Kingdom of Thailand
Ambassador Chuchai Kasemsarn
Thailand signed the Mine Ban Treaty on December 3, 1997, and completed destruction of its antipersonnel mine stockpile in April 2003. Chuchai Kasemsarn is Thailand’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations. The following is excerpted from Ambassador Kasemsarn’s address to the UN General Assembly on November 21, 2001. During the Third Meeting of the States Parties to the Ottawa Convention, held in Managua on September 18 to 21, 2001, one of the most poignant testimonies was given by a priest whose young son was severely injured when he accidentally stepped on a landmine. As the priest cradled the boy in…