ACDI/CIDA
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CONCEPT PAPER
THAILAND AS CHAIR OF THE HUMAN SECURITY NETWORK
"HUMAN AGENDA: PARTNERSHIP FOR HUMAN SECURITY"
1. GUIDING PRINCIPLES
Continuity: The Thai Chair will build on the achievements of the previous Chairs and ensure a smooth transition from the First Midterm Work Plan (2003-2005) to the Second Midterm Work Plan (2005-2007), which would be finalized by the Ministers at the upcoming 7th HSN Ministerial Meeting in Canada.
Contribution: The Thai Chair will strive to reflect the perspectives of both developed and developing countries in a balanced manner.
Constituency: The Thai Chair will strive to deepen and broaden constituency bases of the HSN by ensuring a balanced approach between freedom from want, freedom from fear and freedom to live in dignity.
Consistency: The Thai Chair will seek to ensure consistency of the HSN activities.
2. OBJECTIVES
Effectiveness: The Thai Chair will strive to enhance the effectiveness of the HSN activities. Emphasis would be given to promoting the concept of human security through partnerships.
Uniqueness: While attempting to enhance the effectiveness of the HSN activities, the Thai Chair will strive to ensure that the HSN maintain its unique character as a flexible and informal forum where participants can engage in dialogue and joint endeavors with a sense of comfort.
Visibility: The Thai Chair will strive to build on efforts undertaken by previous Chairs to further raise the visibility of the HSN. Ability to enhance the effectiveness while maintaining the unique character of the HSN would contribute to increasing visibility of the HSN.
Connectivity: The Thai Chair will strive to further connect the HSN activities to a wider public, be they, at the levels of government, academic, and civil society. This objective could be pursued in the member as well as the non-member countries.
3. APPROACH
As the Chair, Thailand will take a holistic and balanced approach to human security that is based upon a realization of inter-linkages between freedom from fear and freedom from want as well as freedom to live in dignity. Thailand will avoid creating a hierarchy of issues bearing in mind different perspectives, interests and priorities of respective members. The issues will instead be grouped into 3 thematic clusters as follows:
(1) Poverty, development and HIV/AIDS
(2) Human Rights and Humanitarian Affairs
(3) Emerging Issues
MODEL FOR COOPERATION
LEAD COUNTRY: A HSN country can take a lead in one or more issue-areas identified in the 3 clusters above that it has relative strengths, interests and expertise. Decision to become a lead country shall be made on a voluntary basis and upon consultation with other HSN countries.
PARTNER (S): The lead country may forge a partnership with another HSN country (or more). These countries will thus constitute the core partners in each issue-area and may undertake joint initiatives following consultation with other HSN countries.
PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES: The lead country in each issue-area, in consultation with partner(s), could involve, as appropriate, other countries outside the HSN in their activities.
This model for cooperation will serve four main purposes, i.e.:
Participation: It will enhance participation and a sense of collective ownership.
Partnership: It will strengthen partnerships among the HSN countries.
Particularities: It will build on relative strengths of each country while being sensitive to particularities of each country's situation, position and approach in respective region.
Progress: By pooling of expertise and strengthening particularities, the visibility and effectiveness of the HSN would be further enhanced.
4. PRIORITY ISSUES FOR THAILAND
As lead country:
HIV/AIDS
People-centred development
Trafficking in persons, especially women and children
As partner:
Landmines
Human Rights Education
5. TENTATIVE TIMETABLE OF EVENTS (MAY 2005-MAY 2006)
18- 20 May 2005, Ottawa, Seventh HSN Ministerial Meeting.
2 June 2005, New York, High-level Meeting to review the progress achieved in realising the commitments set out in the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS.
16-17 June 2005, Bangkok, Sharing of Experiences in Combating Trafficking in Human Beings: Opportunities for Cooperation (Thailand-OSCE).
22-24 June 2005, Nairobi, Workshop on Community-based HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care.
June 2005, Geneva, Workshop on HIV/AIDS (Thailand-UNAIDS). (TBC)
27-28 June 2005, New York, High-level Dialogue on Financing for Development.
29 June – 1 July 2005, New York, High-level Segment of ECOSOC.
11-15 July 2005, New York, Second Biennial Meeting to Review UN Plan of Action to Combat Illicit Small Arms and Light Weapons.
August, Pretoria, Workshop on HIV/AIDS Prevention and Care in Africa. (TBC)
September, New York, First HSN SOM under Thai Chair. (TBC)
14-16 September 2005, New York, High-level Plenary Meeting (Millennium +5).
September, New York, HSN Ministerial Lunch at the sidelines of the UNGA.
October 2005, Tokyo, Human Security Seminar. (TBC) As co-organiser/co-chair with Japan.
28 November – 2 December 2005, Croatia, Sixth Meeting of States Parties of Anti-Personnel Mines Ban Convention.
February 2006, Bangkok, An International Symposium on Developmental Approaches to Human Security: What lessons Asia can offer? (TBC)
February 2006, Bangkok, Second HSN SOM under Thai Chair (TBC)
March – April 2006, Geneva, 62nd Session of Commission on Human Rights.
May 2006, Bangkok, Third HSN SOM under Thai Chair. (TBC)
May 2006, Bangkok, Eighth HSN Ministerial Meeting. (TBC)
6. VENUES FOR COOPERATION
Bangkok:
Periodic briefings to diplomatic representatives of the HSN countries in BKK.
Academic symposium(s) on specific aspect(s) of human security involving academic institutions and think - tanks from the HSN countries and other interested institutions from countries outside the HSN. (TBC)
New York, Geneva, Vienna and other places as appropriate:
Focal points of coordination for multilateral issues taking place in each venue.
7. FACTS OF INTEREST
Austria: President of the First Review Conference of the Mines Ban Convention (29 Nov 2004 – 27 Nov 2005).
Canada: Chair of the UNAIDS Programme Coordination Board (PCB) (2004-2005 starting June 2004).
Greece: Non-Permanent Member of the Security Council: (2005-2007 starting January 2005).
Norway: Facilitator of the September 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.
Slovenia: OSCE Chair (2005), Facilitator for the September 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.
Switzerland: Chair of the Open-ended Working Group to negotiate an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons.
Thailand: Facilitator of the September 2005 High-level Plenary Meeting of the General Assembly.
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