“Blessed with Royal Presence” of Her Majesty Queen Suthida of Thailand and Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden at the Child Protection Summit Bangkok 2024 World Childhood X SafeguardKids. MOJ, MOI and MSDHS to collaborate on striving to protect Thai children from sexual abuse on/offline

published: 5/18/2024 5:24:09 PM updated: 5/23/2024 7:37:10 AM 353 views

On May 16, 2024, Her Majesty Queen Suthida Bajrasudhabimalalakshana of Thailand and Her Majesty Queen Silvia Renate Sommerlath of Sweden were in attendance and delivered Royal Speeches at the opening ceremony for the “Child Protection Summit Bangkok 2024” event, which was jointly organized by the World Childhood Foundation, founded by Her Majesty Queen Silvia of Sweden, and Thailand’s SafeguardKids Foundation in collaboration with network members of all sectors: public, private and civil society, such as Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Interior's Ladies Association, Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, Department of Special Investigation (DSI), Thailand Institute of Justice (TIJ), Charoen Pokphand Group Co., Ltd., the Mall Group Co., Ltd., Siam Piwat Co., Ltd., etc.

On this occasion, Police Colonel Tawee Sodsong, Minister of Justice, Mrs. Phongsaward Neelayodhin, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, Police Major Yutthana Praedam, Deputy Director General, Acting Director General of the Department of Special Investigation, along with the Ministry of Justice’s executives and its government officials assembled for waiting to greet and receive Her Majesty the Queens.

In the meeting, Minister of Justice gave his speech on justice process in connection with children and juvenile protection. This event was held with the objectives to strive to protect and combat the violation of children's and juveniles’ rights, both physical and mental, with special concentration on Thai child sexual abuse through all channels and especially focusing on online channels, which have been growing exponentially since 2022. In line with the objectives, the followings must be accomplished: establish stronger safeguards to prevent child sexual abuse, enact stronger laws to protect children and youths, and deter perpetrators with fear of punishment, while promoting societal rejection of this issue, until all forms of child rights violations are eradicated from Thai society. This will be achieved through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Interior and Ministry of Social Development and Human Security, to improve the quality of life and protect children and youths from sexual assault and abuse.

In this regard, the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Justice, in her capacity as a representative of the Ministry of Justice, has co-signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on cooperation to improve the quality of life and protect children and youths from sexual assault and abuse. The MOU was signed alongside the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Interior and the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Social Development and Human Security. This collaboration aims to strengthen and concretize the implementation of these efforts.

In addition to the main event, there was also special seminar on the topics of "Key steps to reduce child sexual abuse online", led by Mr. Khemachart Prakaihongmanee, the Director of Bureau of Technology and Cyber Crime, Department of Special Investigation, and "Protecting Children from sexual abuse : Challenges and Key steps forward". Furthermore, exhibitions on child sexual exploitation online and children’s rights to equality were held by the Department of Special Investigation, featuring a Burmese artist, and various organizations working on children and juveniles in Thailand. These events took place in the ESCAP Hall at the United Nations Conference Centre (UNCC) on Rajadamnern Avenue in Bangkok.