Thailand, 1997

It is with great pleasure

that my delegation extends to you, Sir, its sincere

congratulations on your unanimous election to the

presidency of the General Assembly at its current session.

My delegation also wishes to take this opportunity to

express its deepest appreciation to your predecessor,

Ambassador Razali Ismail of Malaysia, for his exceptional

leadership and creative energies during the past year. I also

wish to congratulate the Secretary-General, Mr. Kofi

Annan, for the new dynamism which he has brought to the

Organization since he took office last January.

This fifty-second session of the General Assembly

takes place against the backdrop of transition and

transformation in the world. The euphoria that came in

the wake of the end of the cold war has given way to a

sense of realism about the new, and no less formidable,

challenges that confront us all in this era of globalization.

The changes, led by technology and the globalization of

business and information, seem endless and increasingly

complex. Governments, meanwhile, face the daunting task

of constantly trying to discern and adjust to the new order

of international relations.

For all the changes, some legacies of the cold war

are still very much with us. Nothing brings home this

reality more than the unfortunate events unfolding in

Cambodia. While the situation in Cambodia that confronts

us today is very different from the one we faced before

the signing of the Paris Peace Accord, finding a solution

is no less difficult.

How can we deal with a conflict which is basically

internal in character, particularly when our ability to

influence events has become limited and we are overcome

with the fatigue born of déjà vu? Clearly, we cannot turn

our backs on Cambodia. But the reality is that we in

Thailand and in the Association of South-East Asian

Nations (ASEAN), as well as the entire international

community, can only be supportive to the extent that the

Cambodians themselves are willing to give peace a

chance.

The situation in Cambodia reflects a peculiar aspect

of this brave new age we are entering. Even as the world

is being transformed by sweeping global trends, some

problems are so deep-rooted that they resist even the best

efforts of the international community. The United

Nations, no stranger itself to intractable conflicts, will

continue to be one of our best hopes for resolving such

situations.

While tending to such traditional challenges, the

United Nations must also address the many complex new

challenges brought on by the process of globalization.

Indeed, globalization has come to mean different things

to different people. To many, it holds out the promise of

an unprecedented era of progress and prosperity. To its

proponents, globalization has unleashed the forces of

creativity and productivity in the world economy.

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Globalization has been heralded for having spread the ideas

and values of democracy and freedom worldwide.

On the other hand, there are those who contend that

globalization has become an all-embracing pretext for the

imposition of certain sets of ideas and values. They see

globalization as leading to a monopoly of economic power

in the hands of a ruthless few whose sole allegiance is to

the workings of market forces, while the vast majority of

humanity is increasingly marginalized.

The reality most likely lies somewhere between these

two extreme views. The fact of the matter is that we must

all develop the capacity to cope with the effects of

globalization, both positive and negative. Even the more

successful developing countries have not escaped the

tremendous turmoil that integration into the global market

can bring on, as evidenced by the currency crisis that

Thailand and many other countries in South-East Asia are

going through.

Thailand’s recent experience suggests that to thrive

under economic globalization, developing countries have to

fully understand how market forces work and to adapt

themselves accordingly. Thailand has learned that financial

liberalization requires a high degree of discipline from both

the public and private sectors. Also crucial is the need to be

vigilant in improving prudential regulations. Moreover, a

more comprehensive macroeconomic analysis is needed in

order to improve the monitoring of current economic

conditions.

But Thailand’s basic strengths remain. Our economic

fundamentals are still underscored by a remarkably high

savings rate, relatively low inflation and a strong tradition

of market-oriented policy framework. We are firm in our

commitment to free and open markets. We are also active

in promoting regional cooperation and economic

liberalization through such frameworks as the Association

of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN) Free Trade Area,

the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Council and various

subregional development schemes.

Moreover, we are firm in our determination to achieve

good governance and greater democracy. This past

Saturday, the Thai Parliament approved the new draft

Constitution, which emphasizes transparency, accountability

and the role of public participation.

Our political reform goes hand in hand with our

economic reform. We realize that we can no longer put off

economic restructuring if we are to get back on track

quickly. We are therefore seriously implementing the

conditions of the International Monetary Fund rescue

package. We are also working with the World Bank and

the Asian Development Bank to restructure our financial

system, enhance our export competitiveness and return the

economy to its long-term sustainable growth through

necessary reforms of the civil service, privatization,

industrial restructuring and the upgrading of the quality of

our workforce, our technology and our infrastructure.

I prefer to think of this crisis as a blessing in

disguise. While we have done many things right in the

past — including progressive industrialization and

liberalization of international trade and investment —

with the benefit of hindsight, the macroeconomic

capability to cope with an increasingly open capital

market was inadequate. Globalization of business and

finance compels us to become more competitive through

greater openness and transparency. Our economy is too

deeply integrated into the international economic system

to do anything less. We cannot fight the market; what we

must do is ensure that the market works efficiently and

equitably.

At the same time, Thailand’s experience also shows

that the United Nations has an important role to play in

coordinating macroeconomic policy at the global level.

Closer cooperation and coordination is needed between

the United Nations and the Bretton Woods institutions,

the World Trade Organization and major industrial

countries to provide integrated support for the

enhancement of capacity-building in those countries

whose economies are still weak. Globalization of course

has its winners and losers. The rules of the game should

therefore take into account both the weaknesses and

strengths of all countries concerned.

As a universal and multi-purpose Organization, the

United Nations is the only institution in the world capable

of forging a global partnership among States, big and

small, rich and poor, powerful and weak. No single State

or region can go it alone. This is why Thailand is

committed to supporting the United Nations. This is why

Thailand welcomes the reform-action initiatives and

proposals recently put forward by the Secretary-General.

I hope that these measures will enable the United Nations

to carry out its responsibilities with increased efficiency

and effectiveness. I wish the Secretary-General well on

the further implementation of these proposals.

Thailand attaches great importance to the

strengthening of the role of the United Nations in

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promoting international cooperation for economic and social

development. We are pleased that in his reform proposals

Secretary-General Kofi Annan argued that the promotion of

sustainable development should be the central priority of

United Nations activities. While the reform plan proposed

by the Secretary-General requires more thorough

consideration, Thailand can support his proposal of

designating the United Nations Development Group —

comprising the United Nations Development Programme,

the United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations

Population Fund — to supersede the sectoral group of

development operations. We hope that the United Nations

Development Group will facilitate consolidation and

cooperation among United Nations agencies without

compromising their identities, so that they can respond

more effectively to the needs of developing countries.

Thailand also welcomes the creation of a development

dividend by shifting resources from administration to

development activities. According to the reform plan, the

administrative costs will be reduced by one third, the

workforce will be reduced by 1,000 posts and the

paperwork will be cut by 30 per cent. However, downsizing

should not be an end in itself. The central element of the

reform should concentrate on how to manage funds and

implement programmes so as to achieve equitable

development, which is our common goal.

Another important point in the Secretary-General’s

reform plan is the proposal to mobilize more resources for

United Nations operational activities. Thailand sees the

United Nations as the main forum for the creation of an

equal and workable partnership between developed and

developing countries — a partnership that should be

responsive to the needs and aspirations of the developing

world. The steady decline in voluntary contributions to core

resources has inhibited the capacity of United Nations funds

and programmes to play the roles assigned to them. In this

regard, we support the Secretary-General’s proposal on

innovative means of mobilizing new financial resources for

development. The private sector is potentially an important

source of financial support, as demonstrated by the

proposed donation of $l billion by Mr. Ted Turner.

However, the funds from the private sector should be

additional to, and must not replace, official development

assistance.

The restructuring of the Security Council is also a vital

part of United Nations reform. Despite the end of the cold

war, the anachronistic yet so powerful veto power still

exists in this supposedly more democratized institution. It

is heartening, however, to note that the issue has been

extensively debated. Thailand and its ASEAN partners, as

well as the Non-Aligned Movement, believe that this veto

power should be curtailed with a view to its eventual

elimination. The Security Council itself should be

expanded, taking into account the increase in United

Nations membership to enhance its democratic and

representative nature, while at the same time paying due

regard to its efficiency and effectiveness.

But without the firm commitment of Member States,

all these reform efforts would come to nothing. Member

States have the obligation under the Charter to bear the

expenses of the Organization by paying their assessed

contributions in full on time and without conditions.

Thailand has always taken its financial obligation

seriously and has made every effort to fulfil it. For 1997

Thailand is among the 28 countries which paid their

contributions to the regular budget in full and on time.

Thailand believes that one of the main tasks of the

United Nations is to set standards in international law,

and in recent years there has been an encouraging trend

towards efforts to advance the cause of international law

through the creation of legal norms and instruments. What

these norms and instruments symbolize is the desire of

peoples to live in a more orderly world. Thailand will

continue to support and participate actively in efforts to

establish an international criminal court, as well as in the

elaboration of new legal instruments to combat terrorism.

In December of this year, Thailand hopes to be one of the

signatories of the Ottawa treaty banning all anti-personnel

landmines. We believe that there is no greater crime than

maiming or killing innocent civilians. It is high time that

we put an end to this. At the same time, greater efforts

and resources should be devoted to removing and

destroying these landmines.

As a signatory of the South-East Asia Nuclear-

Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, which was concluded in

Bangkok during the ASEAN summit in 1995, Thailand

would also like to take this opportunity to congratulate

the Governments of Central Asia for their initiative to

establish a Central Asia nuclear-weapon-free zone. Their

commendable effort adds to the strong evidence that the

peoples of the world are no longer tolerant of nuclear

weapons. At present, more than 100 United Nations

Member States are signatories of nuclear-weapon-free

zone treaties in their respective regions, treaties which

now cover the greater part of the world, including Latin

America and the Caribbean, the South Pacific, Africa,

South-East Asia and, soon, Central Asia. What we are

witnessing here is a new partnership, a partnership among

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the peoples of the world who dread nuclear arsenals and

wish to eliminate these hazardous weapons of mass

destruction from the face of the earth.

The international environment in which we live is

evolving rapidly. During the past year, there have been

many encouraging developments. But we also find

ourselves confronted with new and increasingly complex

challenges. In order to overcome these challenges, the

United Nations as an Organization needs vision and

inventiveness. But, more importantly, its Members need to

speak with one voice on issues which confront mankind. If

we are to succeed in doing this, a global partnership needs

to be forged, be it in the area of politics, economic and

social development, environmental protection or

humanitarian assistance. Sooner rather than later, we should

all realize that, in this globalized world, our destinies are

linked together much more closely than we like to believe.

The time to forge this partnership is now. The place to

begin the process is here, at the United Nations.