Thailand is launching a campaign to
promote its candidature for non-permanent membership in the United Nations
Security Council (UNSC) from 2017 to 2018.
It pledges to be a bridge-builder for
members and non-members of UNSC.
According to the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs, any issue taken up by UNSC ultimately affects every country and its
people. Therefore, a more accessible, transparent, and increasingly effective
UNSC, with increased coherence with other United Nations bodies, is in the
interest of everyone.
As a medium-sized developing country,
Thailand strongly supports a rule-based multilateral system, with full respect
for sovereign equality among nations. In a world of such great political,
economic and cultural diversity, Thailand firmly believes that constructive
dialogue based on mutual respect is essential to achieving common goals and
universal values such as comprehensive security, sustainable development, and
human rights.
It also believes that partnership
between UNSC and regional organizations will become even more important in
addressing the multi-faceted challenges facing international peace and
security. As a founding member and the birthplace of the Association of
Southeast Asia Nations (ASEAN) in 1967, Thailand has actively worked with all
partners in the region to promote trust, confidence, and cooperation in order
to advance regional peace, stability, and economic prosperity in Southeast Asia
and the wider Asia-Pacific.
Through the ASEAN Community to be
established in 2015, Thailand will work to enhance regional cooperation for
peace and stability and to strengthen preventive diplomacy.
The Royal Thai Government believes that
Thailand is well-placed to serve on UNSC and hopes to receive support from
other countries and all sectors of Thai society.
Given the growing interdependence among
nations and the global nature of security challenges, Thailand is strongly
committed to multilateralism under the United Nations as a main pillar of its
foreign policy and as an effective approach to addressing global challenges.
It has always been committed to
supporting the United Nations in the maintenance of international peace and
security, ever since it became the 55th member of the United Nations in 1946.
Thailand has contributed to United Nations peacekeeping operations and has
ratified a range of United Nations human rights, labor and environment
conventions and treaties.
Thailand once served as a non-permanent
member of UNSC between1985 and 1986. It has been the site of many regional
offices of the United Nations, such as the Economic and Social Commission for
Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) and the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO),
and the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
(thailand.prd.go.th)