Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary-General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

On behalf of the Government of Thailand, it is a privilege and a pleasure for me to address the Twenty-sixth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on HIV/AIDS. In view of the time constraints, I will make only a few brief remarks as the full text of my statement will be circulated.

This Special Session, the first high?level intergovernmental conference dedicated to the issue of HIV/AIDS, is indeed a timely initiative and opportunity for all of us to pledge our political and financial commitments to fight against the HIV/AIDS epidemic.

Over the past two decades since the first case of HIV/AIDS, more than 22 million people worldwide have been killed. More lives have been lost due to HIV/AIDS than to any kind of weapon of mass destruction. Currently, more than 36 million people are afflicted with the epidemic. HIV/AIDS is a silent global menace which threatens not only development and human security, but also international security, to the extent that the global nature of this threat has already been acknowledged by the Security Council.

HIV/AIDS is thus not a threat which any one country alone can address. It is a global crisis that needs not only national action but also regional and global cooperation. We must find ways and means to make good our resolve in the Millennium Declaration "to have halted, by 2015, and begun to reverse, the spread of HIV/AIDS" as well as "the scourge of malaria and other major diseases that afflict humanity." To tackle the scourge of HIV/AIDS effectively, we must take shared responsibility in managing worldwide economic and social development as well as threats to international security, as called for by our leaders at the Millennium Summit just last year.

Recently, in our region, the Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at its 57th annual session, adopted by consensus a resolution tabled by Thailand entitled "Regional call for action to fight HIV/AIDS in Asia and the Pacific". In Southeast Asia, ASEAN Leaders have also recognized the urgency of the HIV/AIDS problem and will convene a special ASEAN Summit on HIV/AIDS this coming November.

Thailand also has the honour to host two very important international conferences, namely, the 5th International Conference on Home and Community Care for Persons Living with HIV/AIDS from 17 to 20 December this year, and the International Conference on AIDS in 2004.
 

Mr. President,

As a country hard hit by HIV/AIDS, Thailand is gratified to be cited by United Nations agencies, the World Bank and many other organizations as having conducted one of the world's most successful AIDS prevention and awareness programmes. Indeed, our record in tackling the AIDS epidemic shows that the AIDS epidemic can be contained. From the drastic projection made in 1991 that by 2001, 4 million people in our country would be infected with HIV/AIDS, we have instead seen the number of HIV/AIDS carriers drop by 77% from those projections to less than 1 million today.

As part of our contribution to fight this global epidemic, Thailand is prepared not only to share our experiences, but also to provide the appropriate technical assistance to other developing countries, including our friends from the African continent, in the spirit of South-South cooperation.

One of the key lessons we have learned from our HIV/AIDS experience is that the leadership must recognize the devastating scale of the epidemic and be willing to discuss openly the enormity of the HIV/AIDS problem. Thailand was the first Asian country to break the silence and face the crisis head-on.

Secondly, we need to tackle the HIV/AIDS problem from both the prevention and treatment perspectives. Thirdly, we also need to take a holistic approach which addresses human, social, economic and cultural aspects of the HIV/AIDS problem.

In particular, concerted nationwide education, prevention and awareness programmes do work in controlling the spread of HIV/AIDS. And to be effective, such programmes need to encompass all sectors of the society, involving efforts from the highest level to the grass-roots level, including NGOs and people living with HIV/AIDS.

In tandem with preventive measures, it is a must that care, support and treatment be an integral part of our effective response to the epidemic. However, for developing countries, prohibitively high prices of essential drugs limit access of people to treatment.
 

Mr. President,

We are very pleased to see that the United Nations has finally taken the lead in recognizing that HIV/AIDS is not only a medical and health care issue, but also a humanitarian issue, and convening this Special Session. We appreciate the role of the UNAIDS in this regard. We also support the draft Declaration of Commitment to be adopted at this Special Session.

In this connection, Thailand wishes to urge drug-producing countries, regional and international organizations and institutions, especially the United Nations, and civil society, in particular pharmaceutical companies, to be actively involved in research and development of HIV/AIDS vaccines and drugs, and to help make HIV vaccines and HIV/AIDS-related drugs more widely accessible and affordable by all who need them in developing countries. The production of such life-saving drugs needs to be guided more by humanitarian concerns and less by purely commercial motives.

All efforts and programmes against HIV/AIDS require not only political commitment but also financial resources. Some may claim that the costs of tackling the HIV/AIDS epidemic are too high - requiring 7-10 billion US dollars annually according to UN estimates. But considering that each of the world's 29 richest individuals has more than that figure in assets, and if the developed countries and the private sector, including these wealthy individuals, were to pitch in for the global struggle against HIV/AIDS, then 7-10 billion dollars is not at all a high figure and certainly within our reach.

Mr. President,
Mr. Secretary?General,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

We have been fighting HIV/AIDS since the first incident of HIV/AIDS for over two decades. Experiences have been shared. Lessons have been learnt. Still, much remains to be done as millions of infected and affected people are dying every minute while waiting for our help. Surely, we cannot remain indifferent. This is one "humanitarian intervention," which no one should have objection to. This Special Session is a promising beginning of our global crusade against this global crisis. With determination, sacrifice and good faith, I am confident that we will attain our goal of "halting the spread of HIV/AIDS by 201 S," for the good of mankind. Thailand, for its part, is more than ready to play its active role in this endeavour.

Thank you.