Intervention by
His Excellency
Dr. Surakiart Sathirathai,
Minister
of Foreign Affairs of Thailand
At the Meeting
of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs
of
the Non-Aligned Movement
“Reform of the UN to Meet Global Threats and Challenges”
New York,
29 September 2004
* * * * * * * * * *
Mr. Chairman,
Excellencies,
Ladies
and Gentlemen,
First of all, I would like to thank
Their Excellencies Secretary General Kofi Annan and Prime
Minister Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia
for their penetrating insights, which have set the tone for
our deliberations today. Thailand greatly appreciates
Malaysia’s
leadership in seeking a more active and meaningful role for the Non-Aligned
Movement in strengthening multilateralism and the
United Nations.
Overview of Global Threats and Challenges
The global threats and challenges
facing us today are quite unlike those of 1945. Terrorism, the proliferation
of weapons of mass destruction, and transnational
organized crime have spread
more easily, thanks to the borderless world. At the same
time, outbreaks of sectarian violence and humanitarian tragedies suggest that
parochial interests and rivalries have intensified under
globalization. On the economic side, poverty and inequity remain constant challenges
to many developing countries.
In August at Durban, we issued a Declaration reaffirming
our firm commitment to multilateralism, and extensively
discussed ways to tackle these issues. It is crucial that we take those discussions into account
as we work to improve the international system so that it
responds more effectively to these threats to global peace and security.
High Level Panel
Thailand appreciates Malaysia’s proposal
for the Movement to provide inputs to the UN Secretary-General’s High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and
Change. We look forward to the recommendations
of the Panel when it presents its findings at the end of
this year. We
are hopeful that its recommendations will help bring about a UN
that could serve us all even better.
We also need to recognize that not
even the best recommendations can work without their being
implemented. Our Movement
must play a key role in supporting the work of the High
Level Panel. And we must ensure that the report of the Panel, once released, is given serious consideration
and translated into concrete actions wherever possible.
If NAM is to be recognized as a united
group and force to be reckoned with, our efforts
must go beyond issuing declarations and statements. As NAM is one of the largest groupings
of developing nations, our input will help ensure
that the interests of developing countries are taken into
account as the High Level Panel prepares its report.
UN Reform
Whatever changes we bring to the UN
system, it must give equal attention to both security and development
aspects, since development is an important
factor in conflict prevention.
There is a need for review of the roles and functions
of the UN General Assembly and other existing mechanism
or bodies within the UN such as the Economic and Social
Council or ECOSOC in responding to the changing threats
and challenges that we are now facing. In particular, we will need to consider the kind of mechanisms that should take the leading
role in development, post-conflict reconstruction and peace building. Closer coordination among key UN bodies as well
as between UN bodies and other major international institutions
is needed to enhance more efficient use of resources, and
to better synchronize international responses to problems.
Thailand regards the UN as much more than the sum of its parts. We therefore favor an approach to UN reform that is not piecemeal but takes
into account the workings of the UN as a whole.
UNSC reform, of course, is an issue
of interest to many of us at this stage. In reforming the
UNSC, what is important is for it to function more effectively. Although there is not yet a consensus on
the nature of the reform, views on the expansion of UNSC
membership seems to be emerging.
However, whether the expanded membership will include
both the non-permanent members and the permanent members
is still inconclusive.
In addition, identifying criteria for new potential
candidates for the permanent category will not be easy.
On this issue, one consideration will be what the potential candidates can offer the
UN and the international community.
At the same time, the working process of an enlarged
UNSC must be revised to make its decision-making
process more timely and efficient, while taking into account
the widest possible range of views, particularly those of
developing nations. And let us not forget that closer engagement
between the UN and outside partners, in particular civil
society and the private sector, will help produce solutions
that truly reflect the diversity of today’s world.
Building Blocks
The UN alone will not be able to cope
with all the global threats and challenges confronting us.
Another approach
that we must continue to pursue is to strengthen our Movement
as well as other cooperation frameworks, both regional and
inter-regional, so that they become building blocks in the global fight against the new
threats and challenges.
Not least of these challenges is the
persistence, and in some cases deepening, of poverty in
many NAM member countries.
Unlike terrorism and transnational crime, poverty is an
immediate problem in the lives of millions of people. Poverty,
we believe, can be overcome through determined action and
cooperation at the local and regional levels.
Thailand believes
that NAM
can help strengthen South-South cooperation by becoming
a forum where various regional and sub-regional groupings
can come together to exchange information and experience
on how to enhance their links and cooperation to form coordinated responses to global threats.
On our part, Thailand has launched a number of
initiatives with the aim of promoting greater cooperation
at the regional and sub-regional levels. For example, the Asia Cooperation Dialogue
or ACD, which now comprises
25 countries from all corners of Asia,
continues to make progress through annual ministerial dialogues
and numerous joint projects.
The (Ayewaddy-Chao Phraya-Mekong Economic Cooperation
Strategy) ACMECS, a joint scheme between Cambodia, Lao PDR, Myanmar, Vietnam
and Thailand, was initiated to share the benefits of socio-economic
development between our five countries through joint development
of our comparative strengths.
Participation is also open to outside development
partners to forge greater dynamism. The (Bay of Bengal Initiative
for Multi-Sectoral Technical and Economic Cooperation) BIMSTEC which groups together seven countries
in Southeast Asia and South Asia and held its first
Summit in Bangkok in July, provides a forum for close cooperation on development and issues that affect
development.
In addition, Thailand is working to developing closer
ties with Africa, including through the New Partnership
for Africa's Development (NEPAD) by providing technical
support and sharing our experiences in areas where we have
a comparative advantage. In promoting regional cooperation, we are
guided by His Majesty the King of Thailand’s philosophy
of "Sufficiency Economy," which has given rise
to numerous alternative development projects, especially
in the areas of agriculture, poverty reduction and rural
development. This
November, Thailand
will host the Ministerial International Conference on Alternative
Development: "Sufficiency Economy," to share our
experiences with fellow developing countries in applying
His Majesty’s philosophy.
I am sure that other regional cooperation frameworks
are also making progress from which we could all learn. If all this information on the progress
of these fora could
be compiled and exchanged, with the NAM as a coordinating body, it would
generate a virtuous cycle of learning and self-help among
developing countries. This is one area where the Movement
can contribute, translating local and regional action into global results.
Mr. Chairman,
As we become ever more interdependent, we must each pool
our inner strengths to forge a stronger partnership. We
must recognize that our diversity can be a source of strength if
we can learn to live with one another’s differences to create
a culture of tolerance and harmony. NAM’s
very existence attests to our shared aspirations. We must
now ensure that, through our actions, NAM
remains relevant and useful to its members. That is our responsibility, to one another
and to future generations.
Thank you.
