Freedom without responsibility can divide societies

Human rights are integral to our lives. They belong to each and every one of us. Respect for human rights must begin at home, in school, in the workplace, in the community, in public spaces, in fact, everywhere.

What we must take into account, however, is that each society has its own contexts, ones which are not easy for insiders to untangle, nor for outsiders to understand. Therefore, we must be careful not to take human rights for granted.

Human rights exercised in an extreme manner may come at a high price, especially in unstable or deeply divided societies. They may even lead societies to the brink of collapse. In these situations, it is the most vulnerable in society who suffer the most.

Freedom of expression without responsibility, without respect for the rights of others, without respect for differences in faiths and beliefs, without recognising cultural diversity can lead to division, and often, to conflict and hatred. This is the prevailing situation of our world today. So we must all ask ourselves what we can do about it.

Thailand believes in the Human Rights Council. We will continue to support the council’s work in every way possible. We have long advocated the importance of technical co-operation and capacity building in the field of human rights. Thailand believes this is the best and most constructive way to promote human rights.

With the Human Rights Council at the centre, societies have, and will continue to receive help through technical cooperation and capacity building, through dialogue and experience sharing, and through human rights education. This is why Thailand continues to table our annual resolution on technical co-operation and capacity building. It is also why we have committed to provide financial contributions to the Office of the High Commissioner as well as to the Voluntary Fund for Technical Co-operation in the Field of Human Rights.

Thailand fully supports the Universal Periodic Review process (UPR) — the review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Despite not being a member of the council at the moment, Thailand has devoted its time and resources to actively participate in giving our views and recommendations to countries under the UPR process. It is our firm belief that we all should spend more time listening to our friends, particularly those who have shown their willingness to be reviewed and scrutinised by their peers.

Positive support and reinforcements have always proven to be more effective. Therefore, we should not aim at criticising, nor at naming and shaming. In the past, during the time of the Commission on Human Rights, year after year, we criticised and named and shamed countries, and nothing much happened. But we all had high hopes when the Commission gave way to the Human Rights Council.

Almost ten years have passed and we have achieved a lot, but we should remind ourselves every once in a while that we need to think out of the box; we need to explore new ways of working.

This September in New York, our leaders will be adopting the post-2015 development agenda.

It is therefore highly appropriate that this session of the council focuses on mainstreaming human rights in international co-operation, including the efforts to set the post-2015 development agenda.

Development is not only about economic growth and GDP. To be sustainable, development must address all forms of inequality and discrimination. The new development agenda must place people at the centre. It must be inclusive. We totally agree that no one should be left behind.

The fruits of sustainable development must be shared by all parts of society, in particular women and children, and the vulnerable — such as those with disabilities, older people and migrants, both regular and irregular.

Indeed, over the past year, the government has registered over 1.6 million irregular migrants — people who lack legal status in s transit or host country — to ensure they are better protected and have greater access to essential services.

I would like to reassure the council that the government is working tirelessly to lay down a solid foundation for a stronger and more sustainable democracy.

Rest assured of Thailand’s firm commitment to work closely and constructively with the council. We are firmly committed to contributing to the work of the council to make it credible, effective and most importantly, relevant and beneficial to the people on the ground.