SECRETARY-GENERAL PRESENTS FIRST HUMAN DEVELOPMENT AWARD TO THAI KING;

SAYS PROJECTS BENEFITED MILLIONS, THINKING SHAPED GLOBAL DIALOGUE

Following is UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan’s citation statement for the presentation of the Human Development Award to His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand, in Bangkok, 26 May 2006

Your Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand,

The United Nations is honoured to present to Your Majesty the United Nations Development Programme’s First Human Development Lifetime Achievement Award.  We do this on the auspicious occasion of the sixtieth anniversary of Your Majesty’s accession to the throne.

Your Majesty has made an extraordinary contribution to human development.  As the world’s “Development King”, Your Majesty has reached out to the poorest and the most vulnerable people of Thailand -- regardless of their status, ethnicity or religion -- listened to their problems, and empowered them to take their lives in their own hands.

Your Majesty’s countless rural development projects have been at the forefront of innovation and benefited millions of people across Thailand.  They have promoted small-scale agriculture, appropriate farming technologies, sustainable use of water resources, conservation, and flood and drought mitigation.

As a visionary thinker, Your Majesty has played an invaluable role in shaping the global development dialogue.  Your Majesty’s “Sufficiency Economy” philosophy -- emphasizing moderation, responsible consumption and resilience to external shocks -- is of great relevance worldwide during these times of rapid globalization.  It reinforces the United Nation’s efforts to promote a people-centred and sustainable path of development.

With this Award, we hope to further promote the invaluable experiences and lessons learnt from Your Majesty’s development endeavours, and help draw attention to Your Majesty’s visionary thinking beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Thailand.   It is our greatest honour and privilege to present to Your Majesty this Lifetime Human Development Award.

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For information media • not an official record