On 13 February 2009, Foreign Minister Kasit Piromya met with Ms. Gwi Yeop Son, UN Resident Coordinator and UNDP Resident Representative, together with the Regional Representative for South-East Asia of the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UNICEF Country Representative. During the meeting, various issues were discussed, including how to promote closer cooperation between Thailand and the UN.
The UN Resident Coordinator said that the UN has a large presence in Thailand with more than 2,000 staff and hoped that the partnership between Thailand and the UN would be an innovative and creative knowledge-sharing one. The UN bodies stood ready to provide Thailand with policy advice and technical support.
On human rights, the UN Residential Coordinator proposed an inter-ministerial working group to prepare Thailand’s 2011 Universal Periodic Review (UPR) country report, an important initiative of the Human Rights Council (HRC). On this issue, the Foreign Minister reiterated the importance attached by the Royal Thai Government to the principles of human rights, democracy, liberty and transparency. The Kingdom has been advocating the ASEAN Charter regionally and adheres to the UN Charter internationally.
Another issue discussed was the situation in the Southern Border Provinces. The Foreign Minister reiterated that this was one of the most important issues prioritized by Government. In this connection, UN Resident Coordinator Son reaffirmed the UN’s readiness to mobilise support in its areas of expertise, including vocational training.
Other matters raised included the Loatian Hmongs in Thailand, human-trafficking, child rights and South-South cooperation, especially given Thailand’s role as the current Chair of Group of 77.
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