CELEBRATION OF UNITED NATIONS DAY 2008
Date : 24 October 2008
Time : 10.00 – 11.00 a.m.
Venue : United Nations Conference Centre
Bangkok
Introduction
In conjunction with the 63rd Anniversary of the United Nations, the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) Office in Bangkok had organised a special event to commemorate the event in line with the practices of other UN Offices across the world. It was jointly organised with the other UN Offices and specialised agencies in Bangkok as well as the UN Association of Thailand (UNAT).
2. The guest of honour for the event was the Hon. Chavarat Charnvirakul, Deputy Prime Minister of Thailand. It was estimated that nearly 150 members of the Diplomatic Corp and an additional 100 other guests, largely school children, were invited to the event. The Embassy of Malaysia was represented by Mr. Mohd Iqbal Mohd Noor, Counsellor (Economics) and Mr. Nazarudin Ja’afar, Second Secretary.
Salient Points
3. The event was preceded by a simple flag raising ceremony at 9.00 a.m. which was attended by all staff of UNESCAP Office in Bangkok. On the event proper, the organiser had chosen to kick-off with a performance by students from Dorasamuth School who played two songs, one of which was “We Are The World”, which aptly described the unity messages that were to be put across by the invited speakers.
4. In concordance with the tradition of UN Day celebration, a special pre-recorded message by the UN Secretary-General was played to the audience. Mr. Ban Ki-moon, in his 3-minute message, underscored the importance for all member States of the UN to strengthen the partnership that has been established with the UN in order to face the challenging times ahead. With the deadline of the MDGs is fast approaching and the adverse effects brought about by the current financial crisis, he called every nation to stand united and work closely with the UN to overcome the hurdles.
5. Ms. Noeleen Heyzer, Under Secretary-General of the UN and the Executive Secretary of UNESCAP, speaking in similar breath, urged all member States to collectively address the current challenges by adhering to the UN values and ethics. With the possibility that the goals outlined in MDGs may not be within our reach, she urged every State to work closely with the august body, which has proven itself to be an indispensable body for the international community.
6. Meanwhile, Amb. Manaspas Xuto, President of UNAT, made a proper attribution to the role played by Mr. Ban Ki-moon in steering the world organ at this challenging time. He specifically made reference to the pledge by Mr. Ban to pursue UN reform issue so to enable the UN to function more effectively. Within the context of local scenario, the volatility of political, economical and financial factors had served as a good reminder to UNAT to work even more closely towards enhancing awareness and promoting good cooperation among Thai people. He also briefly mentioned that for the third consecutive year, UNAT had managed to invite promising Thai students to be part of the Thai delegation to the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
7. Last but not least, the Hon. Chavarat Charnvirakul reiterated Thailand’s steadfast support to the principles and ideals of the UN by making particular allusion to three areas namely, protection of human rights, promotion of development and upholding of security. He also called for all member States to promote equitable participation at the UN and restated Thailand’s support on efforts to reform the UN comprehensively especially on the management of the UN Secretariat and efforts to strengthen UN System-Wide Coherence. Similar to the message by Mr. Ban, he cited partnership as the best method to move the process forward among member States of the UN. In this connection, as the current Chair of ASEAN, he confirmed Thailand’s continued support to the work of the UN in the context of UN – ASEAN cooperation and looked forward to seeing Mr. Ban in Thailand in December 2008 at the side line of the 14th ASEAN Summit.
MW Bangkok