The UN won't dance to THAILAND'S TUNE

Last week the Foreign and Culture, Tourism and Sport ministries presented a khon performance at Carnegie Hall as part of efforts to promote “people-to-people” relations. The troupe also performed at UN headquarters nearby, where some 200 diplomats had gathered to mark the 70th anniversary of the intergovernmental organisation and also to lobby for non-permanent seats on the Security Council.

Thailand was a member of the body in 1985 and 1986 and has for years been campaigning for a return, eager for a more prominent role in international affairs. 

The major theme of its bid for the 2017-18 position is the ambition to bridge gaps between developed and developing countries in order to foster cross-border development and peace.

Prior to the 2014 military coup, the Foreign Ministry highlighted Thailand’s value as an international mediator whose diplomatic intervention would champion compromise for the mutual benefit of all parties in disputes. The international community viewed the push positively – Thailand was after all a relatively peaceful democracy that had no major conflict with UN members, and certainly not with any of the so-called big five – China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom and United States. 

Efforts to convince the necessary two-thirds of UN members that Thailand deserves a seat on the Security Council have been ongoing since 2009. The Foreign Ministry will find out whether these attempts have paid off when the UN General Assembly votes in October 2016.

However, the Thai campaign was shorn of a major selling point in May last year when a military coup ousted an elected government and put an end to democracy, at least for now. Since then, rights violations, including the arrest of peaceful demonstrators, have damaged the reputation that Thailand had been building among its international peers. The country subsequently failed in its bid for a seat on the UN Human Rights Council after the Foreign Ministry tailed off its campaign for any UN position in the wake of the military takeover.

The coup prompted strong criticism from Western countries, notably the US and European Union, and the military-backed government has tilted closer to China.

Lacking clear instruction and direction, the Foreign Ministry, which is now headed by a four-star general, has for the past year remained largely silent on the campaign for a Security Council seat. 

The only option that seemingly remains for the government’s campaign is to trade for votes among UN members, though many will be having second thoughts about supporting Thailand at the UN. Though backed by a budget worth millions of baht, the ministry can have little idea of how to use it to help secure a seat. Money will certainly not buy votes at the UN.

Another hope for Thailand is China, but Beijing has made no strong commitment to backing Thailand over its chief rival for a seat, Kazakhstan. In fact, China needs the support of Kazakhstan in order to realise its “new Silk Road” initiative for regional trade.

Officials at the Foreign Ministry must now be praying that khon has the magical power to bring Thailand a seat on the Security Council.