The Prime Minister of Thailand delivered his speech at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees hosted by the President of the United States at the United Nation Headquarters, signifying Thailand’s effort to help refugees.

Prime Minister Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha in New York delivered his statement at the Leaders’ Summit on Refugees hosted by President Barack Obama to address the global refugee crisis.

According to Deputy Government Spokesperson Maj Gen Werachon Sukondhapatipak, the Prime Minister spoke about the irregular migration of 65 million people, of which 21 million fled to Europe and other regions, burdening the host countries.

Thailand is among the countries that has provided humanitarian assistance to millions of refugees from neighbouring countries over the past four decades. The country currently shelters some 100,000 refugees from conflicts on the western border.

The Thai government has allocated a 180-million-dollar budget for refugee health care, education, and legal assistance. Thailand is also considering the establishment of a screening system to suppress human trafficking, allowing trafficking victims and eyewitnesses to legally work in the Kingdom for the duration of their legal case, with the possibility of a two-year extension.

The government provides occupational training for people in refugee shelters to improve their livelihoods once they return to their country of origin, issues birth certificates to all of their children, and discusses with related countries the transportation of refugees who wish to return home. The deportation process must ensure that refugees will not be in danger once they return to their home country.

The Thai Prime Minister reiterated the importance of cooperation from all countries in solving the issue and allowing each country to address the problem according to their circumstances. He also called for support for the development of countries of origin to reduce the number of refugees, while involving transit countries in devising refugee policy.

Thailand is delighted to see more countries accepting refugees, but also supports the development of livelihoods and formalizing a referral process for third-party countries to ease burdens on all sides.

The Prime Minister reiterated that helping refugees is not the responsibility of any one country, but a shared responsibility among all parties. He thanked the US President for acknowledging Thailand’s role in tackling the refugee crisis with limited resources. He also thanked the President for showing his leadership in addressing the refugee crisis, global peacekeeping, and the promotion of humanitarian principles.