Remarks by UN Resident Coordinator in Thailand at the UNJP Social Protection Kick-Off Webinar on Diagnostic Consultations

It is a pleasure to join you in the kick-off Webinar for the Social Protection Diagnostic Review virtual consultations.

Thank you to Khun Anukul for the warm welcome and setting the stage for today. It is exciting to see all of you in the consultation today, championing this cause as you comprehensively steer the work forward.

The UN Joint Programme is our flagship initiative, which the Deputy Secretary General keenly follows.

We can appreciate that during a pandemic, social protection and transfers are critical government tools that are part of the stimulus package to serve as a safety net for all sections of the population, while prioritizing those that are most vulnerable.

The pandemic provides the undeniable justification for an integrated social protection system in Thailand to ensure that all resident population, including those in the informal sector have access to benefits. 

This is the overarching objective on which the UN Joint Programme is focusing, in its partnership with the Government.

The consultation process, which we’re kicking-off in today’s virtual webinar, is critical to enable the Joint Programme to fine tune its policy recommendations to the Government based on a process of visioning, consolidating policy options, and presenting the findings at the highest level of Government, later his year.

The consultations between now and November are also an important opportunity to socialize the findings with all of you, including representatives from the formal and the informal economy, migrants, domestic workers, children, and the elderly.

Innovative tools and technologies are being leveraged including line groups, webinars, social media campaigns, and big data polling to make the consultations interactive.

I understand that later today you’ll have a technical orientation on how to best navigate these virtual tools and platforms.

In addition, I am proposing that once the consultations are complete and the Final Report is available, we organize a High-Level Round Table on Social Protection co-hosted by the Ministry and the UN. This will be an opportunity to showcase the latest thinking on social protection with line ministries, academic community, development stakeholders and ASEAN.

The diagnostic reviews and briefing papers serve as important knowledge products and reflect the foresight of the government. Other countries simply do not have this level of granularity of data which we’re getting with these studies.

Let me take this opportunity to reiterate one key message that I have picked up from the diagnostic reviews. I believe it is imperative to strategically adjust and adapt the existing social security schemes to include coverage of those who are self-employed, while ensuring mobility of benefits to account for people moving between the formal and informal labour markets during their careers.

As we know, movement between the formal and informal sectors is becoming even more of a reality during the pandemic.

Investing in creating new schemes may not be the smartest policy option given that it results in greater fragmentation of an existing social security system which needs integration.

I also understand that anywhere between 56 to 71% of the working population are not covered by any form of social protection. The hardest hit are the 12.6 million people working in agriculture. Others affected include those working in wholesale, retail, manufacturing, and construction, which are precisely the sectors most impacted by the pandemic.

The social security system should be adapted to incorporate and enhance coverage to these population groups so that the system is equitable. 

Thailand’s leadership on social protection sets the tone for the ASEAN region, with other countries looking to Thailand as a best practice example.

We have an incredible opportunity to contribute to national policy that will result in concrete reform options in Thailand, in the region, and as a best practice to be shared globally by the UN.