UN Women in Thailand

Thailand has undergone dramatic transformation from an agrarian to an industrialized and service-based economy and is one of the most economically prosperous countries in the region. A constitutional monarchy, Thailand has been the site of political upheaval since a bloodless military coup in 2006 and has recently drafted a new constitution, which came into force in 2007. The primary challenges to gender equality are low political participation of women, citizenship for ethnic minorities, and a flourishing sex industry that has contributed to HIV prevalence, trafficking and exploitation.

Thailand ratified the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) in August 1985, and has endorsed the Beijing Platform for Action (BPFA), the MDGS and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. The government has made serious efforts to integrate these instruments into its policy frameworks, evident in the Constitution B.E. 2550 (2007), which has anti sex discrimination and gender equality provisions. A Domestic Violence Victim Protection Act was also enacted in 2007, and penal codes and sex discriminated laws have largely been revised. The National Commission on Women’s Affairs and Family Development, of the Ministry for Social Development and Human Security, is Thailand’s national machinery responsible for promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment. A National Human Rights Commission has been established, and livelihood programs, job placements, emergency reception centers, safe shelters, one stop hospital based crisis centers and legal aid facilities for women survivors of violence exist in Thailand.

UNIFEM is working in Thailand in the following areas:

• The CEDAW-Southeast Asia Programme works with the Thai government, NGOs and other stakeholders to advance women’s human rights. In 2009 the programme began an initiative to build the capacity of the justice system to implement the Domestic Violence Act in accordance with CEDAW recommendations.
• As Thailand’s development relies increasingly on the migrant labour force, Thailand is also part of UNIFEM’s Regional Programme to Empower Women Migrant Workers in Asia. The programme is currently developing legal protection instruments for women domestic workers.
• The Regional Programme to End Violence against Women has launched pilot projects with the education sector, working with the Ministry of Education’s Office of Basic Education Commission and international schools on gender sensitivity training and awareness activities.