI+ couples with equal rights to marriage and other associated rights. On September 2, 2022, The Diplomat published an op-ed entitled “Can Marriage Equality Become a Reality in Thailand?” by Fortify Rights’s Thailand Human Rights Associate Mookdapa Yangyuenpradorn.