Statement made by Thailand
at the Intergovernmental Negotiations on the post-2015 Development Agenda
19 May 2015
Co-Facilitators,
Thailand wishes to align itself with the statement made by the distinguished Deputy Permanent Representative of South Africa on behalf of the G77 and China. We would like to commend you for your able leadership and thank you for the Discussion Paper which we find it useful, particularly the questions posed are thought provoking.
We have carefully studied the “Illustrative Framework for Follow up and Review”, the ANNEX I of the Discussion paper. We fully understand the multi-layer aspect of the Follow up and Review framework since it covers the national, regional, and global levels as well as the thematic reviews.
For Thailand, at the national level, we have the follow-up and review framework in place during the implementation of the MDGs. The National Economic and Social Development Board which formulates the country’s National Economic and Social Development Plans undertook national reviews and produced a national progress report every five years. The process itself included the dialogues with multi-stakeholders and NGOs. The steps taken from our side was done voluntarily. In this regard, we stand ready to be engaged in the follow up and review process, however, we are uncertain whether the framework needs to determine the frequency of the national level reviews.
The National Economic and Social Development Board will be taking the lead in the implementation of the post-2015 development agenda. We are currently in the process of reactivating the “National Committee on Sustainable Development” which is chaired by the Prime Minister and comprising all lined agencies. We therefore see the value of the flexible, phased approach at the beginning as we will have to make sure that the lined agencies are on board and have integrated SDGs into their policies and budgetary planning. We are not starting from scratch but we need to make sure that there is a smooth transition from MDGs to ambitious SDGs. The assistance from UN system with mutually agreed terms can play a larger role at the national level review.
At the regional level, we strongly support the role of the regional commissions in contributing the work of HLPF. For our region, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) has a critical role in not only implementation of the MOIs but also the follow up and review framework. The inaugural Asia-Pacific Forum on Sustainable Development took place last year in May and the intergovernmental consultative process to determine the future architecture of the APFSD beyond 2015 will take place later this week in Bangkok, Thailand. We look forward to learning the results which we hope that it would be in line with our work here.
At the global level, we are mandated by a number of resolutions to have HLPF under the auspices of the ECOSOC and the General Assembly guiding the follow-up and review. From Thailand’s experience of presenting out National Voluntary Presentation last year which was based on thematic review, we find it a very useful exercise and appreciated the peer reviews from Viet Nam, Senegal and Japan.
Co-Facilitators,
In order for the follow up and review framework to be effective, robust and reliable data will be key. We therefore look forward to building our data capacity and participating actively in the follow up and review process. Thailand puts people at the center of our development and we stand ready to ensure that our implementation of the post-2015 development agenda is taking place appropriately.
