Thailand, 2012

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.