ACTIVITIES OF THE SECRETARY-GENERAL IN THAILAND, 9-13 FEBRUARY
The Secretary-General arrived in Bangkok on the evening of Wednesday, 9 February. He was met at the airport by the Foreign Minister of Thailand, Surin Pitsuwan.
The Secretary-General began his official visit to Thailand on Thursday, with an hour-long meeting with Prime Minister Chuan Leekpai. Their talks continued over a luncheon, hosted by the Prime Minister.
They discussed the prospects for the summit of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), which was to open in Bangkok on 12 February. The Secretary-General said he was looking forward to the first- ever meeting between the United Nations and the members of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), which is the only regional organization that does not have formal ties with the United Nations.
They talked of East Timor's economic development and Thailand's 1000- strong contingent serving in the multinational force there. The Secretary- General recalled the phone conversation he had had with the Prime Minister when East Timor was burning and thanked him for so quickly supplying the troops that eventually helped restore order.
The Prime Minister raised the issue of refugees in Thailand, mainly from Cambodia, Lao Peoples Democratic Republic, and most recently, from Myanmar. He described in detail the Government's efforts to settle peacefully the hostage situation at a hospital near the Myanmar border involving elements from Myanmar, and how they had to resort to violence in the end. The Secretary-General urged Thailand to continue to offer asylum to those fleeing oppression.
In a toast before lunch, the Secretary-General praised the remarkable job Thailand had done to climb out of the deep recession of two years ago, saying Thai economic reforms could serve as a model for other nations.
On Thursday afternoon, the Secretary-General and his wife, Nane, travelled two hours outside of Bangkok to Klai Kangwol Palace for a private audience with King Bhumibol Adulyadej.
The Secretary-General began the second day of his official visit to Thailand with a breakfast meeting with Rubens Ricupero, the Secretary-General of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, concerning the tenth UNCTAD summit that would open in two days time.
He then went to Bangkoks Thammasat University, where he was awarded an honorary degree and gave an address on United Nations peacekeeping.
In that speech, he called on governments to reach a new consensus on what peacekeeping can and cannot do. Policing a ceasefire line is one thing, he said; fighting a war is quite another. Let coalitions of the willing, sanctioned by the Security Council, conduct combat operations, he advised. The United Nations does not have that capacity.
Some peacekeeping missions have been wrongly conceived, he said, citing Bosnia and Herzegovina as an example. Member States appeared, in this case, to be using peacekeeping simply to give the appearance of doing something about a crisis. He pledged to conduct a major study of the United Nations experience in peacekeeping, to strengthen the Secretariat's performance and to make concrete proposals to governments (see Press Release SG/SM/7297).
He then responded to questions from a number of students.
After a luncheon at the University hosted by the Rector, Dr. Naris Chaiyasoot, the Secretary-General went to Bangkoks equivalent of UN House", where he addressed, and was warmly welcomed by, the assembled staff.
He then met with Government Representatives, with whom he discussed United Nations reform and the work of the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP). He also met with representatives of United Nations agencies working in Bangkok who described their efforts to work in a more coordinated manner. Dont say to each other, this is what we do, the Secretary-General advised. Rather, ask what is it we should be doing.
In the late afternoon, he met with Foreign Minister Pitsuwan. They discussed a range of regional issues - the ASEAN, East Timor and the refugee population in Thailand.
At a press encounter after that meeting, the Secretary-General was asked about his scheduled meeting the following day with Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen and the United Nations position on a trial for Khmer Rouge leaders.
The Secretary-General said that the issue was by no means dead, and it ought to be possible to resolve the differences between the United Nations and Cambodia so that a fair and credible trial could take place.
He then attended a dinner hosted by the Foreign Minister.
On Saturday morning, 12 February, the Secretary-General attended the first-ever summit of the ASEAN and the United Nations. The Thai Government organized the summit so that the regional organization and the world body could explore the possibility of closer relations.
In his opening remarks, the Secretary-General asked, Why have we found so little to say to each other on peace and security issues at the very time when new forms of security challenges are presenting themselves? As an icebreaker, he proposed that the two organizations co-host a regional round table to discuss multilateral aspects of peace and human security in the Asia-Pacific region (see Press Release SG/SM/7300).
That proposal was welcomed by the 10 ASEAN nations, nine of which were represented at the head of State level.
After lunch with the ASEAN leaders, the Secretary-General attended the opening ceremony of the tenth United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.
In his address to UNCTAD X, the Secretary-General observed that the worldwide recovery from the economic crisis of two and a half years ago was export-led, illustrating the link between trade and development. The so-called Development Round of trade negotiations did not get off the ground at the World Trade Organization meeting in Seattle three months ago, he said, because the worlds leading economic powers were locked in arguments among themselves because of domestic pressures that favour protectionism.
He called for a Global New Deal whereby the worlds poorest countries would be given access to the globalized economy so that they might trade their way to prosperity (see Press Release SG/SM/7298).
He then made remarks at the opening of an UNCTAD Roundtable discussion (see Press Release SG/SM/7301), before beginning a series of bilateral meetings in the margins of the UNCTAD conference. These included the Foreign Minister of Morocco, Mohamed Benaissa, the Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, the President of the Philippines, Joseph Estrada and the Prime Minister of Cambodia, Hun Sen.
At a press encounter after the meeting with Prime Minister Hun Sen, the Secretary-General said that all issues remained on the table concerning Cambodias plans to try Khmer Rouge leaders, and that he would be sending a team to Phnom Penh to try to bring to closure the issue of how best to assure a fair trial that would meet international standards.
In the evening, he attended a reception for the participants in UNCTAD X hosted by the Prime Minister of Thailand.
On Sunday, the Secretary-General gave a press conference before having a private lunch with the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Michel Camdessus.
He left Bangkok for Singapore in the afternoon, where he had dinner that evening with Ambassador Tommy Koh of Singapore.