The Deputy Permanent Secretary for Foreign Affairs of Thailand, Mr. Thani Thongphakdi, stressed Thailand’s readiness to work with the European Union (EU), both at bilateral and multilateral levels, to protect and promote human rights.
The issue was raised for discussion when five Members of the European Parliament (MEPs) from the Sub-committee on Human Rights (DROI), led by MEP Andrey Kovatchev from Bulgaria, together with Mr. Pirkka Tapiola, Ambassador of the European Union to the Kingdom of Thailand, paid a courtesy call on Mr. Thani during their official visit to Thailand on 16 – 18 July 2018.
The Deputy Permanent Secretary said that the Thai government has declared human rights as a national agenda and various measures are being introduced to achieve concrete results. A particular focus was on business and human rights as it was a crucial part in the promotion of good governance for the country’s economic sustainability.
Recommendations from the United Nations Working Group on the Issues of Human Rights and Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises have therefore been incorporated into the drafting of Thailand’s National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights.
The two sides also discussed the developments in the Thai labor sector. The Deputy Permanent Secretary addressed the important contribution of migrant workers to the Thai economy and the necessity to create a working environment that is conducive for them. These include the registration of foreign workers for better provision of legal protection and social services and the cooperation between Thailand and the World Health Organization (WHO) on protecting the health of migrants.
In addition, Thailand is in the process of drafting and amending several domestic laws, to enable the ratification of the core ILO conventions. This process requires involvement of all stakeholders and solution to close the implementation gap in order to fulfill Thailand’s commitments.
Source: National News Bureau of Thailand (NNT) National News Bureau & Public Relations : http://thainews.prd.go.th
