On 28 December 2010, Mr. Rachanant Thananant, Ambassador attached to the Ministry, representing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, handed over 25,000 copies of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights: Children and Youth Edition to Dr. Chinnapat Bhumirat, Secretary —General of the Office of the Basic Education Commission.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs first published the child-friendly edition of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) as part of its activities to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on 10 December 2008. These booklets, which will be distributed to school libraries throughout the country via the Ministry of Education, were designed with cartoon illustrations in order to make the Universal Declaration more accessible to children and youth. This is so that they may better understand their fundamental human rights, and also the basic rights of others that must be respected.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs attaches great importance to human rights education especially for children and youth since human rights education is the core foundation in advancing the course of human rights and in promoting a peaceful society. The promotion of human rights education in all forms and at every level of education is one of Thailand’s human rights pledges and commitments made in connection with its membership of the United Nations Human Rights Council. As member and current President of the Council, Thailand is fully aware of its obligation to fulfill the said commitments, and the above activity represents one concrete realization of Thailand’s pledge with regard to human rights education. It is hoped that the child-friendly version of the UDHR would benefit not only young students but also teachers who can also use it as a tool for teaching human rights in schools. The Ministry of Foreign will continue to fully support the Ministry of Education in the realization of human rights education for all.
Beside the provision of the 25,000 child-friendly UDHR booklets to the Ministry of Education, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs also provided 500 copies of these booklets to Border Police Schools and another 1,000 copies to schools under the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration. The Ministry also participated in the International Human Rights Day Exhibition organized by the National Human Rights Commission on 14 December 2010 at the Government Complex Center with the aim of promoting a better understanding of human rights among the public at large. All these events represented activities of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to celebrate the International Human Rights Day 2010.
For further information, please contact the Press Division, Department of Information, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tel.02-6435170, Fax.02-6435169, E-mail: div0704@mfa.go.th