Thailand, 2001

It is an honour for

me to deliver this statement on behalf of Mr. Surakiart

Sathirathai, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Thailand.

Allow me to join all previous speakers in expressing

our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of

those who lost their lives or suffered from the tragic

incidents of 11 September 2001. The people and

Government of Thailand share the feelings of sorrow

and outrage caused by those acts of terrorism. Our

condolences go to the people and Government of the

United States.

I wish to extend my congratulations to the

President on his election to the presidency for the fifty-

sixth session of the General Assembly and express my

full confidence that, under his guidance, we shall be

able to build upon the United Nations Millennium

Declaration and accomplish our goals of bringing

peace, prosperity and well-being to this world.

I also wish to express our warmest

congratulations to Secretary-General Kofi Annan on

his being conferred the Nobel Peace Prize, together

with the United Nations, as well as on his re-election as

Secretary-General. This prestigious recognition has

been made because of the tireless efforts of the

Secretary-General himself and of the dedicated United

Nations staff. The achievement of the Secretary-

General is noted in his Millennium Report, which

encapsulates the United Nations activities ahead,

outlines the framework for the tasks and focuses on

people as the centre of development, both at the

international and national levels.

After the events of 11 September 2001, the shared

destiny of the world will depend greatly on how we

manage to cope with these emerging new realities and

growing complexities. No country is truly safe from

terrorism and no one is capable of fighting it alone.

Now is the time for every nation to contribute and

participate in the joint efforts to combat terrorism.

In Thailand, we resolutely condemn all forms of

terrorism and are fully supportive of all the

international community’s efforts to combat this grave

threat to global peace and security. Thailand supports

all actions against terrorism in the framework of the

United Nations and in accordance with the relevant

resolutions of the United Nations and international law.

We have extended cooperation to the international

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community through existing laws, such as those on

mutual assistance in criminal matters in the form of

information exchange and intelligence sharing. The

Thai Government is amending existing domestic

legislation and regulations to enable the country to be

party to relevant international conventions, especially

the International Convention for the Suppression of the

Financing of Terrorism.

At the regional level, Thailand has participated

actively in the recent regional gatherings at the highest

level, where international terrorism received a high

priority, namely the recent Asia-Pacific Economic

Cooperation (APEC) Economic Leaders Meeting in

Shanghai. We joined other APEC leaders in expressing

grave concern over the threat to world peace and the

stability of the world economy caused by terrorism and

in reaffirming a renewed sense of urgency to restore

confidence to the global economy.

At the 7th Summit of the Association of South-

East Asian Nations (ASEAN) on 5 November 2001 in

Brunei Darussalam, ASEAN leaders issued a

declaration outlining specific measures to further

strengthen cooperation to deal with the threat of

terrorism in the region. Measures proposed include the

enhancement of intelligence exchange and the

deepening of cooperation among law enforcement

agencies. ASEAN leaders also stressed the need to

strengthen cooperation with ASEAN Dialogue Partners

and within the framework of the ASEAN Regional

Forum and affirmed that the United Nations should

play a major role in this regard.

My country, Thailand, supports a ministerial-level

international conference on international terrorism,

under the auspices of the United Nations, to be held at

the earliest opportunity. This should facilitate the

discussion of problems and cooperation on

antiterrorism, leading to possible concrete measures at

the global level. Terrorism should not be identified

with any ethnic group, faith, or nationality. Otherwise,

our efforts could result in greater danger for our

peoples.

International terrorism has also exacerbated the

slowdown in the global economy. This carries with it

significant social ramifications as well. Airlines,

tourism and related industries worldwide have felt the

impact of international tension. Countries already

struggling to recover from the recent economic

slowdown are preparing to safeguard their economies

from sliding further into sluggishness. Confronted with

the ever widening gap between developed and

developing countries, the United Nations and Member

States must work together to arrest and reverse this

trend.

The efforts to bridge the gap must not be confined

to the United Nations framework alone. The World

Trade Organization meeting in Doha, Qatar, which was

just concluded, was a timely opportunity in which

nations proved that they could work together and

achieve substantial progress in pushing forward the

global trade agenda for the common good of the world.

Since assuming office early this year, the present

Thai Government has been pursuing a new approach to

economic and social policy. The Thai Government has

introduced a series of economic and social schemes

aimed at promoting the capacity-building of the people

at the grass-roots level. For instance, it has established

the People’s Bank and microcredit schemes for both the

rural and the urban poor. This is to assist each

community by financing small, local projects so as to

develop and market a community’s own products based

on local know-how. In addition, more than 2 million

small-scale Thai farmers will benefit from the

Government’s debt suspension scheme and a

nationwide health insurance scheme.

On the issue of Afghanistan, the United Nations

and the international community, in collaboration with

the Afghans themselves, must move quickly to

formulate modalities that would help restore order and

stability. We should also render all possible assistance

to Afghanistan, starting with assistance of a

humanitarian nature at this crucial time and assistance

aimed at capacity-building in the near future. Thailand,

for its part, will provide a fairly large amount of rice —

approximately 3,000 metric tons — as food relief for

the Afghans. The Thai Red Cross has also donated

10,000 blankets.

Within our own region of South-East Asia,

Thailand has reinvigorated bilateral relations with our

immediate neighbours and has cooperated closely in

pursuing a common vision of opening borders. We

have also decided to establish joint production bases

and transportation linkages. These initiatives carry on

the momentum begun last year when the Economic and

Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP)

adopted a resolution proposed by Thailand on the

“Decade of Greater Mekong Subregion Development

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Cooperation, 2000-2009”. This subregion has been

placed at the forefront of the Asia-Pacific development

agenda. In addition, Thailand also has a role in keeping

peace in the region. We take special pride in the fact

that two Thai Generals have successively served as

Force Commanders of the United Nations Transitional

Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), the

successor operation to the International Force in East

Timor (INTERFET). This is part and parcel of

Thailand’s commitment to shouldering its fair share of

international responsibility, particularly in South-East

Asia.

We envisage the United Nations playing a major

role in strengthening the foundation for a future world

that will be peaceful, tolerant, and sustainable for our

peoples and future generations. Therefore, Thailand is

fully supportive of the United Nations Year of

Dialogue among Civilizations and participated actively

in the recently concluded World Conference against

Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and

Related Intolerance held in Durban, South Africa.

As we celebrate the fifty-sixth anniversary of the

United Nations, and as we congratulate the Secretary-

General and the Organization, we must ask ourselves:

what do we expect of the United Nations? I believe we

expect it to work even harder towards cultivating a

culture of peace, as well as improving the pace of

international social and economic development. In

these endeavours, we believe that rich and poor nations

alike must contribute in their varied capacities. These

national efforts must go hand in hand with those of the

United Nations.

Let us focus on the immediate priorities of

maintaining peace and harmony in the world. Let us

pledge to work together with even greater vigour for

the political, economic, social, and physical well-being

of our peoples. These are, and should be, the enduring

priorities for the United Nations and for all humankind.