Dec 16, 2021, was an important milestone as the date marked 75 years of Thailand's membership in the United Nations. It is a cause for celebration -- of our long history as a sovereign nation and as a respected member of the international community.
Indeed, Thailand's association with the UN marks only the most current chapter in Thailand's century-old engagement with international organisations. This engagement evolved from the far-sighted vision of the His Majesty King Chulalongkorn (King Rama V) who saw it as a vital means of underscoring Siam's sovereignty and independence. It was during King Rama V's reign that, in 1883, Thailand -- or Siam as it was called then --decided to join the International Telecommunications Union (lTU), recognised as the world's oldest international organisation.
Two years later, in 1885, Thailand joined the Universal Postal Union (UPU). In the following reign of His Majesty King Vajiravudh (King Rama VI), Thailand participated in the Versailles Peace Conference and subsequent joining of the League of Nations as one of its 32 founding members in 1919.
Thailand faced many obstacles in its efforts to join the UN as a charter member, owing to the country's circumstances in World War II. Even though countries like the United States were generally supportive of Thailand, the country encountered difficult negotiations with France, the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union. Among other things, France wanted a settlement of pending territorial issues, the UK wanted rice indemnities and the Soviet Union wanted the establishment of diplomatic relations.
Despite difficult negotiations which at times were reminiscent of those during the era of colonisation, able Thai diplomats during the period, led by Prince Wan Waithayakorn, worked tirelessly and were ultimately successful. Thailand was able to become the 55th member of the UN on Dec 16, 1946, four months after it had submitted the letter of intent. A heavy price had been paid to secure admission to the United Nations.
But the most important thing was that UN membership conferred international recognition of and respect for Thailand's sovereignty and territorial integrity. A new era of Thailand's cooperation with this world organisation thus began.
In action and deed, Thailand has exhibited a strong commitment to the UN and to the principles enshrined in the UN Charter and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This can be seen in the participation of prominent Thai nationals in the organisation.
In 1956, Prince Wan Waithayakorn was elected president of the 11th Session of the UN General Assembly and went on to become chairman of the First UN Conference on the Law of the Sea in 1958. Thanat Khoman, former Thai foreign minister, also served as president of the UN Trusteeship Council.
In 2003, former prime minister Anand Panyarachun was selected by the UN secretary-general to serve as chairman of the High-level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Changes which paved the way for ground-breaking reform of the organisation launched at the 2005 World Summit.
Thailand has also answered the call on several occasions to promote international peace and security. When the Korean War broke out in 1950, Thailand was one of 16 countries that committed troops to serve under UN command there, after it voted for the adoption of the Uniting for Peace resolution by the UN General Assembly.
Thailand was a supporter of UN peacekeeping at its early stages, from the establishment of the UN Emergency Force in the Middle East (UNEF) and the UN peacekeeping force in the Congo (ONUC).
At no time was Thailand more directly involved in the UN's peace and security efforts than during 1985-1986 when serving as a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council. During its tenure, Thailand served as president of the council on two separate occasions where former foreign minister Siddhi Savetsila chaired the council meetings himself. A notable achievement of the Thai presidency of the council was the adoption of UNSC resolution 589 (1986) which was one of the bases for ending the Iran-Iraq war.
Together with Asean, Thailand was able to work with the UN to pave the way for the comprehensive settlement of the Cambodia conflict through the Paris Peace Accords in 1991. The agreement mandated the establishment of the UN Transitional Authority in Cambodia, to which Thailand contributed both civilian and military personnel, which ultimately opened a new era for peace and stability in Cambodia.
Thailand's contribution to peacekeeping increased after the end of the Cold War. This spanned from Cambodia to Timor Leste, from the Iraq-Kuwait border to Bosnia-Herzegovina, from Burundi to the Sudan. Thai peacekeepers' roles could be seen in the dissemination of knowledge and expertise in development and post-conflict reconstruction through training and technical assistance.
This approach was applied with great impact in Timor Leste where both Lieutenant Generals Boonsrang Niumpradit, and later Winai Phattiyakul, served as the UN Force Commanders. In 2013, the Thai UNAMID hybrid forces in Darfur returned to the country having employed the new approach and earned great admiration from both the local people and the UN.
In the economic and social fields, Thailand has ratified a wide range of UN human rights, labour and environment conventions and treaties, from the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) to the World Health Organization (WHO), from the UN High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to the UN Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), to name a few.
One area where Thailand's success has been emulated by the UN is in anti-drug efforts. Here, Thailand's alternative development and crop substitution programmes, many of them initiated by His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej The Great (King Rama IX), served as models of cooperation for UN programmes with many countries, including Myanmar and Afghanistan.
Thailand has also been playing a role in promoting cooperation within the UN and other international and regional bodies in addressing the challenges of pandemics such as avian influenza, HIV I Aids, Covid-19 and natural disasters.
On the home front, with about 30 UN regional headquarters and offices currently based in Bangkok, including UNESAP (since 1949) and the regional centre of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Bangkok has since 2011 been recognised as the United Nations Centre for Asia and the Pacific.
The UNDP recognised the great contributions of King Rama IX in this regard and presented His Majesty with the inaugural UNDP Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006.
And in recognition of the king's multifarious contributions to the improvement of soil quality, the UN has since 2012 designated Dec 5, being the King's birth date, as the World Soil Day to be observed annually.
In Thailand, the United Nations Association of Thailand (UNAT) was established as early as 1953 to promote greater knowledge and awareness of the UN. Its first president was Thanphuying La-iad Pibulsonggram who, over five consecutive terms, paved the way forward in bringing the UN closer to the Thai people.
Despite some flaws in the UN, it is still mankind's best hope for a better future -- for we see in the UN and in the multilateralism that it advocates the possibilities for further advancement of mankind's larger freedoms.
That is why we are proud to serve as the UN's regional headquarters.
Manaspas Xuto is president of the United Nations Association of Thailand.
