The 15th Annual Workshop on the Framework of Regional Cooperation for Human Rights Promotion and Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region concluded on 20 April 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. The civil society organisations urged the ASEAN human rights bodies and
all ASEAN member-states to "include and cover all people
regardless
of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation".

The 15th Annual Workshop on the Framework of Regional Cooperation for
Human Rights Promotion and Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region
concluded on 20 April 2010 in Bangkok, Thailand. The civil society
organisations urged the ASEAN human rights bodies and
all ASEAN member-states to "include and cover all people
regardless
of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation".

JOINT STATEMENT
OF NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS 

15^th Annual
Workshop on the Framework of Regional Cooperation for Human Rights
Promotion
and Protection in the Asia-Pacific Region

Bangkok, Thailand

21 April 2010 

We, the civil
society organizations present at the occasion of the 15^th
Workshop, would like to take this opportunity to issue this statement
on the regional cooperation for the promotion and protection of human
rights in Southeast Asia. 

1. We welcome the establishment
   of the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) and
   the ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of
   Women and Children (ACWC). We look forward to meaningful cooperation
   and partnership between the AICHR and ACWC with non-governmental
   organizations
   and national human rights institutions in the future, in particularly,
   regular consultation at national and regional level.
2. We note the limitations
   of the AICHR's current mandates and functions and strongly urge that
   the review of the Terms of Reference of AICHR include the
   strengthening
   of the independence and the protection mandates of the commission.
3. We further urge the AICHR
   to be more inclusive and to undertake consultation with all
   stakeholders,
   especially civil society organizations and national human rights
   institutions,
   in the preparation of their rules of procedure.
4. We recommend that the AICHR
   engage civil society in the identification of relevant and urgent
   issues,
   which ought to be the subject of thematic studies.
5. We urge the AICHR to consider
   the appointment of an indigenous expert within the commission or the
   establishment of a working group on indigenous peoples.
6. We note the increasing
   trends of issues that are cross border and required cooperation of
   different
   states at the regional level in order to find a regional solution,
   such
   as refugees and migrant workers. In this regards, we call on the AICHR
   to take up these issues proactively and assist governments in finding
   a regional solution.
7. Similarly, the issues of
   the protection and promotion of migrant workers required cooperation
   between sending countries and receiving countries in the region.
   Considering
   the current limitations of AICHR's protection mandate, we believe
   that the ongoing ASEAN process dealing with the rights of migrant
   workers
   should proceed on a parallel priority track. We further urge the ASEAN
   governments to expedite the negotiation of the regional instrument on
   the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers. We
   recommend
   that the regional instrument to cover undocumented migrants and family
   members of migrants in line with international human rights
   principles.
8. We urge AICHR, ACWC and
   all ASEAN member-states, in dealing with human rights promotion and
   protection, to recognize the need to include and cover all people
   regardless
   of nationality, ethnicity, race, religion, sexual orientation, etc.
9. We are concerned that the
   current contribution of ASEAN member states may not be adequate for
   the effective operation of AICHR and recommend that the ASEAN member
   states increase their budgetary contributions.
10. While acknowledging that
    only the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and the
    Convention
    on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
    (CEDAW)
    are the subject of common ratification by ASEAN member-states, this
    fact should not be a pretext for individual states to disregard human
    rights obligations under international law and other human rights
    conventions
    already ratified.
11. We acknowledge that the
    impact, scope and interface of security issues and human rights go
    beyond
    individual states and beyond ASEAN; therefore the search for peaceful
    solutions and effective redress mechanisms should involve other
    stakeholders
    such as civil society.

For pdf version of the statement, please click here.