Delegates: Mr. Sinfungpunkaree, Ms. Limskul
44. Mr. Sinfungpunkaree (Thailand), speaking as a youth delegate, said that young people today faced many challenges and problems while they lived with the consequences of decisions taken by previous generations. Yet their voices tended to be marginalized, although they could contribute to developing more effective solutions to major concerns such as equality in education, global warming and poverty.
45. Equal opportunity was the best tool for creating equality and justice in society as a whole. As a child in a Yao hill village in northern Thailand, he had been fortunate to be able to attend school and wished other children to have the same opportunity. The United Nations could help countries to understand that education policies were only effective if based on equal opportunity.
46. One of the main obstacles to youth development was lack of access to health care. Despite his Government’s efforts to promote universal health-care services, problems still persisted, especially in border and rural areas. All States should ensure that [*7*] underprivileged children fully enjoyed their human rights and had the means to live in health and dignity.
47. Ms. Limskul (Thailand), speaking as a youth delegate, said that the international community tended to focus on the consequences of inequality, rather than taking real action on inequality itself. Inequality was also a factor to consider when addressing global warming, as its impacts were not dispersed equally.
48. Poverty was another aspect of inequality: the poor lacked equal access to resources and were marginalized from economic and social structures. Rather than working to raise income, the international community should work to ensure that the least privileged groups had equal access to social protection, health care and other resources.
49. Her Government promoted a welfare-based and rights-based society that would guarantee universal education, universal health care and equal opportunity for all. Promotion of an equal and just society was the best way to tackle poverty.
50. Young people in all countries were a major human resource for development and key agents for social change, economic development and technological innovation. If they were given the opportunities to fulfil their potential, society could benefit from their energy, perspectives and creative ideas.
UN Doc.: A/C.3/64/SR.4
Cite as:
UN Doc.: A/C.3/64/SR.4, 21 October 2009, p. 6-7, Youth Delegate Search: https://youthdelegatesearch.org/thailand-2009/, doi: 10.17176/20221018-194304-0.