BACKGROUND

The Year of 1992 is the year of the fifth cycle anniversary (sixtieth birth year) of Her Majesty Queen Sirikit, which year was declared by the Thai Government as the Year of Thai Women.

The First National Assembly on Women in Development was convened at the Government House from 1 -2 March 1992 when the Assembly adopted the National Declaration on Women. This Declaration was endorsed by the National Commission on Women's Affairs (NCWA) and was presented for approval by the Council of Ministers on 4 January 1994. The Council of Ministers proclaimed the National Declaration on Women as national policy on women's development to be implemented organizations, private sector, mass media and the Thai population in general for the benefit of women and for protection of women's rights.

Whereas the First National Assembly on Women in Development was convened from 1 -2 March 1992, the participants including academics, policy makers and practitioners from many governmental and non-governmental organizations including people's organizations, business enterprises, social institutions and the mass media,

Whereas men and women have an equally important role to play in the process of national development both as resources and actors,

Whereas it is desirable that women be development to their fullest potential and enjoy equal rights and opportunities and protection from exploitation by persons in the society,

Whereas in propounding the National Declaration on Women the Assembly bears in mind the importance of women basic needs and rights, whether they be female youth, working women, elderly women, disabled women, or other disadvantaged women,

Now therefore

The National Assembly on Women in Development proclaims the Declaration on Women to ensure the protection of the rights of women and their full participation in development in accordance with the principle aforesaid, as follows:

Directions in Women's Development

1. Women shall be enabled to develop their full potential, both physical and mental. They shall have the opportunities to develop their intellect, aptitudes and other capacities. Women shall have the opportunity to obtain compulsory education or at least achieve basic literacy, as well as to continue their studies at higher levels. They shall have access to training in occupational knowledge and skill development. They shall be self-reliant, suitably employed, and capable of improving their standards of living, as well as environmental conditions.

2. Women shall be given the opportunities to express themselves, their ideas and decisions on the same basis and in cooperation with men in the development of the economy, society, politics and administration, the environment, religion and the mass media.

3. Women's household responsibilities shall be lessened, and equally shared by men. Women and men shall share the role of bringing up children to be qualified and morally responsible citizens, of building a warm and secure family, and of promoting values which are beneficial of women's development, with mutual respect for human dignity and integrity.

4. Women shall be accorded protection as individuals, in job recruitment, employment, career advancement, leadership, job benefits and remuneration on the same basis as men. All forms of discrimination shall be eliminated

5. Women's rights shall be protected in all aspects physical and mental. They shall not become victims of sexual exploitation and violence. They shall have freedom to choose their own marriage partners and make joint decisions with their spouses on family planning.

Obligations of the State Social Institutions, Non-governmental Organizations, People's Organizations, Business Enterprises, and  Mass  Media

6. The Government, social institutions, non-governmental organizations, people's organizations, business enterprises, and the mass media shall cooperate with one another in the development of women in the designated directions, in supporting women's development mechanisms, and in formulating women policies, measures, and implementation strategies in order to achieve the desired goals.

7. The Government, social institutions, non-90vernmental organizations, people's organizations, business enterprises, and the mass media shall cooperate with one another in producing and disseminating information, as well as presenting positive values and images of the role of women to the public.

8. The Government, social institutions, non-90vernmental organizations, people's organizations, business enterprises, and the mass media sl18l1 instill positive values about women and their sexual role, potential and abilities, about human dignity, and about the joint roles of men and women in the family, at work, and in national development.

9. The Government shall urgently adopt appropriate measures, including the provisions, of budgetary support, to strengthen mechanisms for women's development, both in the public and private sector.

10. Government agencies, non-governmental organizations, people's organizations, and business enterprises shall join forces in revising all the laws and regulations which are discriminatory against women.

11. Political and local government organizations shall formulate and accord high priority to women's development policies, as well as promote women's participation in politics and administration at all levels from the grassroot up to the national and international levels.

12. The Government, through the National Commission on Women's Affairs (NCWA), shall promote cooperation and coordination among all agencies and organization in both the public and private sectors, business enterprises, the mass media and the public in general in the development of women's potential, and the protection of women's rights. The Commission shall also organize national assemblies on women every two years to monitor and evaluate women's situations, forwarding the conclusions and recommendation to the Council of Ministers and Parliament thereafter.