Statement by Dr. Suriya Chindawongse,
Permanent Representative of Thailand to the UN
before the11th Emergency Special Session of the UNGA
on 1 March 2022.

(1) Thailand is gravely concerned with the worsening hostilities and violence as a result of the use of military force in Ukraine, which has led to loss of life, including of innocent civilians and destruction of property and civilian infrastructure.

(2) The ASEAN Foreign Ministers issued a statement on the situation in Ukraine on 26 February 2022. Since, then, armed hostilities continue and casualties including those of civilians, continue to rise.

(3) The humanitarian situation of refuges and those fleeing fighting is particularly worrying. Thailand commends Ukraine’s neighbouring countries and other States for their prompt actions in mobilizing assistance to those in pressing humanitarian needs. On our part, Thailand shall do our utmost in addressing humanitarian needs of the affected citizens, directly and in partnership with like-minded international organizations.

(4) Thailand adheres to the principles enshrined in the United Nations Charter and international law, in particular respect for the sovereignty, territorial integrity and political independence of States, and refraining from the use of force or threat of use of force against another State.  We thus call for the immediate cessation of violence and armed hostilities. The escalation of the situation will cause wider impacts for the world, aggravate humanitarian conditions and threaten the wellbeing of the global economy, hampering the fragile recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.

(5) Thailand thus renews our call for dialogue and negotiations in order to find a peaceful settlement and sustainable solution through the United Nations, regional mechanisms and other mutually acceptable modalities. In this regard, we welcome the recent efforts at the bilateral talks between the parties concerned and look forward to them being bearing fruitful results.

(6) As a peace-loving country, Thailand has an abiding faith in the goodwill among nations and the compassion of humanity. We will therefore continue to hope that the path of peace, reconciliation and good-neighbourliness will ultimately prevail.