- Thailand’s candidate was elected to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
Mr. Sanphasit Koompraphant, Thailand’s candidate, was elected a member of the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), for the term 2009-2013, at the elections held during the 12th Meeting of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on 16 December 2008 at the United Nations Headquarters in New York.
From a total of 20 candidates, 9 new members from Switzerland, Republic of Korea, Uganda, Thailand, Chile, Syria, Slovakia, Peru and Mauritius were elected to replace the outgoing Committee members. Mr. Sanphasit Koompraphant received 106 out of a possible 188 votes. The election is historic for Thailand, as this is the first time that the Kingdom has representatives in two United Nations Treaty Bodies. Another Thai representative, Dr. Saisuree Chuitkul, already serves on the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW), for the term 2005-2010. Moreover, this is the second time that Thai has been elected to the CRC, with Dr. Saisuree Chutikul having served on the CRC from 2000-2005.
Mr. Koompraphant, 59 years old, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Economics and a Master’s degree in Law from Thammasat University. He is currently Director of the Centre for the Protection of Children’s Rights Foundation (CPCR), President of the International Society for the Prevention of the Child Abuse and Neglect (ISPCAN) and Member of the Thailand National Committee on Child Protection. For over 30 years, Mr. Koompraphant rescued of more than 3,000 cases of abused and trafficked children in the region. He has pledged that, if elected, he would work to improve the function of the CRC so that the CRC could effectively assist State Parties in child protection.
In addition to Mr. Koompraphant’s election, State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child also unanimously elected H.E. Mr. Don Pramudwinai, Permanent Representative of Thailand to the United Nations in New York, to be the Chair of the 12th Meeting of State Parties to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, another significant and notable development in the promotion of children’s rights in Thailand.
Prime Minister at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
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