Thailand

On behalf of the delegation of the Kingdom of Thailand, allow me to congratulate the President of the General Assembly upon his election to preside over the Assembly at its sixty-seventh session. I would also like to convey our appreciation to the outgoing President, Mr. Nassir Abdulaziz Al-Nasser, for his outstanding leadership of the General Assembly during the previous session. We continue to live in challenging times. Much still needs to be done to restore stability and confidence in the global financial and economic system, and to find long-term solutions to the eurozone crisis. The Arab Spring has taught us that it is very important to listen to the voice of the people. The risk of conflict in various regions around the globe may affect our efforts to promote peace, prosperity and democracy. We have also seen how religious insensitivity and hate can lead to violence. In the light of this, we need to promote a culture of tolerance, mutual respect and understanding, both in and among societies. These are essential factors to prevent conflict and promote lasting peace. In our efforts to promote lasting peace and security, we are confronted with a wide range of threats, both old and new. It is therefore necessary for us to seek innovative solutions and new thinking. We need strong leadership, political will and good global governance. It is imperative that we settle international disputes by peaceful means. But even beyond that, we need to think in terms of preventive and preemptive actions to prevent such disputes from arising in the first place. Most important, we have to think in terms of promoting inclusive and comprehensive peace and development, both within and among countries. Peace, security and development are all interconnected. Economic development must go hand in hand with political advancement. Here, I would like to emphasize three points. First, an inclusive national development strategy is vital. During this period of economic uncertainty, we must not consider economic growth alone. It is important to put people front and centre in the development agenda. Sustainable growth and development, job creation, promoting poverty reduction and equality and addressing climate change must go hand in hand. That is what every Government should do — put people at the heart of the country’s economic development strategy — because we believe that the greatest asset of any country is the people, and how much a country can excel depends on how much its people can fully realize their potential. Secondly, an inclusive regional development is the way forward and would help strengthen the fabric of regional peace and security. Thailand strongly believes that we and our neighbours in the region have a shared objective. We have a shared interest in fostering common peace and prosperity. We need to therefore strive to prosper together because only by working together can we create a much-needed synergy that would support our common development. That will also help limit the chance of conflict. In South-East Asia, that is the spirit that drives the 10 States members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) to establish an ASEAN Community by the year 2015. As ASEAN moves towards greater integration, great efforts are being made to close development gaps and expand connectivity across South-East Asia and beyond to the wider East Asia and South Asia. That would help spread development and growth more broadly across the continent. And as economic activities become more concentrated in East Asia, that closer integration and expanded connectivity, together with an expanding region-wide network of free trade agreements, will further strengthen the resilience of East Asia, create greater opportunities and unleash the full potential of this promising region. Thirdly, an inclusive process at the global level is crucial as the international community considers the post-2015 development agenda. The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) have been an important tool that resulted in better livelihoods for millions of people. With 2015 fast approaching, the international community should mobilize an all-out effort to make the final push in realizing those MDGs. At the same time, it is important to prepare beyond 2015. The successes and failures of the implementation of the MDGs should be taken into account as the international community starts to frame the post-2015 development agenda or the sustainable development goals. The process towards that end should be as inclusive as possible to ensure that the post-2015 development agenda will enjoy the broadest possible support and ownership of the international community. Thailand will play an active and constructive role in that process because development is an issue close to our heart. In this age of globalization, the concept of absolute security has become obsolete. Peace can never be achieved in isolation. We can only seek peace through common security and stability. We must work closely with our friends in each region to strengthen their capacities in meeting their development goals. We believe that the peace and prosperity of our neighbours is that of our own. That is particularly relevant in the current case of Myanmar during the critical period of transition towards greater democracy, which Thailand fully supports. We must all work together as partners to help Myanmar continue in its process of change. We will all benefit from that economic cooperation and integration. We live in a world of increasing interconnectivity, but our peoples continue to face insecurity from cross- border challenges. In this age of globalization, the concept of security must be people-centred. Therefore, transnational challenges — from people smuggling to human trafficking, from narcotics to pandemics, from natural disasters to illegal trade in arms and materials for weapons of mass destruction — must rank high on our national agenda. The international community should redouble its collective effort to act forcefully against transnational crimes that exist in a world of increased interconnectivity. One of the worst forms of human indignity is human trafficking. I consider that inhumane form of exploitation to be a matter of national priority and am fully committed to eliminating it.. Whether it is human trafficking or other transnational crimes, the key is to ensure that the rule of law prevails and the basic rights of peoples are guaranteed. Vulnerable groups, such as women, children, the elderly and people with disabilities, in particular deserve our attention. Solutions to those challenges cannot be achieved by Governments alone. We need to work with all stakeholders, especially in strengthening international norms and standards. Through the United Nations, we need to promote the rule of law as a solid foundation to achieve peace, international security, human rights and sustainable development. We are committed to promoting peace and prosperity within countries and internationally, but, ultimately, the process must begin at home. It can best be accomplished by providing space for all within a democratic framework and promoting national reconciliation. Above all else, we must think in terms of partnership and work together as responsible members of the international community. Working through the United Nations, we need to reach out to people who have been denied their legitimate rights and aspirations. It is in that spirit that the Royal Thai Government established diplomatic relations with the State of Palestine on 1 August 2012, in the hope that both Israel and Palestine can achieve true and lasting peace based on a two-State solution. Elsewhere in the Middle East, the situation in Syria continues to worsen. Thailand is deeply concerned about the humanitarian impact of violence against civilians and strongly condemns such violence. We call for an immediate end to the use of force against civilians. We call for all sides to engage in dialogue towards a political solution, which can be achieved only by the efforts of the Syrian people themselves. In the quest for peace and security, we believe it is necessary to continually look beyond our borders. Thailand wishes to reaffirm our commitment to peacekeeping in difficult times as necessary. From Timor-Leste to Haiti to Darfur and in the Gulf of Aden, Thailand’s peacekeeping operations also assist in local and community development, sharing our best practices in agriculture, health and water resource management. In sum, Thailand has continued to engage with the international community across all three pillars of the United Nations: peace and security, development and human rights. The management of those interconnected issues will provide us with long-term solutions, not only for conflict resolution via peaceful means, but also for ways to prevent conflicts from arising altogether. I assure the Assembly that Thailand will continue to be a strong partner of the United Nations in helping to address those shared challenges of humankind. It is with that conviction that we have submitted our candidature as a non-permanent member of the Security Council for the term 2017-2018.