Statement by the Delegation of Thailand

H.E. Mr. Sek Wannamethee

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Thailand

at the General Debate on Agenda Item 3

during the 37^th session of the Human Rights Council

on Friday, 9 March 2018, from 10.00 to 13.00 hrs.

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Mr. President,

Thailand believes that the promotion and protection of human rights and the 2030 Agenda are interrelated, complementary and mutually reinforcing.

The Treaty Bodies, in their contribution sent to the High-Level Political Forum, expressed a similar view by stating their commitment to promoting the two-way interaction and complementarity between human rights and the 2030 Agenda.

A large number of HRC Special Procedures have also addressed these linkages. For example, the Working Group on business and human rights has proposed ten recommendations on how States can embed the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in their SDGs implementation.

To this end, the Council should further promote the two-way interaction between human rights and the SDGs – and support the sharing of national experiences in this regard. The Council should welcome initiatives that add value to this two-way interaction and complementarity, without duplicating existing initiatives. The Council should also seek to contribute its perspectives to the discussions of the HLPF.

In addition, Thailand is committed to advancing the implementation of the UN Guiding Principles on business and human rights.

We have invited the Working Group on business and human rights to visit Thailand later this month. We hope that our constructive cooperation with the Working Group will benefit our efforts to close the gaps in the implementation of the UNGP and promote, in parallel, both human rights and sustainable development.

Thank you.