ASEANEWS: UNCLOS | Thailand: UNCLOS conciliation chair to be named this week
A chairperson for the compulsory conciliation process under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) will be selected on Friday, with the first meeting of the conciliation commission expected next month, Foreign Affairs Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow said.
Mr Sihasak, also a deputy prime minister, said a list of about 10 qualified candidates had previously been submitted for consideration by Thailand and Cambodia.
Thailand had shortlisted six names and returned them, with the chairperson to be chosen from the lists submitted by both sides.
The commission’s first meeting is expected to be held in September. Possible venues include maritime-law centres in Europe, such as The Hague and Paris, and in Asia, including Singapore and Vietnam. The United Nations’ list of candidates includes experts from Europe, Asia and Latin America, selected according to their qualifications.
On a report by UN human rights expert Tom Andrews concerning the Thai-Cambodian border, Mr Sihasak said Thailand had submitted its objections to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) and the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC). If the report is subsequently considered by the UNHRC, Thailand will use the forum to explain its position and raise its concerns.
He said the report would not put Thailand at a disadvantage internationally, noting that such reports reflected individual views and many countries would recognise Thailand’s actions were within appropriate bounds.
Earlier, deputy foreign ministry spokeswoman Maratee Nalita Andamo said the ministry had been conducting field visits and gathering information to ensure the international community was aware of the facts.
“The Foreign Ministry will collect every detail and use it to brief foreign media, international forums and bilateral meetings with partner countries,” she said.
Ms Maratee said Mr Andrews was a special rapporteur and one of more than 40 experts operating under the UNHRC, and that his report was not a UN report.
She criticised his reference to a third country, saying his mandate was to monitor human rights in Cambodia. Thailand submitted 40 pages of documentation to the UNHRC, but Mr Andrews chose not to consult it.
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PUBLISHED : 12 Aug 2026 at 10:09
NEWSPAPER SECTION: News
WRITER: Mongkol Bangprapa
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https://www.bangkokpost.com/thailand/general/3300112/unclos-conciliation-chair-to-be-named-this-week. View our policies at http://goo.gl/9HgTd and http://goo.gl/ou6Ip. © Bangkok Post PCL. All rights reserved.
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