H.E. Mr. Sek Wannamethee, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand, delivers Thailand's statement during the General Debate for Agenda Item 10 (Technical Assistance and Capacity Building) at the 40^th Session of the Human Rights Council, on Thursday, 21 March 2019, 09.00-13.00 hrs, at the Palais des Nations.

Mr. Vice President,

Thailand welcomes the report of the Board of Trustees, and the increase in financial contributions made to the voluntary funds on technical cooperation and the UPR implementation.

In line with the Board’s view, Thailand welcomes the UN’s technical support on the development of online tools and platforms for national implementation, reporting and follow-up of human rights obligations and recommendations.

These online tools, which should link human rights and the SDGs, can improve the efficiency and reduce the cost of tracking progress, identifying implementation gaps, and reporting to international bodies.

Thailand shares the opinion of the Board that UN Country Teams and Resident Coordinators play a crucial role in providing technical support based on each country’s needs, including in data collection and analysis, as well as a platform to share good practices.

In this regard, last year Thailand collaborated with the OHCHR to organize a capacity-building workshop on treaty bodies reporting, which was found very useful and constructive, leading to a second workshop later this month.

In moving ahead, we encourage the OHCHR and UN Country Teams to continue to build close partnership with and support Member States in human rights and SDGs implementation.

As the current Chair of ASEAN, Thailand strives to advance partnership for sustainability, including through regional cooperation and exchange of good practices in the field of human rights and the SDGs.   

Thank you.