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| UN
Secretary General Kofi Anan's speech on HM the King
and Human Development |
| Published
on May 26, 2006 |
I feel especially privileged to
do so on the sixtieth anniversary of His Majesty's
accession to the throne.
For the United Nations, this ceremony has special
significance for another reason as well: it marks
the very first time that we recognize outstanding
contributions to development through this Award.
Human development, reduced to its essence, is a
very simple concept: it is about empowering people.
Not the few, not even the many, but all people.
It is about empowering them through education, through
opportunity, through health care and nutrition.
It is about empowering individuals with choices
so that they may live healthy, knowledgeable and
creative lives.
Human development puts the individual at the centre
of development. It emphasizes economic growth and
sustainability, human rights and security, equity
and political participation.
The United Nations prioritises such development
at the very centre of its agenda, and we put tremendous
effort into promoting it. We do it through UNDP's
global and national Human Development Reports. We
do it through the development work of UN Country
Teams in 166 countries across the world. And we
do it through this award.
After all, if human development is about putting
people first, there can no better advocate for it
than His Majesty.
At his coronation in 1946, His Majesty uttered the
famous Oath of Accession: "We shall reign with
righteousness, for the benefit and happiness of
the Siamese people".
Ever since, His Majesty has lived this Oath, selflessly
devoting his time and efforts to the wellbeing and
welfare of the people of Thailand, regardless of
their ethnicity, religion or legal status.
As the world's "Development King", His
Majesty reached out to the poorest and the most
vulnerable people of Thailand, listened to their
problems, and empowered them to take their lives
into their own hands.
His Majesty's rural development projects have benefited
millions of people across Thailand. They have prompted
smallscale agriculture; appropriate farming technologies;
sustainable use of water resources; conservation;
and flood and drought mitigation.
In Northern Thailand, His Majesty's rural development
initiatives have helped reduce opium harvests through
crop substitution. At the same time, these projects
have improved access to healthcare and education
for the local population, and brought significant
benefits to the ethnic groups living in the mountainous
region along the Myanmar and Lao borders.
His Majesty's active support for a wide range of
social causes has proved crucial to their success.
From promoting child health to combating iodine
deficiency, from campaigning against disease to
increasing access to education, programmes supported
by His Majesty impact the every day lives of millions
of his subjects.
At the same time, His Majesty's visionary thinking
has helped shape the global development dialogue.
His Majesty's "Sufficiency Economy" philosophy
emphasizing moderation, responsible consumption,
and resilience to external shocks is of great relevance
to communities everywhere during these times of
rapid globalization.
The philosophy's "middle path" approach
strongly reinforces the United Nations' own advocacy
of a peoplecentred and sustainable path toward human
development.
His Majesty's development agenda and visionary thinking
are an inspiration to his subjects, and to people
everywhere.
With today's Award, we hope to further promote the
ideas and experiences of His Majesty's work, and
to help draw attention to their underlying thinking
well beyond the borders of the Kingdom of Thailand.
For His Majesty's extraordinary achievements and
deep and unwavering commitment to human development,
this afternoon it will be my great honour to present
to His Majesty the UNDP's first ever Lifetime Achievement
Award.
Thank you.
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