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UN asked to back Thai regional pus



Subject: UN asked to back Thai  regional push on rights

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Local & Politics 

     UN asked to back Thai
     regional push on rights

     THAILAND yesterday asked the United
     Nations Commission for Human Rights to
     support its efforts to train other countries in
     the region on the issue of human rights and
     reiterated its support for the world body's
     activities. 

     The message has been conveyed to Mary
     Robinson, the UN High Commissioner for
     Human Rights, through the organisation's
     regional representative Justice Bhagwati,
     Deputy Foreign Minister Sukhumbhand
     Paribatra said. 

     ''Thailand is ready to support the United
     Nations' activities in promotion of human
     rights and is ready to provide training support
     to other countries in the region,''
     Sukhumbhand said. 

     However, Thailand is not aiming to become
     the regional centre but is more for supporting
     the promotion of the issue, he added. 

     Speaking after closing the three-day
     workshop on ''Developing National Plans of
     Action for the Promotion and Protection of
     Human Rights in the Asia and Pacific Region'',
     Sukhumbhand stressed the importance of
     education on human rights to the people. 

     While it was important to note that human
     rights is universal, one must also take note of
     the differences in societies and culture which
     cannot bring uniformity to the issue, he said. 

     Abuses tend to stem from the fact that most
     people do not know their rights, said Charivat
     Santaputra, deputy director-general of the
     Foreign Ministry's Department of International
     Organisations. 

     It is hoped the workshop will spur other
     countries to take steps in developing a
     national action plan, as was done in the
     Philippines, Indonesia and Australia, Bhagwati
     said in his closing speech. 

     ''Human rights were not born of man, but they
     were born with man -- hence, the vital
     importance of promoting and protecting
     human rights,'' Bhagwati said. 

     A sufficient national action plan must take into
     consideration social and economic conditions,
     as well as cultural uniqueness, he said. 

     The three-day discussion focused on the
     process of developing an action plan, and the
     substantive issue that could be included in the
     plan. 

     ''On the basis of the needs assessment, a
     draft National Plan of Action could be
     prepared and public response invited in
     diverse ways before the draft is finalised,''
     Bhagwati said. 

     ''The final plan must have credibility and
     legitimacy and the people should feel it is
     their programme,'' he said. 

     Thailand is in the process of developing its
     own national plan but critics fear that it may
     not be fully independent. 

     Nations that violate these principles should be
     sanctioned, he said. 

     BY RITA PATIYASEVI 

     The Nation