On 27 September 2013, Mr. Yury Fedotov, Executive Director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) called on Mr. Surapong Tovichakchaikul, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs of Thailand, during the latter’s visit to New York for the 68th Session of the United Nations General Assembly.

Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Surapong informed Executive Director Fedotov that during the General Assembly, Thailand would be co-hosting with the UNODC several side events led by Her Royal Highness Princess Bajarakitiyabha.  He reaffirmed Thailand’s commitment to following through on the Commission of Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice (CCPCJ) resolutions, implementing the Bangkok Rules and raising awareness on the issue of gender-related killings.

Mr. Surapong thanked Mr. Fedotov for confirming his attendance at the Bangkok Dialogue on the Rule of Law, to be held in Thailand on 15 November 2013, and asked for the support of the UNODC Regional Office in Bangkok.  He informed the UNODC Executive Director that Thailand had completed the necessary internal procedures, having enacted the Anti-transnational Organized Crime Act (2013), which would enable the country to ratify the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) and the Trafficking Protocol.  The instruments of ratification, he said, would be deposited in New York this October by Her Royal Highness Princess Bajarakitiyabha as Thailand’s representative.