UNITED NATIONS 

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945.  It is currently made up of 193 Member States.  The mission and work of the United Nations are guided by the purposes and principles contained in its founding Charter. (The Charter of the United Nations was signed on 26 June 1945, in San Francisco) 

United Nations Headquarters in New York City. Due to the powers vested in its Charter and its unique international character, the United Nations can take action on the issues confronting humanity in the 21st century, such as peace and security, climate change, sustainable development, human rights, disarmament, terrorism, humanitarian and health emergencies, gender equality, governance, food production, and more. governance, food production, and more

The UN also provides a forum for its members to express their views in the General Assembly, the Security Council, the Economic and Social Council, and other bodies and committees. By enabling dialogue between its members, and by hosting negotiations, the Organization has become a mechanism for governments to find areas of agreement and solve problems together.

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ASEAN’s relations with the United Nations system

It was started in the early 1970s through initial cooperation  with the  United Nations Development Program (UNDP). The UNDP   sponsored a two-year study to assist ASEAN in its economic cooperation activities, which later provided the basis for ASEAN to forge cooperation in industrial development, agriculture and forestry, transport, finance, monetary and insurance services. The ASEAN-UNDP Sub-regional Program was launched in 1977, aiming to better assist ASEAN with its regional cooperation and integration efforts.

The First ASEAN-UN Summit was held in Bangkok on 13 February 2000, on the sidelines of the Tenth Session of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD).

In 2007, a Memorandum of Understanding between ASEAN and the UN on ASEAN-UN Cooperation was signed in New York, which established a partnership that would encompass the full range of cooperation based on mutual benefits, including political, economic, and socio-cultural areas. It also provides that ASEAN and the UN shall maintain and hold regular consultations on issues and activities of strategic importance to the effective achievement of common objectives and maximize complementarity and mutual support.

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United Nations with Thailand

Thailand is a strong supporter of the United   Nations. It has contributed to UN peacekeeping operations and has ratified a range of UN human rights, labor and environment conventions and treaties.

In both financial and operational terms the UN country programs for Thailand itself remain quite modest, reflecting the country’s improving development  status. However, as Thailand effectuates this transition, the UN continues to play an important role in supporting Thailand’s development process. The UN also plays a natural coordinating role, seeking to ensure country-level harmonization in donor support, development activities and goal setting.

Comprising  those UN agencies   with   significant Thailand-focused programs, the UN Country Team (UNCT) is committed to continuing a strong, constructive partnership with the   Thai  government  and   key  stakeholders   in the country. Its activities aim to support and complement national policy processes in areas where the UN has a mandated expertise and can add value.

Consequently the UNCT strives to provide assistance in the areas of specialization of each of its agencies in the Joint Partnerships and Thematic Working Groups. These are areas where the UNCT can be most useful, utilizing its capacity to provide intersectional yet specialized responses to issues that are both specific and cross-cutting in nature.