Thailand, 2002

I would like, on

behalf of the Government and the people of Thailand,

to extend my heartfelt congratulations to you, Sir, upon

your election to the presidency of the General

Assembly at its fifty-seventh session. I am confident

that, under your able leadership and guidance, this

session will build upon the momentum and efforts of

previous endeavours and reach a fruitful conclusion.

I also wish to commend your predecessor, Mr.

Han Seung-soo, whose tireless efforts guided us

through the past eventful year.

We look forward to welcoming the Democratic

Republic of Timor-Leste to the United Nations.

Thailand is honoured to have actively participated in

the United Nations operations in East Timor from the

very beginning. Thailand's role in East Timor was

unique in linking the peacekeeping mission to

development and poverty eradication.

I would also like to congratulate Switzerland on

becoming a new Member of the family of this world

body. Switzerland is hardly a stranger to the United

Nations system; its support has been long standing. I

am certain that the two new Members will further

contribute to the universality and the work of the

United Nations.

As we remember, one year on, the horrendous

terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, we share the

grief and painful awareness of the impact of that

heinous crime on global security and stability. One year

on, we are still witnessing the development of

conflicts, threats of terrorism and the challenge of how

to deal with errant members of the international

community. Indeed, the post-11-September world must

rely much more on the role of the multilateral

mechanism to promote peace, security and prosperity

in the international community. More than ever before,

today's terrorism continues to be a threat to human

security and global economic stability.

As the Secretary-General so rightly said, that

tragic incident and its repercussions required a broad,

sustained and global response. Thailand fully endorses

his call for the international community to use

multilateral institutions effectively to respond to the

global scourge of terrorism. Thailand condemns

terrorism and supports all United Nations actions

against it. Moreover, the Thai Government is

determined to push ahead with the necessary steps, in

terms of its domestic legislation and regulations, so as

to enable Thailand to become a party to all the

international conventions relating to terrorism. We are

working closely with the Counter-Terrorism Committee

to implement Security Council resolution 1373 (2001).

There is to date no indication whatsoever that there is

any trace of terrorist capability in Thailand. We are

making sure that no terrorist activities or networks can

be harboured in our territory.

The Association of South-East Asian Nations and

United States Joint Declaration for Cooperation to

Combat International Terrorism also demonstrates our

common and regional resolve to fight terrorism.

Obviously we cannot take peace for granted. The

uncontrolled spread of small arms and light weapons

and the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other

weapons of mass destruction are growing threats to

world peace and security. The indispensable role of the

United Nations in maintaining international peace and

security must gain support from every member of the

community.

In order to prevent the proliferation of weapons

of mass destruction and pave the way for their

reduction and eventual elimination, the multilateral

security system must be effectively complied with. In

this regard, we urge Iraq to comply with the relevant

Security Council resolutions unconditionally and

unreservedly, in accordance with its responsibilities. At

the same time, we are also convinced that diplomatic

efforts, undertaken within the United Nations

framework, are desirable and will be the most effective

means of reaching a favourable solution and so

preventing the escalation of this crisis. Therefore,

while we view as a positive development yesterday's

letter to the Secretary-General, undertaking to allow

United Nations weapons inspectors back into Iraq, we,

together with other nations, expect Iraq fully to live up

to the solemn undertaking that it has given to the world

body.

While effective multilateral mechanisms are the

key to the maintenance of international peace and

security, it is also the responsibility of each and every

member of the international community to bring about

and uphold peace. It is also the responsibility of each

and every State to ensure that peace, once restored, will

last.

In this regard, Thailand is honoured to be hosting

the current peace negotiations between the Government

of Sri Lanka and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam,

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being held from 16 to 18 September. We hope to

facilitate the peace talks with a view to bringing a

lasting solution to this longstanding conflict and to

ending the suffering that has resulted.

As part of the reconstruction efforts in

Afghanistan, Thailand has pledged to share its

experience and knowledge in the reduction of opium

cultivation through the crop substitution programme

under the renowned project sponsored by His Majesty

the King. That is part of the global effort to sustain

peace in Afghanistan, as the scourge of drugs threatens

peace and stability.

The current Thai Government, under the

leadership of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, is

determined to see the Thai people enjoy the benefits of

freedom from fear and want. Human security has

therefore been declared one of the Government's most

important policies. Thailand believes that we will be

one of the first countries in the world to set up a

ministry of human security for that specific purpose.

The ministry is due to be inaugurated next month.

Thailand is also proud to be one of the 13 members of

the Human Security Network, whose work is well

under way.

The scourge of drugs deprives our people of both

freedom from fear and freedom from want, and poverty

remains a major threat to human security. Since taking

up office early last year, the current Thai Government

has waged war against drugs and poverty with the

resolute determination to win. We are not doing it

alone. Our partnerships to tackle the global threat of

drugs partnerships formed within bilateral, regional

and international cooperative frameworks, such as the

United Nations International Drug Control

Programme have been fruitful. An initiative of

Thailand, the quadrilateral cooperation among China,

Laos, Myanmar and Thailand to prevent and suppress

the production and trafficking of drugs is making

progress, particularly in combating the spread of

methamphetamines. The leaders of our four countries

will meet at an appropriate time to provide much-

needed political impetus at the highest level.

The issue of HIV/AIDS is another major

transnational threat to human security. Thailand has

forged partnerships with its neighbouring countries,

particularly the greater Mekong subregion, as well as a

partnership with related United Nations agencies and

with the members of the Human Security Network to

tackle this global epidemic. At the XV International

Conference on AIDS, to be hosted by Thailand in

2004, we hope to share our experiences in addressing

the multifaceted aspects of HIV/AIDS, namely,

prevention, treatment, care and support, as well as

research and development.

Even if the war against poverty is Thailand's

major priority, the eradication of poverty is not any

country's exclusive agenda. Rather, it is an agenda for

all mankind. The United Nations millennium

development goals have rightly placed the interests and

welfare of the people at the core of socio-economic

development. Since their adoption, several events

under the United Nations framework have taken place

to ensure sustainable development.

Our children must inherit the world in at least no

worse a shape than it is in today, if not a better and

more livable one.

From Brussels to Doha and Monterrey to

Johannesburg, the resolve and commitment of the

international community to advance towards achieving

the millennium development goals for sustainable

development have been clearly mobilized. The

Monterrey consensus has provided a road map for

fostering more effective partnership and greater policy

coherence amongst Governments and financial and

trade institutions. The international trade and financial

environment must be developed to better serve

sustainable development.

Greater market access for developing countries'

exports forms part and parcel of making the Doha

round a truly development round. The G8's decision to

resist protectionist pressure is a positive step forward.

Equally important is the role of foreign direct

investment, which requires rechannelling in order not

only to meet the development goals of the host country,

but also to promote investors' corporate accountability

and social responsibility.

The World Summit on Sustainable Development

in Johannesburg was, indeed, a historic event. Thailand

gladly welcomes the adoption of the Political

Declaration and the Plan of Implementation,

particularly their emphasis on poverty reduction, which

binds the three pillars of sustainable development. The

Summit underscored a range of principles, such as self-

help and common but differentiated responsibilities, to

make sustainable development a reality for mankind.

Enhanced coordination and coherence amongst

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Governments, international organizations and other

stakeholders are crucial to providing the necessary

synergies in achieving our common goals.

The principle of partnership as enunciated at

Monterrey and echoed at the World Summit on

Sustainable Development is being implemented.

Thailand is proud to be cited as one of the concrete

examples of countries that have succeeded in their

coordination and partnership efforts in capacity-

building. As a result of the tenth session of the United

Nations Conference on Trade and Development

(UNCTAD), held in Thailand in 2000, the International

Institute for Trade and Development (ITD) has been

established in Bangkok. ITD is a Thailand-UNCTAD

partnership to enhance the productive capacity and

trade-negotiating skills of developing countries as they

prepare for the new round of global trade negotiations.

Capacity-building is crucial if developing

countries are to participate effectively in defending and

advancing their interests both in bilateral and

multilateral free-trade arrangements, where,

increasingly, non-tariff barriers are often found in the

guise of environmental measures. In this aspect, ITD

can serve as a useful linkage between UNCTAD, the

World Trade Organization and the United Nations

Environment Programme for capacity-building in trade

negotiation. Thailand urges Member States to consider

the best use of this Thailand-UNCTAD Institute.

As an item on the world agenda, poverty

eradication can never succeed unless there are genuine

efforts at the neighbour, regional and global levels. The

Mekong subregion is another example of self-help and

partnership among developing countries. The road map

for opportunities to advance economic integration in

that subregion is now taking shape. The commercial

routes the routes of economic opportunities

providing transportation linkages are being

established with the partnership of donor countries and

the Asian Development Bank. From East to West

from Viet Nam, Laos and Thailand to Myanmar and

India and from North to South from southern

China, Myanmar and Laos to Thailand these road

linkages are now the new lifelines for the future

prosperity of the region. They will bring about access

to markets, capital and knowledge for sustainable

development.

Based on the same principle of creating

opportunities in the region for economic progress,

Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra took the initiative,

with the support and participation of 18 Asian nations,

to turn Asia's rich diversity into collective strength by

creating synergy from an Asia-wide partnership known

as the Asia Cooperation Dialogue (ACD). Launched in

June this year, with its original members ranging from

the West to the North-East of the Asian continent and

with its core principles of positive thinking, ACD is

envisaged as an evolving, informal, non-

institutionalized, open, inclusive and incremental

process.

ACD's strength is to build upon multiple layers of

strategic partnerships in practical areas of cooperation,

such as the development of small and medium-sized

enterprises, tourism, transportation linkages,

agriculture and poverty eradication. We hope that ACD

will help enhance Asia's economic competitiveness,

open up business opportunities and make Asia a

stronger partner for both our developed and developing

partners. After the success of its inaugural ministerial

meeting in Cha-Am, Thailand, in June, Thailand will

be host once more to the ACD meeting next year to

move our cooperation forward.

International and regional partnerships, as well as

commitments to sustainable development, are not

enough. They must be reinforced by partnerships and

policies at the national level. The goals and methods

contained in the Johannesburg Plan of Implementation

are being pursued as part of our development strategy.

The present Thai Government is pursuing a

development strategy of enhancing international

competitiveness and domestic productivity through

mobilizing both domestic and external sources of

growth for balanced and sustainable development.

This balanced development strategy has been

inspired by His Majesty the King of Thailand's

philosophy of sufficiency economy'. The main

principle of this approach to development is adherence

to a middle path at the level of the individual, families

and communities. This involves strengthening the

grass-roots economy to build its immunity against the

adverse impact of global volatility, as well as to

enhance its ability to benefit from the multilateral

trading system.

Thailand places people at the forefront of its

development efforts. Their livelihood must entail

human development and community participation. This

Government is making progress in its programmes and

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measures to improve the quality of life of the Thai

people. They include the provision of health care for

all, a three-year debt suspension for farmers, the

establishment of microcredit facilities, such as the

People's Bank, for small entrepreneurs, and the

launching of a village and urban revolving fund to

provide financial support for local initiatives. In

enhancing human potential and innovation, 12 years of

free education for all are guaranteed by our

Constitution. This goes along well with the recent

recommendation by the G8 Education Task Force on

education in developing countries.

As a result of lessons learned from past history,

the Charter of the United Nations prescribes the

multilateral structure of this institution as the best

means to maintain international peace and security as

well as to advance social and economic development

and prosperity. It remains the tasks and duties of this

institution and its Member States to continue

performing to achieve the Charter objectives. Peace,

however, cannot be enforced, but must be cultivated

through tolerance and respect for each other.

Prosperity, on the other hand, cannot be obtained

without creating opportunities from the diverse

strengths of each other. Those tasks and duties,

therefore, do not merely involve the compliance by

each Member State with the United Nations

multilateral mechanism; they also include our forging

cooperation and partnership at all levels among all

stakeholders. For its part, Thailand remains firmly

committed to achieving global peace and prosperity by

working with other States regionally and universally

within the United Nations framework. We have faith

that, ultimately, through this multilateral institution we

shall build the world best suited for us and our children

to live peacefully and harmoniously.