In an open letter addressed to ASEAN's High Level Panel
and Secretary General today, 200 civil societies urged that the Terms of
Reference (TOR) of the ASEAN human rights body include two vital
elements for an effective human rights body: the mandates to carry
out human rights protection and the provision for independent human
rights experts to be appointed to run the body.
(Bangkok, 23
June 2009) Two hundred civil societies have demanded that ASEAN establish
a regional human rights body at par with international human rights
standards. In an open letter addressed to ASEAN's High Level Panel
and Secretary General today, civil societies urged that the Terms of
Reference (TOR) of the ASEAN human rights body include two vital
elements for an effective human rights body: the mandates to carry
out human rights protection and the provision for independent human
rights experts to be appointed to run the body.
The High Level
Panel appointed by ASEAN plans to submit the final draft of the TOR
to the 10 ASEAN foreign ministers at the 42nd ASEAN Ministerial
Meeting (AMM) in July 2009. The ASEAN human rights body is expected
to be established in October during the 15th ASEAN Summit
in Thailand.
"We are really
concerned about the manner in which the negotiation is taking place
right now, ASEAN may end up establishing a regional human rights body
that lacks independence and is powerless in carrying out human rights
protection. This will fall far too short of international standards",
said Yap Swee Seng, Executive Director of Asian Forum for Human Rights
and Development (FORUM-ASIA), a network of 42 human rights organizations
across Asia.
"Without
the protection mandate and the independent experts, the ASEAN human
rights body will be a toothless tiger. ASEAN peoples deserve a better
regional human rights mechanism", added Yap.
The open letter
explicitly calls on the High Level Panel to include three protection
mandates, namely for the human rights body to be able to carry out country
visit, to receive complaints of human rights violations and initiate
investigation and finally, to be able to conduct periodic review of
the human rights situations of ASEAN member states.
Rafendi Djamin,
the Convenor of the Solidarity for Asian People's Advocacy Task Force
on ASEAN and Human Rights (SAPA TF-AHR) said ASEAN can be proud of the
lead that they have established in being the first within the Asian
region to establish legally binding human rights mechanism on themselves.
"However,
to renege on the international human rights standards at this point
would be really a shame. This would again affirm the widespread perception
that ASEAN lacks the political will to protect human rights," said
Rafendi, who co-signed the letter with Yap on behalf of 200 civil societies.
Djamin added
that this certainly does not bode well with ASEAN which recently celebrated
the entry into force of the ASEAN Charter that enshrines the respect
for fundamental freedom, the promotion and protection of human rights
and the promotion of social justice.
The signatories
of the letter consist of 176 Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and
24 individuals, including Professor Amitav Acharya of International
Relations, School of International Service, American University (US),
Professor Thitinan Pongsudhirak, of Department of International Relations,
Faculty of Political Science, Chulalongkorn University (Thailand) and
Todung Mulya Lubis, a prominent Human Rights Lawyer in Indonesia.
Meanwhile,
the SAPA TF-AHR has requested for a meeting with the 10 ASEAN Foreign
Ministers during the coming AMM, while it continues to receive endorsements
until 27 June 2009 from organizations and individuals from around the
world, which should be sent to [email protected].
SAPA TF-AHR
was established during the first Regional Consultation on ASEAN and
Human Rights in Kuala Lumpur on 26-28 August 2007. It is a network of
civil society organizations which aims a) to hold ASEAN member states
accountable to their international and domestic human rights obligations,
and b) to make the ASEAN human rights mechanisms more accountable and
effective. Early in 2009, the SAPA TFAHR launched the campaign on "we
want ASEAN human rights commission with teeth!: accountable, effective
and independent".
For more information, please
contact:
Mr. Yap Swee Seng, Executive
Director, Asian Forum for Human Rights and Development (FORUM-ASIA)
at [email protected], or +66 81 868 9178
Mr. Rafendi Djamin, Coordinator,
Indonesia's NGO Coalition for International Human Rights Advocacy
(HRWG), at [email protected], or at +62 813 11442159
Ms. Yuyun Wahyuningrum, East
Asia Program Manager, FORUM-ASIA, at [email protected], or +66 87 991 4451
