Please allow me, Sir, to
extend to you, on behalf of the delegation of the
Kingdom of Thailand, our wholehearted congratulations
on your election to the presidency of the General
Assembly at its sixty-fifth session. You can rest assured
of my delegation’s full support and cooperation.
We live in a world of divides. Although the
predominantly ideological divide of the Cold War has
ended, new divides have come to the fore — politico-
security, socio-economic, digital or even based on
beliefs. Such divides present challenges to peace,
security, prosperity and human dignity. Overcoming
them requires that nations work together as one;
overcoming them requires a United Nations.
But the effectiveness of such international
cooperation depends upon the strength and willingness
of individual nations themselves. Thailand is such a
nation, willing and ready to cooperate with
international partners to help bridge such divides and
help the world cross into a better future.
Of course, we are under no illusions about
Thailand’s own difficulties and our own current
divides. But history has shown that Thailand is a
resilient country, and its people are capable of
overcoming whatever challenges are thrown before
them. Thailand remains a functioning democracy, but
we are a relatively young one. Like many other
democracies, ours will develop and mature with time.
The Thai Government is committed to that and to the
principles of democracy, the practice of good
governance and respect for human rights.
Have no doubt that our Government is resolutely
working to heal the political and social divisions in my
country. We are working to address any legitimate
socio-economic grievances, with a view to bringing
back national unity and confidence. We have launched
a national reconciliation plan and set up independent
committees, led by eminent persons with the utmost
integrity, to propose ways to reform the country and its
democratic institutions. We will bridge our country’s
divide.
Human rights remain the cornerstone of the
Government’s policy. We are looking into any
wrongdoings in the past and will ensure that they do
not recur and that justice is done. To that end, we have
set up an independent fact-finding commission to look
into the tragic events earlier this year. Other
independent organs, such as our human rights
commission, also play a key and active role in
safeguarding human rights.
The Thai Government well recognizes that some
political grievances mainly arise from the economic
disparities in our society. That is a serious issue, and
the Government is working to bridge economic and
social gaps. We are creating social safety nets through
our universal health-care schemes and by providing 15
years of free education, training programmes for the
unemployed and support for low-income earners,
farmers, the elderly and people with disabilities. Our
stimulus packages will benefit not only the overall
economy but especially those who are economically
and socially disadvantaged and disenfranchised.
Despite our troubles, the Thai economy remains
robust, as it and our exports continue to grow steadily.
However, we are not complacent, as much remains to
be done. We need to better spread economic and social
well-being and vitality throughout Thailand, which will
also contribute to the reconciliation, trust and stability
of the country. To that end, we seek to strengthen
Thailand’s creative economy by utilizing our rich
cultural and historical heritage and the creativity of
both urban and rural Thais to add more value to Thai
products and services, so that our productivity and
competitiveness are enhanced and our wealth more
widely spread.
I think we have proven to the world the strength
of our national character and the resilience of our
nation. Despite the tragic incidents, Thailand has
continued to move forward, not merely for the benefit
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of the country but also for that of the international
community. It is evident that we remain an active and
responsible Member of the United Nations, ready to
enhance our present partnerships and build new ones to
help create a better future for the world.
I will now expand upon how Thailand has
contributed, and can further contribute, internationally
to help bridge the world’s divides.
Many a conflict, whether inter- or intra-State,
stems from development disparities and the suffering
caused by economic injustice. The world is divided,
not simply into have and have-not countries but, rather,
into have-more and have-less ones, and into North and
South. Thailand therefore believes that in bridging the
development gap, global economic growth should be
balanced and inclusive, regional economic cooperation
and integration should be enhanced and the
disadvantaged and dispossessed should not be left
behind.
The recent global financial crisis served as a
valuable wake-up call for all, reminding us to live
within our means. Thailand believes that people-
centred development, moderation in economic
behaviour and the optimal use of limited resources —
as stipulated in His Majesty the King of Thailand’s
“sufficiency economy” philosophy — are essential if
we are to have sustainable economic development and
growth. Thailand has embarked upon that path, and we
urge others to follow.
The financial crisis has also alerted us to the
necessity of better global governance and the need for
reform of international financial institutions, with due
consideration for the interests of developing nations, as
they are the ones affected the most. Countries must
work more closely together to better coordinate fiscal
and monetary policies and to improve the regulation of
financial institutions.
On our part, Thailand has engaged actively in
regional and international forums such as the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), the
ASEAN+3 process, the Group of 20 (G-20) and the
United Nations. As ASEAN Chair, Thailand was
invited to the G-20 Summits in London and Pittsburgh
last year to share ASEAN’s experiences and lessons
learned from the 1997 financial crisis.
Thailand believes that regional initiatives like the
Chiang Mai Initiative Multilateralization, the Asian
Bond Markets Initiative and the ASEAN Economic
Community would all help to complement ongoing
global cooperation to achieve balanced and sustainable
growth, as well as to promote a resilient international
financial system that also addresses the concerns of
developing countries. We believe that ASEAN, through
the ASEAN Chair, will continue to contribute to the
forum its relevant experiences in achieving those goals.
As a developing country itself, Thailand stands
ready to help others in need. We believe in greater
South-South cooperation, for it is fellow developing
countries that best understand what is required to help
push development forward. We are also active in
building partnerships between the developed and
developing world, providing a bridge between them
through triangular cooperation by adapting technology
from developed countries to match the needs of
developing ones. We have achieved most of the
Millennium Development Goals, and we stand ready to
share our knowledge and experience, especially in
alleviating poverty and improving well-being in other
countries.
We have already done so in our region by
cooperating with our neighbours to improve social
welfare and build essential infrastructure. Through the
Thailand-initiated Master Plan on ASEAN
Connectivity, the initiative for an ASEAN Integration
Strategic Framework, the East-West Economic
Corridor, the Greater Mekong subregion projects and
bilateral cooperation, we have striven to promote
greater technical cooperation in the region and to
create and upgrade transport and telecommunication
networks to facilitate greater economic activity. Such
initiatives ultimately help narrow the developmental
divide within the region.
Of the problems of development, food security
ranks as one of the most important. For people to live,
mouths must be fed. As a major food exporter,
Thailand can contribute to ensuring greater food
security. We also believe in greater regional
cooperation. The ASEAN Plus Three emergency rice
reserve stands as a model for other regions to emulate.
Climate change is undeniable. It is happening
now. We are all experiencing its effects, which have
exacerbated the world’s woes, including food scarcity
and natural disasters. Thailand is a developing country
actively pursuing voluntary climate-change mitigation
efforts. We plan to increase our forest area through
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reforestation and afforestation, as well as our
renewable energy usage. Indeed, our eleventh national
social and economic development plan, for the years
2012 to 2016, now being drafted, aims to move
Thailand towards becoming a low-carbon society.
We are also aiming for green economic growth,
with energy used more efficiently and wisely. But the
developed world must also play its part in helping
others become better equipped to fight climate change.
Greater technology transfer is thus a must. We
sincerely hope that the sixteenth Conference of the
Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention
on Climate Change, to be held in Cancún, will lead to
more concrete and comprehensive results in our fight
against climate change.
Development is linked to human security, which
is linked to human rights. People must have freedom
from want as well as from fear. But while fundamental
human rights are universal, how they are guaranteed
and promoted differs from country to country in
accordance with different belief systems and cultures.
Thailand believes that we should bridge such
differences by working together towards a more
common understanding of human rights and how they
must be protected. To this end, forums such as the
interfaith dialogues and the Alliance of Civilizations
are invaluable contributions to greater common
understanding.
I stress again that human rights are a core
principle of the Government of Thailand and its foreign
policy. Thailand’s election to the Human Rights
Council for the years 2010 to 2013, and its election by
acclamation to the presidency of the Council in June, is
clear testament to the faith of the international
community in Thailand’s active and positive role in
promoting and protecting human rights. As a member
of the Human Rights Council, Thailand aims to
reinvigorate the Council to address more effectively
human rights problems worldwide. To this end, as
President of the Council, we hope to see the review
process through to completion by next year. We believe
the Council should adopt a more even-handed approach
through greater cooperation and engagement with the
concerned countries themselves, to establish greater
dialogue between States as well as regions and to try to
forge consensus among them.
Instead of offering mere criticism and the
imposition of values seen as foreign, we must reach out
to persuade the countries concerned to understand that
human rights are shared values and common to all.
Only through true engagement can the Council have a
real impact on the betterment of people’s lives and
ultimately help pave the way towards peace. Only then
can we ensure that the rights of man do not again fall
hostage to the wrongs of humankind.
Thailand has striven for this regionally as well.
Under Thailand’s chairmanship of ASEAN from July
2008 to the end of 2009, the ASEAN
Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights was
created to protect and promote human rights and to
uphold human dignity. We have also contributed to
setting international human rights norms in the area of
improving the lives of female inmates, through Her
Royal Highness Princess Bajrakitiyabha Mahidol’s, the
draft United Nations rules for the treatment of women
prisoners and non-custodial measures for women
offenders, which have been submitted for the
Assembly’s consideration (see A/C.3/65/L.5).
Thailand has also rendered humanitarian
assistance to preserve human well-being and dignity
injured by natural disasters, not only in nearby places
such as Myanmar, China and Pakistan, but also as far
afield as Haiti and, most recently, Chad. We remain
ready to offer our facilities as a staging centre for
humanitarian assistance in our region.
The flames of war can be sparked for many
reasons, but none are as combustible as the security
divides and power imbalances, real or perceived, that
exist between nations as well as within them. Thailand
believes that global disarmament and non-proliferation
are essential in order to level the security playing field,
to dispel that sense of an imbalance of power and
security. The United Nations must continue its active
role to that end, but major Powers and regional entities
must also do their fair share: the Southeast Asian
Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty is a good case in
point.
Thailand supports international efforts towards
the disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of
mass destruction. We have consistently abided by the
relevant Security Council resolutions and are gravely
concerned about the threat of the spread of such
weapons to terrorists. That is why Thailand has
recently joined the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear
Terrorism.
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The maintenance of international peace and
security is a serious and costly endeavour, and history
has shown that the international community has often
acted too late, enforcing and keeping the peace rather
than making it. We believe that more should be
invested in peacemaking and preventive diplomacy,
which are much less expensive than peace enforcement
and peacekeeping. It is much better to hold talks than
to wage war. It is also far less likely for a community
of nations to wage war within itself. That is why
ASEAN is steadfastly becoming a community:
economically, socially, culturally and politically.
But in cases where peacekeeping has been and is
necessary, Thailand has also done its part. In the past
two decades, we have contributed nearly 20,000 troops,
police officers and civilian staff to United Nations
peacekeeping operations worldwide: from Cambodia
and Timor-Leste to Haiti and very soon Darfur in the
Sudan. Thailand has also recently sent a counter-piracy
task force to assist international efforts in patrolling
and protecting ships from pirate attacks in the Gulf of
Aden area. These are our contributions to the
maintenance of peace and security worldwide, and we
are prepared to do more. Rest assured that as long as
there is peace to be kept, the Thais will be ready to
help keep it.
However, peacekeeping alone is not enough. The
conditions for sustainable peace must be built in post-
conflict societies to ensure that blood is not shed again.
We believe that sustainable development is crucial to
perpetual peace. This is what Thailand is working for,
by helping lay the foundations for peace through
development during the peacekeeping phase — from
the transfer of agricultural know-how in Timor-Leste to
the building of essential infrastructure in Burundi. We
have also striven for this goal through our membership
of the Peacebuilding Commission. Thailand envisages
that body playing a greater role in ensuring sustainable
peace worldwide.
Thailand itself is poised to play a greater role in
ensuring international peace and security. We have
presented our candidature for a non-permanent seat on
the Security Council for the term 2017-2018, for which
we ask members’ invaluable support. Thailand aspires
to work closely with our international partners to
ensure that the path towards war is never trodden
again, but is rerouted towards peace.
While we believe that the Security Council has so
far played an indispensable role in maintaining
international peace and security, we also believe that
the Council should be adjusted to better reflect world
realities in order to tackle today’s global challenges
more effectively. Thailand envisions a Security Council
working with greater efficiency, transparency and
engagement with concerned parties, be they countries,
regional organizations or other United Nations bodies.
We believe that, through such reforms, the Council
would become more effective in maintaining peace and
security worldwide.
Thailand is wholly committed to the United
Nations and its lofty ideals. Since the birth of the
Organization over six decades ago, Thailand has
worked closely with the United Nations to advance
peace and security, development and human rights
around the world. And we will continue to do so. In
spite of our problems, our commitment and
determination have never wavered.
As a medium-sized and middle-income
developing country, Thailand is ready to engage
with — and serve as a connection between — North
and South, East and West. As a country with substantial
experience in addressing today’s problems, we are
ready to help narrow the international gaps in
development, human rights and security. Thailand
believes that the time to act is now, and we stand ready
with our partners to act as a bridge between worlds and
to help bridge the world’s divides.